Andrew Sayles

30 Best Iowa Attractions You Shouldn't Miss

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Grindstone Media Group/Shutterstock.com

30 Best Iowa Attractions You Shouldn't Miss

Introduction - Iowa may be known for Pike's Peak State Park and Effigy Mounds National Monument, but it features a lot more...

 
 

John Wayne Birthplace Museum

Attraction 1 - Marion Robert Morrison, better known by his stage name of John Wayne, was born in 1907 in Winterset, a small...

 
 

Maquoketa Caves State Park

Attraction 2 - Maquoketa Caves States Park is home to over six miles of trails that link its abundant cave system with the...

 
 

Effigy Mounds National Monument

Attraction 3 - A thousand years ago, a culture now known as the Effigy Moundbuilders, made their home in the region between the...

 
 

Pike's Peak State Park

Attraction 4 - Pike's Peak State Park offers some of the nation's best views of the Mississippi River from its eleven miles of...

 
 

Fenelon Place Elevator Company

Attraction 5 - The Fenelon Place Elevator Company calls itself "the world's steepest, shortest scenic railway," making it one of the famous sites...

 
 

Iowa State Capitol Building

Attraction 6 - The current Iowa State Capitol Building can hardly be called new, dating back almost as far as its predecessor. Construction...

 
 

Dubuque County Jail

Attraction 7 - After getting shut down in 1971, the Dubuque Country Jail was put on the National Register of Historic Places by...

 
 
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Pappajohn Sculpture Park

Attraction 8 - John and Mary Pappajohn opened this sculpture park in 2009 when they donated twenty-four sculptures valued at about $40 million...

 
 

Julien Dubuque Monument

Attraction 9 - In the 17th and 18th centuries, the region that would become Iowa, was an important trading post for Europeans and...

 
 

Iowa Old Capitol Building

Attraction 10 - Before Des Moines became the capital of Iowa in 1857, Iowa City was where the head of government resided. The...

 
 

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