The Iowa State Fair is the state’s largest event, attracting more than one million people each year. Nearly 200 food stands and more than 50 foods on a stick are part of the fair. But events are also held at the Iowa State Fairgrounds outside the annual fair, including car shows, livestock exhibitions, flea markets, antique shows, concerts, and trade shows. When planning, it’s worth distinguishing the annual major event from the other dates at the fairgrounds and checking suitable event dates.

Trails, Forests, and Scenic Overlooks

Iowa’s trails also offer a range of scales and landscapes. Backbone State Park was designated Iowa’s first state park in 1920 and has a 21-mile multi-use trail network. At Ledges State Park, a four-mile trail network leads through steep slopes to scenic viewpoints. There, sandstone cliffs rise 100 feet above the Des Moines River. Waubonsie State Park offers more than 16 miles of hiking trails and views of the Missouri River valley. You can compare the listed network lengths as well as the landscapes described.

At Yellow River State Forest, scenic overlooks meet wooded areas and winding trout streams. Iowa’s only observation tower, built in 1963, is located there. The observation tower at Hitchcock Nature Center is 45 feet tall; from it, you can look out over the Missouri River, Nebraska, and the Loess Hills. The Great River Road National Scenic Byway offers a different emphasis: its description includes sweeping views, scenic river towns, and impressive limestone bluffs.

Iowa has thousands of miles of trails for cycling and paddling. One specific gravel biking option is the Amana Colonies routes: they start in Middle Amana and split into one route to High Amana and another to West Amana. Since trail conditions can change, check them before setting out.

History and Cultural Heritage

Effigy Mounds National Monument preserves more than 200 Native American burial mounds, considered sacred by many Americans. A series of conical mounds leads to Fire Point, which overlooks the Mississippi River. The monument is also home to a wide variety of plants and animals. Here, history, landscape, and nature are closely connected within the site described.

At Toolesboro Mounds National Historic Landmark, the burial mounds date from 200 BC to AD 300 and are associated with Iowa’s Hopewell culture. A prairie reconstruction area and exhibits in the visitor center add to this insight. Blood Run offers a different perspective: the site was a village and ceremonial center of the ancestors of the Omaha, Ponca, Iowa, and Oto-Missouria tribes. A self-guided tour along mowed trails leads to protected burial mounds and village sites.

At the Amana Colonies, the Museum of Amana History presents communal life through three 19th-century buildings. The Amana Woolen Mill also tells the story of a long craft tradition: it is Iowa’s only operating woolen mill and has been in continuous operation since 1857. Visitors interested in military history can find materials on Iowa’s military history at the Iowa Gold Star Military Museum, collected, preserved, and displayed from the founding of the state to the present.

Plan Your Visits

At the Iowa Capitol, both self-guided tours and free guided tours are available. Guided tours take place Monday through Saturday; call to ask about times. This lets you choose between exploring independently and taking a guided tour. For events, check the relevant dates, and for the Amana gravel routes, check trail conditions to help plan your visit.

Discover more destinations: 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 broader travel overview: USA.