Iowa Travel Information by Rough Guides - Des Moines IA Weekend Getaway

Preview: Although at times serene, and almost always verdant, nothing about Iowa truly stands out: this 55,000-square-mile chunk of the Great Plains doesn’t even manage to be completely flat, it just wobbles up and down a little. The state is the very essence of small-town America, close to the geographical center of the mainland US, and ranking decidedly average in size, population and level of personal income. Even the cities seem at times to be merely villages grown large. Iowa’s history, too, has been relatively uneventful. It was opened for settlement after the Black Hawk Treaty of 1832, a one-sided exercise in negotiations with the Sauk Indians, conducted after many of them had been chased down and slaughtered in neighboring Wisconsin and Illinois. The Northern European immigrants who replaced them made agricultural development their prime concern, turning Iowa into the “Foodbasket of America” – a role it generally achieves with scrupulous efficiency. Tourist attractions in Iowa are few and far between; its most visited destination is the throwback Germanic enclave of the Amana Colonies. However, the state does also hold a few oddball sites, such as the original locations for the movies The Bridges of Madison County (in south central Winterset, birthplace of John Wayne) and Field of Dreams (near Dubuque in the northeast). You can also see, but not enter, the original house that featured in Grant Wood’s much-parodied American Gothic painting (at Eldon in the southeast, and now owned by the state). This chapter is a chapter excerpted from the book "The Rough Guide to USA." It is packed with information on this state including history, getting there and getting around, major cities and regions, and what to do and where to stay when you get there.
© Copyright Samantha Cook, Tim Perry, and Greg Ward published by Rough Guides all rights reserved.


Best Time to Go: Year-round
This travel guide comes from:
The Rough Guide to USA Guide Book