8 Off-The-Grid Iowa Towns To Visit In 2026

A working Dutch windmill grinds real flour down a quiet Iowa back road in Pella. Off-the-grid Iowa keeps trading small size for outsized surprises like that. Decorah sits in hill country that the last Ice Age glaciers somehow missed entirely. John Wayne was born in Winterset before Hollywood ever heard the name. Le Claire launched Buffalo Bill and still films American Pickers today. These eight towns pack the strange and the famous into places you could drive past.

Pella

Pella is a perfect example of the cultural landmarks that exist in off-the-grid places. It was founded by a group of Dutch settlers in the mid-1800s, and they brought with them their food, flowers, and architecture. The town is filled with Dutch-style windmills, with the largest being the Vermeer Windmill. At 124.5 feet tall, it's one of the tallest working windmills in the U.S. Visitors can find other windmills at town parks such as Brinkhoff Park, which is also known for tulip fields. Every May, Pella hosts Tulip Time, a festival with more than 300,000 tulips, alongside traditional Dutch dances and crafts. Dutch cheesemaking is another tradition Pella keeps alive at the Frisian Farms Cheese House, offering Gouda and other cheeses to purchase.

Fort Madison

Sitting on the Mississippi River, Fort Madison has long served an important strategic purpose for the settlement of the West. It was the first military installation on the upper Mississippi from 1808 to 1813. The town preserves this history at the North Lee County Historical Society Museums, housed within the Old Santa Fe Depot Complex and Old Lee County Jail. The town also stands out for being one of the oldest Mexican communities in Iowa. Every September, it celebrates Mexico's independence from Spain with the Fort Madison Mexican Fiesta. September is a great month to come to Fort Madison, as it also hosts the River & Rail Weekend, celebrating its role as a railroad and river town with river cruises, car shows, and exhibits.

Decorah

Decorah is geographically unusual in Iowa, as it still has large hills, caves, and bluffs. This is because it sits in the Driftless Region, a section of the Midwest that was not flattened by melting glaciers at the end of the last Ice Age. It also stands out for its Norwegian heritage from the Norwegian immigrants who settled here in the mid-1800s. They called this land their Vesterheim (Western Home). The Vesterheim Museum & Folk Art School preserves the art, architecture, and culture of these immigrants, including their love for spending time outdoors. Modern Decorah residents can find several beautiful outdoor spaces, such as the Dunning's Spring Park's waterfalls or the Ice Cave State Preserve, which stays cool almost all year long, even during the sweltering summer heat.

Winterset

The town of Winterset was the home of one of America's most famous actors: Marion Robert Morrison, or as he was more commonly known, John Wayne. His stoic performances in Western films brought the Wild West to Hollywood. Winterset hosts his legacy at the John Wayne Birthplace & Museum, which includes his family home, artwork, reels, film props, and many other pieces from his life. Close by to this museum is the Iowa Quilt Museum, with a regularly rotating list of themed exhibits. The City Park is where Winterset truly shines brightest, as it has an English hedge maze which leads one around to the historic Cutler-Donahue Covered Bridge and the Clark Tower built in the style of a medieval castle tower.

Le Claire

Iowa was the birthplace of several famous American showmen who immortalized the stories of the Wild West. Le Claire was the birthplace of William Frederick Cody, better known as Buffalo Bill. His Buffalo Bill Wild West show was a sensation in both America and Europe. The Buffalo Bill Museum has artifacts from his shows and life, along with information on the Native Americans who lived along the Mississippi and to the west. Le Claire still has a star-studded reputation. Today, it's the home of the American Pickers show on the History Channel, with Antique Archaeology serving as its home base and store. As a Mississippi River town, Le Claire keeps a wooden-hulled sternwheel towboat called the Lone Star at the Buffalo Bill Museum, a National Historic Landmark and the last of its kind.

Amana Colonies

The Amana Colonies are a series of 7 villages with a rich religious heritage. These colonies were settled in the 1850s by a German Pietist community, which had faced religious pressure in modern-day Germany by Lutheran authorities. In these colonies, they shared everything in common, including industry, housing, and communal meals. In the 1930s, they opened up the colonies due to economic pressures from the Great Depression. Today, one can see how this group lived via the Amana Heritage Society, which features a working High Amana General Store, Noe House, and Schoolhouse. The colonies also celebrate their German origins through signature festivals throughout the year, such as Oktoberfest, Winterfest in December, and Wurst Festival in the summer.

McGregor

McGregor is another city firmly in the Driftless Region of the Midwest. Due to this, the town has towering river bluffs, accessible from the Pikes Peak State Park. The tallest point is a 500-foot bluff. The park also holds Point Ann, which overlooks McGregor, plus Bridal Veil Falls and Bear Mound, an effigy constructed by Native Americans in the shape of a bear. To see more effigies, one can go out to the Effigy Mounds National Monument, with 200 mounds made by Indigenous mound-building cultures over the centuries. Downtown McGregor is a favorite spot for Iowa readers, as there are several bookstores in the town, such as Rivertown Fine Books and Paper Moon. Lovers of gourmet coffee can stock up at By The Spoonful.

Okoboji

Okoboji is the primary entry point to the Iowa Great Lakes. These freshwater lakes account for 12,687 acres, with seven lakes. The biggest are Big Spirit Lake, West Okoboji Lake, and East Okoboji Lake. Okoboji itself sits on the shores of West Okoboji Lake and contains several boat rentals to go out into the lakes, such as Boji Boat Rentals. The closest beach to Okoboji is Omaha Beach. Hikers and bikers can also spend quite a lot of time in Okoboji and the surrounding regions with the Great Lakes Trail. This trail follows the shores of the three main lakes, providing easy opportunities to pull over and sightsee or rest by the beach. One unusual museum in Okoboji to check out is the Higgins Museum of National Bank Notes, which collects various American currency notes from different historical periods.

Hidden Cultural Gems

Going off the beaten track in Iowa will reveal all manner of cultural landmarks that one would not have discovered otherwise. Traveling the Driftless Region of Iowa will reveal mysterious effigies left behind by Native Americans, along with beautiful Norwegian artwork. Exploring the Mississippi River side of Iowa will unlock the stories of the frontier showmen who grew up on its shores, along with the river towns that shipped the West into being. While perhaps not totally remote, visitors unfamiliar with what Iowa has to offer will be surprised by what they find.