Have you ever been to Iowa? We had never been before our recent trip out west. Honestly, we didn’t have high hopes traveling through there. As a matter of fact when we first began to plan our trip we were just going to blaze through. Our plan was to just cut through Northeast Iowa and burn up the road. However, once we started mapping it out we realized that there was quite a lot in this area of the United States. From the sheer cliffs of the Mississippi, to the wonderful State and National Parks, this area had a lot to offer. We ended up having a really great day wishing we had more time to explore. So, if you are ever in this area of the United States on Northeast Iowa road trip – here are some awesome things to do.

Field Of Dreams

What got us to this part of Iowa was the Field of Dreams. Growing up, this was Justin’s favorite movie (might still be). You know the movie, man hears a voice in Iowa cornfield, he rips it out, builds a baseball field, and a bunch of dead ball players come and play. When we found out that the actual movie set was open we decided to make it part of our itinerary. The most famous line in the movie is “If you build it, he will come”. Well, they built the set and we went – and had a blast!

The Field of Dreams movie location is located in Dyersville, Iowa. It is literally in the middle of miles and miles and miles of cornfields – just like in the movie. Driving up was one of the coolest experiences of our whole trip, seeing the lights pop up over the corn fields was super cool. You drive up and you are transported right into the movies – it is the exact same thing! Best part about the whole thing – it is totally free!

You can play baseball on the actual field. For this baseball family we thought we were in Heaven, not Iowa. We made sure we had our baseball equipment and went out and had so much fun playing catch, running around the bases, and walking in and out of the cornfield.

The other part of the movie set you can check out is the home of the Kinsella family. This is a 30 minute tour that takes place every hour. The cost is $20 for an adult and $12 per kid. We didn’t do this, but have heard it is worth it.

They have a great little concession stand along the third base line, just like you would have at a regular little league field. Really authentic. Something new that they have is the gift shop run by Baseballism. This is a super cool gift shop with some really unique gifts. Any Northeast Iowa road trip has to take you to the Field of Dreams.

Effigy Mounds National Monument

We are on a quest to visit all of the National Park Sites in the continental United States before our kid graduates high school. So, most of the time we travel we find routes that have these sites along the way. We were excited that Effigy Mounds was near this area.

Effigy Mounds is located in Harpers Ferry, Iowa on the banks of the Mississippi River. This is an ancient American Indian mound-building site. There are many theories out there as to why these 200+ mounds were built, but all agree that this is a sacred site for the more than 20 tribes who have lived in this area. These mounds are in the shape of different animals. It is pretty sweet to hike around and hunt these down.

In order to see this park you will need to do some hiking. There is a north and south side to Effigy Mounds. The south side is an easier hike with little elevation change. From here you will be able to see the March Bear Group mounds. The north side is the more challenging hike. You are pretty much going straight uphill at the beginning, but once up there you get some incredible views of the Mississippi River. We didn’t realize that there were cliffs like this in Iowa. A really fun surprise. There are a bunch of lookout points, Fire Point is about a two-mile hike round trip from the parking lot, Twin Views is about three miles, and if you feeling really adventurous you can do the seven-mile hike to Hanging Rock.

Make sure you get your National Park Passport stamp as well as the Junior Ranger Badge while you are there. This is a great stop on any Northeast Iowa road trip.

The Stockman House

Frank Lloyd Wright is considered the greatest architect in American history. In 1908 he built a house, The Stockman House, in Mason City, Iowa. This house remains as an early example of the Prairie School style of architecture. We aren’t really into architecture, but were wowed by this building. What stood out to us the most was the fact that it was built so long ago. The house feels so modern yet it is over 100 years old.

Tours are available on a first come, first served basis. They can get expensive, around $15 per person and they last an hour. If you want to just walk around the grounds you are able to do that. We happened upon someone who was part of the historical society. They were great and told us all we needed to know.

Mason City is a cool little town. A lot of the buildings are inspired by the Stockman House. Just driving around is fun in itself. A great place to get off of the main roads on your Northeast Iowa road trip.

Pikes Peak State Park

Pikes Peak State Park is located just south of McGregor, Iowa along the shore of the Mississippi. This is a great place to go hiking along the cliffs of the Mississippi. From this park you will have a ton of great views of the river. You even have a waterfall just a short hike from the main parking lot.

There is no entry fee to get into the park, but there are fees for camping. Overall, there are 11 and a half miles of hiking with views of the surrounding towns, Bridal Veil Falls, fossil remains, and the sheer limestone walls. This is a great place to stop for the afternoon – or spend the night if you have an skoolie or RV.

Historic McGregor Iowa

McGregor, Iowa is a historic town on the Mississippi River in between Effigy Mounds and Pikes Peak State Park. This town rose to prominence during the 1870’s because the ferry service that ran between the two banks of the river. When a train was headed west, they would disassemble the cars, ferry them across, and put them back together in McGregor. At this time, McGregor was the busiest shipping port west of Chicago. Unfortunately for the town, the railroads decided to build a bridge, and the boom town went bust.

Today though McGregor is a quaint little downtown that transports you back in time. They have some pretty cool shops, a lot of food options, and even an “old west” themed area. McGregor is a great place to take a break after a day at one of the two local parks.

Barrel Drive In

Barrel Drive In. Yep, that’s the name. The Barrel Drive In is a 1950’s era driven in diner located in West Union, Iowa that specializes in broasted chicken. If you are wondering what broasted chicken is – we were too. We asked our carhop what it was. His response “it is chicken that is put in our broaster.” Well…thanks, I guess? We laughed and laughed because we have no idea what a broaster is anyway. (The service here was awesome, the kid we asked was like 13 and had no idea, but they were amazing!!!)

So, broasted chicken is a midwest tradition. It is kind of like fried chicken but cooked with a combination of pressure cooking and deep frying. It is pretty delicious. The best things that we had there though were the onion rings, the milkshakes, and Megan especially loved the chocolate malt. We felt like we were in Back To The Future when we were there. Definitely check that out.

We don’t know if we will be back through this section of Iowa, but we hope to one day. What were some things we missed out on? What would you want to check out from this list?

If you are looking for more road trip adventure ideas check out our Kentucky Road Trip or Southwest Virginia.

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