Discover Iowa: Nature, History, and Special Experiences

Iowa combines impressive landscapes, important sites of Indigenous history, museums, and major events into a destination with many different travel possibilities. When planning your vacation, it is worth first deciding on your preferred daily rhythm: Hiking trails and viewpoints can be the focus, as can historic sites, museums, river landscapes, or the distinctive atmosphere of the Iowa State Fair. You can then choose the right vacation rental or vacation home based on your preferred focus.

Experience Nature: Trails, Forests, and River Views

Several state parks give Iowa a varied natural profile. Backbone State Park was designated Iowa’s first state park in 1920 and has a 21-mile multi-use trail network. Anyone who wants to include a longer route in their day’s plans will find a clearly designated trail here for various uses. Yellow River State Forest offers viewpoints, forest areas, and winding trout streams. It is also home to Iowa’s only observation tower, built in 1963.

Waubonsie State Park has more than 16 miles of hiking trails and offers views of the Missouri River Valley. In Ledges State Park, a four-mile trail network leads through steep slopes to scenic viewpoints. Its sandstone cliffs rise 100 feet above the Des Moines River. This allows you to choose between longer trails, forest landscapes, and striking river views when planning your outings, without making every day the same.

The Great River Road National Scenic Byway is also one of Iowa’s scenic experiences. It offers expansive views, picturesque river towns, and impressive limestone cliffs. The 45-foot-high observation tower at Hitchcock Nature Center provides views of the Missouri River, Nebraska, and the Loess Hills. In most of Iowa’s state-protected areas, hiking and photography are among the permitted activities. Iowa also has thousands of miles of trails for cycling and paddling.

Burial Mounds, Museums, and Living History

Effigy Mounds National Monument preserves more than 200 Native American burial mounds, which many Americans consider sacred. A series of conical mounds leads to Fire Point, with views of the Mississippi River. The monument is also home to a great diversity of plants and animals. Toolesboro Mounds National Historic Landmark preserves burial mounds dating from 200 B.C. to A.D. 300 that are associated with Iowa’s Hopewell culture. A prairie reconstruction area and exhibits in the visitor center complement this historic site.

Blood Run was a village and ceremonial site of the ancestors of the Omaha, Ponca, Iowa, and Oto-Missouria tribes. Today, Blood Run offers a self-guided tour along mowed paths to protected burial mounds and village settlement sites. For travelers interested in culture, this is an opportunity to experience history not only in exhibits but also in the landscape.

The Iowa Gold Star Military Museum collects, preserves, and displays materials on Iowa’s military history from the state’s founding to the present day. The Museum of Amana History uses three 19th-century buildings to convey the communal life of the Amana Colonies. The Amana Woolen Mill is Iowa’s only still-operating woolen mill and has been continuously operating since 1857. A historic store has remained nearly unchanged in its exterior and interior appearance since 1857, during the communal period; features preserved include the original tin ceiling, wooden floor, and glass-fronted sales display cases.

At the Iowa Capitol, free guided tours are available Monday through Saturday; times must be obtained by telephone. Self-guided tours are also possible. Admission to the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site is free. These different ways of visiting help you combine guided insights with independent exploration.

Events and Different Travel Ideas

The Iowa State Fair is the largest event in the state of Iowa and attracts more than one million people each year. Nearly 200 food stands and more than 50 foods on a stick also make the event noteworthy from a culinary perspective. Outside the annual Iowa State Fair, the Iowa State Fairgrounds host, among other things, car shows, livestock shows, flea markets, antique shows, concerts, and trade fairs. Anyone planning a trip around a specific event should therefore consider the event focus separately from days devoted to nature and culture.

For cycling travelers, the Amana Colonies Gravel Bike Routes begin in Middle Amana and split into one route to High Amana and one route to West Amana. Travel Iowa divides the state into five visitor regions: Lakes & Land, Driftless Area, Loess Hills & Beyond, Capital Country, and Storied & Scenic. This classification provides additional guidance if, before searching for accommodation, you want to decide whether your trip should be shaped more by landscapes, history, events, or active days.

Further Guidance for Your Accommodation Search

A vacation rental in Iowa can serve as a base for very different travel plans. What matters less than a general ranking of locations is your personal focus: If you are planning several days in nature, pay attention to the desired regional orientation when making your further selection; if you are interested in culture, historic sites, museums, and guided or self-guided tours may be decisive. For flexible trip planning, you can also combine hiking, cycling, and paddling ideas with events or culinary discoveries. The following pages make it easier to continue exploring Iowa:

Scott, Polk, Johnson, Cedar, Guthrie, Carroll, Story, Marshall, Black Hawk, Audubon, Dubuque, Linn, Pottawattamie, Woodbury, Worth County, Lee County, Clinton County, Marion County, Muscatine County, Cerro Gordo County, Jones County, Clarke County, Pocahontas County, Bremer County, Page County, Buena Vista County, Calhoun County, Palo Alto County, Jasper County, Floyd County, Hancock County, Emmet County, Montgomery County, Union County, Mahaska County, Webster County, Dickinson County, Louisa County, Warren County, Poweshiek County, Lucas County, Des Moines County, Plymouth County, Shelby, Henry County, Wapello, Jackson, Maquoketa, Fremont County, Winneshiek County, Mitchell County, Grundy County, Hardin County, Iowa County, Lyon County, Cherokee County, Cass County, Adair County, Sioux County, Howard County, Harrison County, Hamilton County, Ida County, O'brien County, Osceola County, Kossuth County, Clay County, Madison County, Winnebago County, Fayette County, Decatur County, Jefferson County, Monona County, Allamakee County.

For the higher-level travel overview: USA.