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[WoodCy]

Being from NW Iowa, the attractions are less than other parts of the state. Having said that, LeMars has the Wells Ice Cream shop/museum and Bob's Drive-In. At Bob's order a Bob Dog with meat and cheese and/or a Cheese Tavern. Remsen is home to Beer City. There couple neat little things to see in Sioux City and then head south to DeSoto Bend NWR by Missouri Valley which has artifacts from the Bertram river boat that sank in the Missouri River and The Loess Hills.

 

[SoapyCy]

Basically what I've gathered from this thread is if you wanna do something fun, it will not be in western Iowa

2 things:

In order to leave Nebraska you have to go into western iowa, so by design it's fun.

Why didn't western iowa develop the same way? Why does eastern Iowa have far more bigger cities?

 

[AgronAlum]

2 things:

In order to leave Nebraska you have to go into western iowa, so by design it's fun.

Why didn't western iowa develop the same way? Why does eastern Iowa have far more bigger cities?

The intersections of 35/80 and the Mississippi River. There are far less useful surroundings in western and southern Iowa.

The only reason the Omaha area has so many people is because the rest of Nebraska sucks even worse as you head west. The only thing that saves CO are the Rockies. Eastern CO is worse than NE.

 

[Al_4_State]

How many miles in that mtb system?

25 miles or so

 

[Ozclone]

The Floyd County Museum in Charles City is a surprisingly good museum if you are into that. A huge collection of tractors (Charles City claims to be the home of the first gas tractor), a recreated drugstore, a preserved cabin...

http://www.floydcountymuseum.org/index.html

And Charles City also has a Kayak park.

http://ccwhitewater.com/

 

[scyclonekid]

If you want to poke around junk etc, What Cheer Flea Market is this weekend. Go today or tomorrow, as Sunday is not a good day. I would normally be there set up but not happening this time. Maybe in August.

Yes, I used to set up there when I was a kid selling ball cards and starting line ups on the old dirt track.

 

[scyclonekid]

Decorah is just kick ass, beautiful, outdoor activities, breweries and damn good locally owned restaurants. I love it, but now on my way up gotta check out new brewery Privo. Oh and seed savers, whippy dip.

 

[agcy68]

The carousel in Story City. Then stop by the antique store if that is your kind of thing.

 

[carvers4math]

2 things:

In order to leave Nebraska you have to go into western iowa, so by design it's fun.

Why didn't western iowa develop the same way? Why does eastern Iowa have far more bigger cities?

The eastern side of many states beyond the original colonies have bigger cities simply because more settlers stopped there.

 

[heitclone]

Basically what I've gathered from this thread is if you wanna do something fun, it will not be in western Iowa

Being from the area, I didn't wanna laugh but you aren't wrong. The Loess Hills are great if you're in to outdoorsy stuff but other than that. It's axe murders and bull testicles.

 

[SNEDDS3]

maquoketa caves/Bellevue

 

[JP4CY]

Why didn't western iowa develop the same way? Why does eastern Iowa have far more bigger cities?

Corn. Seriously, some of the best corn on the planet is grown in that area.
Not as many major rivers or lakes.
Smaller colleges out that way and not the big ones.

 

[CyCloned]

https://www.honeycreekresort.com/

We spent a weekend here last summer on a whim and it was fantastic for a short trip. We took the kiddo and did some kayaking, hit up a 10,000 sq ft antique house and a pizza joint in centerville and sat by the water. All we had to do was ask and maintenance came and lit up their fire pit for us. The front desk even gave us free smore supplies. It was a great time and the people were awesome.

They do have boat rentals on site but everything non-motorized (kayaks, paddle boards, etc.) was a first come, first serve type of thing. It was nice not paying a single dollar for extra stuff at the resort. Oh, there’s a water park on site too, which also comes with the room.

We were sitting out on the patio after dark and had 9 dear walking within 100 yds of us. My son got a huge kick out of that. They are definitely not scared of people. One of the workers drove a gator within 20 ft and they just stood there and looked at him.

We are definitely going back this year. We plan on getting a cabin and taking some our immediate family with us.

I stayed at Lake Sugema a couple of years ago in late April. It was a nice woody area with lots of stuff to do as far as exploring and shopping. Really crap weather that weekend, but I am going to try to get down there again sometime. There was a deal on a nice little cabin as I recall. Looked like a great place to fish.

 

[Ms3r4ISU]

https://www.honeycreekresort.com/

We spent a weekend here last summer on a whim and it was fantastic for a short trip. We took the kiddo and did some kayaking, hit up a 10,000 sq ft antique house and a pizza joint in centerville and sat by the water. All we had to do was ask and maintenance came and lit up their fire pit for us. The front desk even gave us free smore supplies. It was a great time and the people were awesome.

They do have boat rentals on site but everything non-motorized (kayaks, paddle boards, etc.) was a first come, first serve type of thing. It was nice not paying a single dollar for extra stuff at the resort. Oh, there’s a water park on site too, which also comes with the room.

We were sitting out on the patio after dark and had 9 dear walking within 100 yds of us. My son got a huge kick out of that. They are definitely not scared of people. One of the workers drove a gator within 20 ft and they just stood there and looked at him.

We are definitely going back this year. We plan on getting a cabin and taking some our immediate family with us.

If the deer is a big draw, you can one to our house and sit out back any night you want- winter or summer are really good.

 

[Al_4_State]

Corn. Seriously, some of the best corn on the planet is grown in that area.
Not as many major rivers or lakes.
Smaller colleges out that way and not the big ones.

Central Iowa grows better corn.

Grundy, Story, and Mitchell Counties are top 3 in Iowa for CSR. All in the central 1/3rd of the state.

 

[wxman1]

The Floyd County Museum in Charles City is a surprisingly good museum if you are into that. A huge collection of tractors (Charles City claims to be the home of the first gas tractor), a recreated drugstore, a preserved cabin...

http://www.floydcountymuseum.org/index.html

And Charles City also has a Kayak park.

http://ccwhitewater.com/

My great great uncle invented the first gasoline powered tractor with both forward and reverse gears. There is a small museum for him and his inventions in the small village in NE Iowa names after his family (Froelich).

 

[ruflosn]

209 Main Bar in Paton

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

Do they still have the fountain of ever flowing water at Grandview Park in Sioux City?

 

[Blandboy]

Horse auction the first Monday of the month in Kalona (Amish country) offers great photo opps.

 

[ILikeTurtles]

Agreed - Decorah is absolutely a great recommendation. I had some friends from Central Iowa there a couple years ago and we had a great long weekend. Definitely good on the new-ish bike trail. Great downtown. The Upper Iowa is good for kayaking, canoeing or tubing. Two unbelievable breweries. Several good restaurants. A beautiful setting in a charming town. There's some culture there - the Norwegian-American Museum and concerts and theater through either the town's institutions or Luther College, depending on the time of year.Great trout runs in the area if you're into fishing.

Maybe you'll see Josey Jewell ....

Any recommendations on campgrounds or kayak outfitters in the Decorah area?