7 Adorable Small Towns in Iowa to Visit in 2024
As an atrium of the American heartland, Iowa has some of the loveliest sites to visit in 2024. Many are snuggled in the prairies and valleys, giving roadtrippers a pleasant surprise during desolate drives. But they do not have to be a surprise. Instead, one can plan an Iowa vacation with those underseen attractions in mind. To help you plan your journey, discover seven small communities with super-sweet attractions. You will be in hog heaven in these adorable Iowa towns.
Decorah
True to the first five letters of its name, Decorah is a decorative community. Bridging east and west Decorah is the Pulpit Rock Brewing Company, which makes "modern yet modest craft beer" in contrast to the Toppling Goliath Brewing Company, which brews just outside town in a large, bright red building. Downtown Decorah has its own stately, scenic structures, such as the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, which honors Decorah's Norwegian-American settlers, and the Nordic Fest, which is held each July.
The festival, whose 57th edition is scheduled for July 25 to 27, 2024, attracts over 10,000 visitors and more than doubles Decorah's population. Although the city gets extra ornamental in July, it is garnished year-round with ornate flowers, animals, and crystals thanks to preserves like the Decorah Community Prairie, Dunning's Spring Park, and Ice Cave Park. The first has a butterfly sanctuary, the second has a 200-foot waterfall, and the third has an ice-covered geologic anomaly that creates a winter wonderland in summer. Go tend the all-season garden that is Decorah.
Mount Pleasant
Another small Iowa "city" with a somewhat accurate name, Mount Pleasant, has no mountain but is quite pleasant. Roughly 9,300 people get day-to-day access to Miss K's Homemade Delectables, the Sorta Sweet Boutique, and the Airport Road Vineyard & Winery. Tourists can join residents in those adorable haunts and also on the Midwest Central Railroad, a heritage railway right inside Mount Pleasant. It offers rides on historic steam locomotives during annual events. Crowding 2024's calendar is the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion from August 29 to September 2, Midwest Haunted Rails during the last three weekends of October, and North Pole Express sometime in December.
Solon
Solon is a cozy bedroom community for both Iowa City and Cedar Rapids. It not only has a tiny population (3,018 according to the 2020 Census) but also quaint shops and refreshing parks. After traipsing through an uncongested downtown, stop for sushi at Uncle Sang's or beer at the Big Grove Brewery, and then appreciate scenic solitude in the Solon Recreation and Nature Area.
But if you really want to cure your big city blues, get lost (in the best of ways) at Lake Macbride State Park, a neighboring oasis great for hiking, swimming, boating, fishing, birding, picnicking, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, and camping. You can either rough it outdoors or stay in town at The Literary Hotel.
Waverly
After saying "So long" to Solon, wave "Hello" to Waverly. Similar to many Iowa communities, Waverly is classified as a city despite its small population. About 10,000 people are privileged to awaken every day in one of the best places in the Midwest. Waverly has amazing shops, bars, restaurants, parks, gardens, historic buildings, and, as seems to be standard in Iowa, a highly-rated brewery. Further beautifying such sites are murals and sculptures that comprise the Waverly Public Art Trail.
They include Downtown Waverly Mural on the side of The Mixing Bowl and Butterfly Garden Lighted Chrysalis Sculpture in the Waverly Butterfly Garden at the Waverly Public Library. But the most enriching attraction is Wartburg College, whose 1,500ish students and dozens of eclectic programs make Waverly a liberal arts college town in rural Iowa.
Strawberry Point
Strawberry Point's name is cute enough, yet the name and city mix into one big slice of strawberry shortcake that you can taste for the first time in 2024. Visit the Strawberry Foods Deli & Bakery, Strawberry Point Ball Fields, Quilted Strawberry quilt shop, and the historic Franklin Hotel, where you can eat actual strawberry shortcake.
Do not try to eat the "World's Largest Strawberry," which is 15 feet tall and sits atop a pole on Commercial Street, or you will get a mouth full of fiberglass. You can safely sample the large selection of strawberry-based treats served at Strawberry Days. Unfortunately, since it runs on the second weekend of June, you will have to wait till 2025 to hit up this berry-good festival.
Winterset
Is there anything quainter than a quilt museum? Winterset, a compact community in Madison County, contains the Iowa Quilt Museum, whose mission is "to promote appreciation of the American quilt and the art of quilting through displays of quilts and information about quilt history." Your mission in Winterset is to see whether the Quilt Museum is the queen of quaintness or if it can be dethroned by the city's other attractions.
In contention is the Roseman Covered Bridge, a historic red structure spanning the Middle River. It was featured in the novel The Bridges of Madison County and its Clint Eastwood-led film adaptation. Roseman is one of six surviving Madison County covered bridges celebrated at the Covered Bridge Festival, which is held in town each October. If you are set on visiting Winterset in winter, attend the Festival of Lights and see if visits with Santa, horse-drawn carriage rides, and a light parade are the true Winterset winners.
Mount Vernon
Although it lacks a mountain like Mount Pleasant, Mount Vernon has almost everything the other towns have—and more! One can explore the adorable yet regal campus of Cornell College, including its palace-like King Memorial Chapel, before attending the Lincoln Highway Arts Festival in September (an even brighter festival, Chalk the Walk, happens in May) and then viewing the American Gothic Barn, a barn painted like Grant Wood's iconic depiction of Americana. The trip can be capped off with a show at the Bijou Movie Theater or a sleep at the Brackett House B&B.
If Iowa was not on your list of adorable 2024 destinations, there is still time to change your mind. There are few things cuter than Decorah's Nordic Fest, Mount Pleasant's heritage railroad, Solon's nature area, Waverly's butterfly garden, Strawberry Point's giant strawberry, Winterset's covered bridges, and Mount Vernon's chalk art festival. There is limited time to catch these attractions before the year ends. Go picking while they are ripe.
