Check out these culinary treats, presidential sites and roadside attractions around the Hawkeye State.
Culinary Iowa
Marshalltown
Flying Elbow won the Iowa Beef Industry Council’s Burger of the Year in 2022 and Iowa Pork Producers’ Pulled Pork of the Year in 2023.
Dubuque
Progress through three historic sites, enjoying entertainment, music, delicious food and wonderful company along the way. During this guided experience, you will be mesmerized as costumed docents and local historians share facts about what made 19th-century Dubuque the “Masterpiece of the Mississippi.”
Sioux City
Sioux City is a melting pot of diverse flavors, offering a culinary tapestry woven with an array of ethnic cuisines. From savory Mexican street tacos and authentic tamales to aromatic Thai curries and delicate sushi rolls, the city’s dining scene is a global exploration of tastes.
Des Moines
The Iowa State Fair is renowned for its array of food-on-a-stick delights, including pork chops, bacon-wrapped corn dogs, cheese, cherry pie and more. With nearly 200 food stands, it’s a haven for culinary exploration.
Iowa City/Coralville
Visit the Northside, a downtown Iowa City neighborhood, for a collection of culinary opportunities. Enjoy pizza from the famous Paglia’s Pizza, wine and charcuterie from Brix Wine and Cheese Shop, a classic burger from George’s Buffet or a pieshake from Hamburg Inn.
Clinton
Great Revivalist Brewery, nestled in a former Episcopal church near downtown Clinton, preserves its history with repurposed church elements. Church pews are now tables, stained glass windows gleam and an Italian Fresco adorns. Serving 15-plus homemade brews and craft sodas, it’s a unique dining experience.
Presidential Iowa
Ottumwa
Former President Richard Nixon was stationed at the Naval Air Station in Ottumwa, Iowa, as aide to the executive officer from October 1942 to May 1943.
Charles City
Visit the girlhood home of Carrie Lane Chapman Catt, a founder of the League of Women Voters, who spent her life working for the rights of women and the passage of the 19th Amendment.
West Branch
The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library & Museum in West Branch honors the 31st U.S. President, born in 1874. Hoover became a renowned mining engineer, humanitarian and Secretary of Commerce. He and his wife, Lou, rest in West Branch, overlooking his birthplace.
Mason City
The Music Man Square Museum holds many presidential items, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded to Meredith Willson.
Madison County
Ronald Reagan visited Winterset and spoke from the courthouse steps in November 1984. Reagan also visited the John Wayne Birthplace home. He is still the only sitting president to visit Winterset.
Roadside Iowa
Fairfield
the Vedic Observatory in Maharishi Vedic City is a 1.5-acre open-air observatory of masonry sundials. It’s unique for its ability to display the whole structure of the universe along with all the movements of the sun, the planets and the stars in one compact form.
Pottawattamie County
Pottawattamie County has 14 hand-crafted bronze sculptures of eagles in almost all of its cities. The eagles reflect a unique theme that seeks to honor military service members and veterans.
Ames
See the world’s largest concrete gnome, Elwood, at the Reiman Gardens on Iowa State University’s campus.
Cedar Falls
At The Ice House Museum in Cedar Falls, groups can visit the only museum in the U.S. that tells the story of ice harvesting in an original ice house. This 1921 round structure contains tools once used to cut ice from the nearby Cedar River.
Find even more ideas for groups at iowatravelindustry.org.
