Touristy things to do and see in Iowa?

[torbee]

Winner. A river cruise is a perfect idea.

If you're serious, the riverboat Twilight out of Le Claire does a nice little (and much less expensive) fall cruise between the QC area and Dubuque. It's a lovely boat and that stretch of the river is gorgeous in the fall.

Riverboat Twilight - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

www.tripadvisor.com

 

[ICWestfan]

Davenport seems pretty popular with the tour boat folks.

We had two of the big ones - a Viking and an American Cruise Line - tied up at the same time recently!

When was this taken? I have yet to see a cruise ship sail through Lansing. Of course, if they have it may have been at night. And then there was the months of June and July where the river was shut down due to flooding.

 

[JMNSHO]

I saw a very large cruise ship passing under the HWY 18 bridge in Marquette on Sunday evening. Heading upriver.

 

[onlyTheObvious]

When was this taken? I have yet to see a cruise ship sail through Lansing. Of course, if they have it may have been at night. And then there was the months of June and July where the river was shut down due to flooding.

I was riding bike along that path a few weeks ago and saw two cruise ships docked. August 11th if I had to guess.

 

[torbee]

When was this taken? I have yet to see a cruise ship sail through Lansing. Of course, if they have it may have been at night. And then there was the months of June and July where the river was shut down due to flooding.

They got started late because of flooding but I’ve seen quite a few since mid-August.

 

[ZachJump]

 

[beanerhawk]

Her next tattoo should be....

 

[Thunderlips71]

It is. We are in Idaho for a wedding. We took 4 days to get here and did those three plus Devils Tower and Custer state park. It was amazing. I could have taken 2 weeks just for what we've done in 4 days. So much to see and do.

Doobs did you see The Badlands? Kind of cool at first, but if I remember correctly it’s a one-way loop so once you’re in the park you are essentially trapped and have to drive the full route. It all start looking the same pretty quickly.

 

[torbee]

Her next tattoo should be....

She's a West Davenport 8.5 bro.

 

[TC Nole OX]

She's a West Davenport 8.5 bro.

Hopefully she’s headed for The Pony or Daisy Dook’s

 

[3boysmom]

I don’t feel like wading through 3 pages so maybe it’s been suggested, but do a Mississippi River cruise. Probably the easiest way to see the Midwest without having to really experience it. 😏

 

[InsaneHawkJJP]

I just spent some time up there this weekend hiking and making some brewery stops. Not gonna lie, I've always preferred Pulpit Rock over Toppling Goliath. I like both breweries, but I enjoy the size of Pulpit more than the gigantic Toppling Goliath set up. Great beers at each though.

Yeah the ambiance at Pulpit is more my style. When we still lived in town we walked to Pulpit all the time with the kids and dogs.

I like TG’s food and they have whiskey now which is great. It’s one of the only dog friendly places to eat in town too.

 

[InsaneHawkJJP]

Davenport seems pretty popular with the tour boat folks.

We had two of the big ones - a Viking and an American Cruise Line - tied up at the same time recently!

Good idea, one of the cruise lines comes to either Prairie or Lansing and has a road trip into Decorah.

 

[McLovin32]

Yeah the ambiance at Pulpit is more my style. When we still lived in town we walked to Pulpit all the time with the kids and dogs.

I like TG’s food and they have whiskey now which is great. It’s one of the only dog friendly places to eat in town too.

The wife no pics and I both mentioned how cool it would be to live around Pulpit and have that type of "neighborhood" brewery. TG does have some good food. Just had the Southwest Chicken wrap this past weekend and it was freaking delicious.

 

[HawkMachine]

I've lived in Iowa my entire life. I have no desire to live anywhere else.

But when looking for something fun and exciting to do, I like to drive somewhere else.

This.

Other states are more pretty.

Other states have better trails (hiking/biking/ATVing/etc)

Other states have better lakes (fishing).

Other states have oceans.

Other states have mountains.

Other states have better amusement parks.

Other states have better fill in the blank.

The ONLY thing off the top of my head that we have better than the majority of states out there is deer hunting. We have a lot of out of state hunters travel to Iowa for top notch whitetail hunting. If they can't get a license they dream about it.

 

[NI hawk]

It is. We are in Idaho for a wedding. We took 4 days to get here and did those three plus Devils Tower and Custer state park. It was amazing. I could have taken 2 weeks just for what we've done in 4 days. So much to see and do.

I have been there maybe 20x. Last 4x with grandkid's. Always enjoy but need a couple year break.

 

[NI hawk]

Snake Alley.

Actually did this when playing in men's state softball tournament in Burlington years ago,

 

[NI hawk]

The Okoboji is VERY touristy I guess.

Four about 8-9 weeks in in summer.

 

[HawCory]

If in Davenport, stop at Yoshi’s and see if Tubby is still there

Don't forget to hop across the street and grab a burrito before crossing 3rd for your porn.

 

[InsaneHawkJJP]

The wife no pics and I both mentioned how cool it would be to live around Pulpit and have that type of "neighborhood" brewery. TG does have some good food. Just had the Southwest Chicken wrap this past weekend and it was freaking delicious.

Yeah it was nice, we moved just north of town a couple years ago and my kids still give me shit about it.

 

[FSUTribe76]

Mount Rushmore, the Badlands, Deadwood area would be a nice trip

Mount Rushmore is 1) shameful desecration of what was originally a Native American religious site, kind of like building a Trump Tower over the remnants of the Vatican and 2) is an incredibly awkward tourist trap other than Thomas Jefferson’s recipe for ice cream.

But the Badlands and Deadwood area make for a surprisingly nice mini-vacation. I was shocked by how nice the Badlands NP was….it’s only slightly below the winning Big Bend NP in my ranking of lesser known NPs. And if you like gambling, whiskey, red meat and cowboy history, then Deadwood is a great stop off as well.

 

[Kelsers]

Four about 8-9 weeks in in summer.

From Memorial Day through Labor Day.

 

[NI hawk]

From Memorial Day through Labor Day.

That's the thought but not reality.

 

[FormerlyCyberCy]

Amana colonies appeals to some people.
Decorah is nice
Field of Dreams

If you bike, the trail system in central Iowa is second to none.

Really Iowa has a lot of interesting stuff but you need to research it based on what you like. I notice on Ragbrai how out of state people that the sunrises over the rolling fields with the fog was beautiful. Hell we see it everyday and think nothing of it.

Iowa Football game has great atmosphere. Iowa State basketball has great atmosphere.

The towns along the Mississippi can be interesting.

The water park in Waterloo Iowa is considered one of the top 5 in the country.

Just camped at ISU for FB, spent 4 days in Decorah, three days in the Amana Colonies, going to the ISU Iowa game tomorrow. Nice week.

 

[Kelsers]

That's the thought but not reality.

That was the reality when I lived near there in my younger years.

 

[torbee]

Just camped at ISU for FB, spent 4 days in Decorah, three days in the Amana Colonies, going to the ISU Iowa game tomorrow. Nice week.

Sorry you had to be in Ames that long. I hope there are no lingering after-effects.

 

[SolarHawk]

From what I know of my home state and tourism, I can think of three reasons out of staters would visit. Hunting, college sports, and ragbrai. Oh, and trek fest, Iowa is after all the future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk. So four things…..

 

[BioHawk]

Mount Rushmore, the Badlands, Deadwood area would be a nice trip

Great area, but that's not the midwest.

 

[SolarHawk]

Great area, but that's not the midwest.

Upper Midwest? What is it?

 

[BioHawk]

Upper Midwest? What is it?

Great Plains.

Rapid City is a great city. That wouldn't be a bad place to live, really.

 

[Bank of Hawk]

If your in the area, Grotto of the Redemption in West Bend. Go into that one room/cave thing, completely covered on the inside with crystals or whatever, to get a cool ultra silent medatative vibe. Took a gf there once, worth the trip.

Did you clean the dishes after?

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

Never really cared for Charley Boys

How about a bucket of onion chips?

 

[DooBi]

Rapid City is a great city. That wouldn't be a bad place to live, really.

I think so too. We went to Bokujo Ramen while there. It was amazing.