7 Perfect Destinations for a Long Weekend in Iowa

When picking a town for a long weekend in Iowa, you can choose between relaxing lakeside views, the birthplace of John Wayne, and beautifully maintained 19th-century Dutch and German immigrant communities. In Le Claire, you can spend one day on a tourboat on the Mississippi River, and the next visiting the birthplace of Buffalo Bill. McGregor has a rare tall river bluff sitting amid Native American effigies, while Okoboji is a gateway to the lesser-known Iowa Great Lakes. All of these communities have great accommodations as well, from B&Bs to lakeside inns, so you can kick back and relax in these 7 perfect destinations for a long weekend in Iowa.

Winterset

This underrated Iowa town was the birthplace of a household name in America: John Wayne. This actor was renowned for his role in Western films, portraying honorable cowboys and frontiersmen. The John Wayne Birthplace Museum in Winterset features extensive artifacts and memorabilia from the actor's life. If you arrive in late May, you can join in on John Wayne's Birthday Celebration. After visiting the museum, go to the Winterset City Park, featuring an outdoor maze, a castle tower known as the Historic Clark Tower, and the Cutler-Donahoe Covered Bridge. Just outside of town is Pammel State Park, with campgrounds, some of the oldest oak trees in the state, wildflowers, and limestone ridges. For lodging, check out the 1867 Judge Lewis House.

Le Claire

Much like Winterset, this Mississippi River town was also home to a legendary American figure: Buffalo Bill. Much of what we associate with the Wild West today came from this showman, who traveled with Sitting Bull and sharpshooter Annie Oakley. The Buffalo Bill Museum in Le Claire collects artifacts and educational materials on Native Americans and the Mississippi River. Speaking of the River, you can take a majestic tour of the river shoreline via the Riverboat Twilight cruise. Antique shoppers will have plenty to write home about in the town, as the Antique Archeology store served as the home base for the History Channel show, American Pickers. Le Claire keeps a modern vibe as well, offering Green Tree Brewery and the Mississippi River Distilling Company to try out local spirits. For places to stay, book a room in a cute guest house such as the Captains Quarters in the Old Mill Guest House.

Pella

One lesser-known fact about Iowa is that it has a Dutch immigrant community in the charming town of Pella. Dutch settlers arrived here in 1847, bringing with them windmills, tulips, and other Dutch traditions. Vermeer Mill in Pella, for example, is the tallest working windmill in America, at 124 feet and six inches tall. The mill is next to the Pella Historical Museums, including the 150-year-old East Amsterdam School Museum. During the spring, tulip fields sprout throughout Pella's city parks, such as the Sunken Gardens Park, which also includes a windmill and a sunken pond shaped like a wooden Dutch shoe. If you come to the town in May, you can view more than 300,000 tulips as part of the Tulip Time festival. For places to stay, try out The Cheesemakers Inn or Prairie Pointe of Pella.

McGregor

McGregor sits in one of Iowa's best natural regions: Driftless, which is named for the historical lack of glacial debris and glacial drift. McGregor has several scenic river bluffs at the Pikes Peak State Park, such as a 500-foot bluff overlooking the confluence of the Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers. The park also contains a rare Native American effigy called the Bear Mound, designed in the shape of a bear. Moving north into McGregor's downtown, you'll find several locally owned boutiques and book stores, such as The Left Bank Shop and Gallery, selling arts and crafts made locally, and Rivertown Fine Books. You can rent one of four bedrooms from the McGregor Manor, a 2,800-square-foot Victorian mansion.

Okoboji

Okoboji is at the center of the Iowa Great Lakes. The town itself sits on West Okoboji Lake, but is an entry point to all seven of the lakes. How you explore the lakes is up to you. If you want to see all the lakes have to offer, you can take a bike out on the over 40-mile Great Lakes Trail. The arts are flourishing in Okoboji, as is evident from the two arts centers in town: the Pearson Lakes Art Center and the Okoboji Summer Theatre. The Pearson Lakes Art Center puts on concerts, art exhibitions, and an outdoor sculpture trail via the Sculpture Trail Loop. You can stay close to all of these attractions at the Lake Okoboji Resort & Conference Center.

Amana

Amana is one of several towns that are a part of the larger Amana Colonies, established by German Pietists. These pietists aimed to create a utopia through communal living, eating, working, and religious services. They kept this experiment going until the 1930s, when the leaders made the decision to open the area up as a tourist destination. From that point on, Amana has provided a mixture of fascinating heritage sites and German festivals. For example, the High Amana General Store still sells homemade goods in a building that hasn't changed since the late 1890s, while the Amana Heritage Society maintains a museum explaining the people's culture, work, and ethics. You can eat as they did in one of their communal kitchens called the Ronneburg Restaurant, enjoy local German fare at the Wurst Festival during the summer, or at the Oktoberfest in early October. For breakfast, just check in at the Die Heimat Country Inn B&B.

Clear Lake

Clear Lake sits next to an over 3,000-acre lake, which draws in visitors from throughout the state to relax on its sandy beach, go jet skiing, or windsurfing at Clear Lake State Park. Campers set up their tents within an old-growth oak tree forest to spend a few days catching as many fish as possible or going golfing at nearby Oak Hills Par 30 Public Golf Course. Beyond the lake, folks also come out here for a classic rock n' roll performance at the Surf Ballroom & Museum. First built in 1948, it was one of the first Midwestern concert halls to welcome rock musicians in for a show, and it still puts on shows to this day. Before the show, go out for a picnic at the Central Gardens of North Iowa or a drink from Lake Time Brewery. Stay for your weekend trip by the lake at the Lakeside Inn.

No matter which town you settle on for your long weekend trip, you'll have plenty of opportunities for great photos. You can get a picture of John Wayne movie props or covered bridges in Winterset, or riverside vistas atop bluffs in McGregor, or even at a rock show in Clear Lake. All of these towns have diverse environments, so you'll come back with an album full of photos after your long weekend trip here in Iowa.