DON'T LAUGH.......Considering a vacation to Iowa! (Des Moines, Cedar Rapids: how much, hotel)

[odessa3]

I live in northeast PA, and one of my goals in life is to step foot in all 50 states. I've never been to Iowa. My husband and I are considering a trip to Iowa for next year's vacation (driving). Due to driving distance, we'd probably stay in eastern IA. Bring on your ideas! We like to SEE and DO. We enjoy small towns with character, outdoors activities like hiking, quirky museums, and a good brewpub. Bring on your ideas!!

[Unknown Memory]

Edit: Deleted my entire post. Mis-read the subject title. Made a big error on my part. Oops. Sorry! >.< Disregard whatever I had here. Actually, how I feel about Idaho is about the same so if you're ever up to visit that state in the future, go for it too!

Well, I still don't find it funny. I wish you good luck on your traveling goal to visit all 50 states! ^_^

*hides in embarrassment*

[jmgg]

You have to have a reason for going to Iowa. I like Iowa, but it's not exactly the scenic mecca of the United States. It's not all cornfields either. Heck, we're taking a couple days vacation and heading to Iowa City next weekend to visit and hit a couple clubs.

One thing I would take in is the Mississippi River drive going north to the Minnesota border. The Amish colonies NW of Iowa city are very interesting. Madison County south and west of Des Moines is picturesque. This is the area where all the covered bridges are. Remember the movie with Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep? This is it.

If you get north and west in Iowa, the Iowa Great Lakes are wonderfull. Gorgeous deep blue water lakes with all the tourest trappings you can handle.

[omahajosh618]

I'd say, take a trip to the Quad Cities or Cedar Rapids/Iowa City.

[mustang84]

If you're going to see Iowa, I would at least try to make it as far as Des Moines and stop in Iowa City, the Quad Cities, and some of the other small towns on the way back.

In Des Moines, you can find nightlife around downtown (Court Avenue area) and small local stores in the East Village neighborhood. Near the East Village sitting up on a hill overlooking the city is the gold-domed Iowa Capitol, with some great views of the Des Moines skyline from surrounding parks. The Principal Riverwalk is currently under construction, but the Asian Gardens are open and the Botanical Center is only a short walk/drive away. Other points of interest around downtown DSM include the Central Park area, Science Center of Iowa, Living History Farms (reconstruction of pioneer farms and villages), and an art and history museum.

If you're looking for outdoors things to do, Palisades State Park near Cedar Rapids has some trails and a hilly wooded area near the Cedar River. There's also the Coralville Reservoir area near Iowa City.

Like someone else mentioned, the Quad Cities and some other smaller towns offer the old river city feel of the steamboat era. The River Road that follows the Mississippi is a pleasant scenic route to take as it snakes along with the river. Some really scenic river towns that I have visited are Dubuque, Marquette/McGregor, and Guttenburg. Davenport has also really cleaned up its riverfront in the last decade and has built a new skybridge and the Figge Art Museum.

[nanjosbrand]

My recommendations for your Iowa visit would be to at least drive near the town of Anamosa. Grant Wood is famous for his American Gothic painting, and I believe that you would find it interesting how much the landscape does look like all his artwork. The area near that town is simply beautiful.
In Des Moines, there is a wonderful historical museum, if you're into that kind of stuff.
Winterset is where the Bridges of Madison county was filmed and that area is neat as well.
Iowa does have some neat attractions to take advantage of. Hope you enjoy your trip.

[Chicago60614]

i love how offensive the title of the thread is, haha.

As if visiting Iowa is a totally WHACKED out idea. It kinda pisses me off.

[zz4guy]

I recommend taking a drive from Decorah and meander down along the Mississippi. It's very scenic and there are enough attractions along the way to keep you busy for at least a few days. You should be able to find enough info at your hotel about the local attractions and decide what to do from there. Tourism is big in NE part of the state.

Then head west to check out some other attractions like Amana Colonies, Anamosa/Grand Wood. If you are into factory tours, John Deere Waterloo, Dubuque and QC have great public tours of the huge tractors they make.

[frogbeans]

Originally Posted by odessa3

I live in northeast PA, and one of my goals in life is to step foot in all 50 states. I've never been to Iowa. My husband and I are considering a trip to Iowa for next year's vacation (driving). Due to driving distance, we'd probably stay in eastern IA. Bring on your ideas! We like to SEE and DO. We enjoy small towns with character, outdoors activities like hiking, quirky museums, and a good brewpub. Bring on your ideas!!

haheehah funny thread title

good luck with your goal and trip. i should do that...

[odessa3]

I do only have 12 states to go toward my goal. Thank you all, for your ideas so far. And I'm sorry if I offended anyone with the title of this thread. People have asked me, WHY would you want to go to Iowa? (To most people, "vacation" means a beach, a cruise, etc.). I'd like to see what "undiscovered" and lesser-known areas for travelers have to offer. In the area where I live, I am guilty of thinking "Why would anyone want to come HERE?" But everywhere has something of value worth seeing.