My Bucket-List

We all dream, right? Sure, I would love to dream about Paris or Rome but reality called today. I am in Iowa and I am not going too far anytime soon…and honestly, I Like Iowa! I think our state is beautiful and has so much to offer! This is by NO means a comprehensive list  – but just a few places that I am hoping to visit sometime in the near future!

Central (Because I live here)

  • Ashton Observatory – Jasper County
  • Farm House Museum – ISU – Ames
  • Terrace Hill – DEs Moines
  • A&E Dairy – Des Moines
  • D-Line Trolley – downtown Des Moines
  • The Big Treehouse – Marshalltown
  • Brunnier Art Museum – Ames
  • Trainland – Colfax
  • The Brenton Arboretum – Dallas Center
  • Climb Iowa – Grimes
  • Hoyt Sherman Place – Des Moines
  • Jorden House – Des Moines
  • Salisbury House and Gardens – Des Moines
  • Sky Zone – DSM
  • Matchstick Marvels – Gladbrook
  • Merchants National Bank by Louis Sullivan (jewel box) – Grinnell
  • Jefferson Telephone Company Museum – Jefferson
  • Mahanay Bell Tower – Jefferson
  • Madrid Historical Society Museum – Madrid
  • Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge – Prairie City
  • Rock Creek State Park – Kellogg

North Central

  • Clear Lake Fire Museum – Clear Lake
  • Iowa Trolley Park
  • Fort Museum and Frontier Village – Fort Dodge
  • Frank Lloyd Wright Stockman House and Architectural Interpretive Center – Mason City
  • Fossil Prairie- Rockford
  • Bushy Creek State Park – Webster City

South Central

  • Vermeer Mill – Pella
  • Marion County Historical Village – Knoxville
  • American Gothic House – Eldon
  • Rathbun Fish Hatchery – Moravia
  • Stephens State Forest – Chariton
  • Lake Wapello State Park – Drakesville (trumpet swans)

North East

  • Laura Ingalls Wilder Park and Museum – Burr Oak
  • Iowa’s Dairy Center – Calmer
  • Hansen Dairy – Hudson
  • Ice House Museum – Cedar Falls
  • Decorah Fish Hatchery – Decorah
  • Dunning’s Spring Park (waterfall) – Decorah
  • Department of Natural Resources Aquarium and Hatchery – Guttenberg
  • Backbone state park
  • Wapsipinican State Park
  • Yellow River State Forest

East Central/East

  • National Czech and Slovak Museum – Cedar Rapids
  • Grant Wood studio and visitor center – Cedar Rapids
  • Palisades-Kepler State Park – Mt. Vernon
  • State Historical Library – Iowa City
  • UOI Hospitals and Clinics Medical Museum – Iowa City
  • UOI Museum of Natural History – Iowa City
  • Old Cedar County Jail – Tipton
  • Herbert Hover Pres. Library – West Branch
  • Anamosa State Penitentiary Museum – Anamosa
  • The Sawmill Museum – Clinton
  • The 1857 Old Jail Museum – Dubuque
  • Crystal Lake Cave – Dubuque
  • Grand Harbor Resort and Waterpark – Dubuque
  • National Mississippi River Museum – Dubuque
  • Family Museum – Bettendorf
  • Iowa 80 Truckstop – Walcott
  • Puttnam Museum of History and Natural Science – Davenport

South East

  • Snake Alley – Burlington
  • Geode State Park
  • Maharishi Vedic Observatory – Fairfield
  • Old Fort Madson – Fort Madson
  • George M. Verity Riverboat Museum – Keokuk
  • Johnny Clock Museum- Lockridge
  • Lewelling Quaker Museum – Salem
  • Lake Ruthbun (fish hatchery) – Centerville
  • Birmingham city park
  • Fairfield Museum and History Center – Fairfield
  • Lacy- Keosauque State Park
  • Shimek State Forest Wildlife Management  – Keosauqua
  • Pearson house (unofficial underground railroad stop)- Keosauqua
  • River Front Park and the Manning hotel – Keosauqua
  • The villages of Van Buren (Dutchmans store which is a bulk food store with a fabric shop and is worth the experience) -Cantril
  • park with a scenic walk – Cantril
  • Amish and Mennonite stores – Bloomfield
  • Elena’s s ice cream stand – Bloomfield
  • Grams Dairy – Ottumwa
  • the Old Threshers reunion – Mt. Pleasant
  • Johny Clock Museum – Lockridge
  • Pearl Button Museum –
  • Dumont Museum – Sigourney

North West

  • Grotto of the Redemption – West Bend
  • Blue Bunny Ice-cream – Le Mars
  • Ida Grove (buildings look like castles)
  • The Kaleidoscope Factory – Pocahontas
  • Pomeroy Tornado Museum – Pomeroy
  • Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center – Sioux City
  • Stone State Park – Sioux City
  • Sioux City Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center
  • Buena Vista County Wind Farm – Storm Lake
  • Living Heritage Tree Museum – Storm Lake
  • Black Hawk Lake Wildlife Management Area
  • Fort Defiance State Park – Estherville
  • Battle Hill Museum of Natural History – Battle Creek
  • Danish Windmill – Elkhorn
  • Bridge to nowhere – Rock Rapids

West Central

  • Squirrel Cage Jail – Council Bluffs
  • Railswest Railroad Museum and HO Model Railroad – Council Bluffs
  • Union Pacific Railroad Museum – Council Bluffs
  • Hitchcock Nature Center – Honey Creek
  • Stempel Bird Collection – Macedonia

Did you know that Iowa has 70 State Parks4 major State Forests90 State preserves, 6 National Wildlife refuges, and 99 county parks most with nature centers and educational programs. 

What’s on YOUR Bucket-List? Start Pinning and be Inspired!

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5 comments

  1. You should plan a field trip to the Tama County Nature Center located in Otter Creek Lake & Park. There is an amazing diorama and exhibit room with lots of interactive displays for kids. The park also has two playgrounds and a swim beach and will be adding a “natural playscape” hiking trail soon.

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