Discover Iowa: Nature, History, and Events

Iowa offers a variety of reasons to visit: state parks with trails, river views, Indigenous heritage sites, museums, and the annual Iowa State Fair. If you’re planning a hotel stay, first consider whether nature, history, or events will shape your visit. This will help you match your destinations with the right hotel base.

Trails and Landscapes

Three state parks offer different kinds of trails: Backbone State Park has a 21-mile multi-use trail network; Waubonsie State Park has more than 16 miles of hiking trails with views of the Missouri River valley; and the trail network at Ledges State Park covers four miles and leads through steep slopes to scenic viewpoints. Backbone was designated Iowa’s first state park in 1920. At Ledges, sandstone cliffs rise 100 feet above the Des Moines River.

Yellow River State Forest offers scenic viewpoints, wooded areas, and winding trout streams. The forest is home to Iowa’s only observation tower, built in 1963. Hitchcock Nature Center also has a distinctive observation tower: it stands 45 feet tall and offers views of the Missouri River, Nebraska, and the Loess Hills. The Great River Road National Scenic Byway offers sweeping views, picturesque river towns, and impressive limestone bluffs. Iowa has thousands of miles of trails for cycling and paddling.

Indigenous History and Archaeological Sites

Effigy Mounds National Monument preserves more than 200 burial mounds of Indigenous origin, considered sacred by many Americans. A series of conical mounds leads to Fire Point, which overlooks the Mississippi River. The monument’s natural landscape is also home to a wide variety of plants and animals.

At Toolesboro Mounds National Historic Landmark, the burial mounds date from 200 BC to AD 300 and are associated with the Hopewell culture. A prairie exhibit and displays at the visitor center add to the archaeological experience. Blood Run offers a self-guided walk along mowed trails to protected burial mounds and village sites. Historically, Blood Run was a village and ceremonial site for the ancestors of the Omaha, Ponca, Iowa, and Oto-Missouria tribes.

Events, Museums, and Crafts

The Iowa State Fair is the state’s largest event, drawing more than one million people each year. Its food offerings include nearly 200 food stands and more than 50 foods on a stick. If you’re planning to visit the annual fair, check the event dates in advance. Outside the fair, the Iowa State Fairgrounds also host car shows, livestock exhibitions, flea markets, antique shows, concerts, and trade shows.

The Iowa Capitol offers free tours Monday through Saturday; call to check the times. Self-guided tours are also available. The Iowa Gold Star Military Museum collects, preserves, and displays materials on Iowa’s military history, from its founding as a state to the present day. The Museum of Amana History explores communal life in the Amana Colonies through three 19th-century buildings. The Amana Woolen Mill is Iowa’s only operating wool mill and has been in continuous operation since 1857.

Discover More Destinations

Discover more destinations: Cherokee County, Fayette County, Adair County, Monona County, Allamakee County, 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, Harrison County, Hamilton County, Ida County, O'Brien County, Osceola County, Kossuth County, Clay County, Madison County, Winnebago County, Decatur County, Mitchell County, Grundy County, Hardin County, Iowa County, Lyon County, Cass County, Sioux County, Jefferson County and Howard County.

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