7 Most Quaint Small Towns in Iowa

The Midwest state of Iowa brings to mind rolling fields, pretty farms, and a slower pace of life than major cities. Few towns typify that pastoral idea than these small towns, whose quaintness is known across Iowa and well beyond the state's borders. Yet beneath these places' attractive homes, buildings, and historic districts, Iowa's history seems to stand on every corner. Not to mention the state's small-town movie history, from "Field of Dreams" to "The Bridges of Madison County." Since its founding in 1846, the state has developed a clutch of small towns that are as cute as they are historic and make a worthwhile travel destination for native Iowans or out-of-towners passing through.

LeClaire

LeClaire, population 4,700, is a petite place along the Mississippi River's western bank. The town's Cody Road Historic District offers visitors a true taste of local history, with its combination of old homes, buildings, and signboards filled with historical information. The Riverboat Twilight, an old-time vessel that has been repurposed for tourist outings, gives a further sense of the river-based trade and commerce that helped the town develop. Other leisure options include the Buffalo Bill Museum, which celebrates a legend of the old American West and the region he came from, as well as "Libations Lane," also on Cody Road, with local beers and wine in abundance.

Elkader

With 1,200 residents, the cute hamlet of Elkader is a small place with big appeal. Founded in 1846, the northeastern town's unusual name stems from an unusual source: Abd el-Kader, a mid-19th-century hero of the Algerian struggle against French colonial rule. Situated on the Turkey River, Elkader makes up part of Iowa's "Little Switzerland" area, so called for its early immigrant communities and the distinctive culture and architecture they established in their new lives in Iowa. Elkader's downtown, which features an opera house, local history museums, and stately homes, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. For recreation, head to Eklader's two small parks, Keystone Park, and Mascara Park, whose name comes from Elkader's modern-day sister city in Algeria.

McGregor

The map-dot of McGregor, population just 700, has a similarly outsized reputation as a quaint destination. Seated on the Mississippi's west bank just across from Wisconsin, the town, incorporated in 1857, sprang up around a ferry boat landing and trading post. Especially popular in summer, visitors come to McGregor for its historical museum as well as proximity to local highlights like Pikes Peak State Park and the Effigy Mounds National Monument, a Native American burial site that is now a national park. Summer is McGregor's high season, but the town maintains a busy festival calendar, from its annual autumn fair to its winter holiday Festival of Trees.

Pella

With a larger population of 10,700, the town of Pella, lies about 40 miles southeast of Des Moines, the state capital. Pella was founded by Dutch immigrants, whose legacy is celebrated all over the town today. The Tulip Festival, like the flower so popular in the Netherlands, takes place every May, attracting thousands. Established in 1847, the town has also found fame as the childhood home of the famous Western outlaw Wyatt Earp and as the headquarters of the well-known Pella windows and doors company. For fans of language and local accents, the town is also host to a unique dialect of Dutch known by its shorthand, Pella Dutch. Brinkoff Park features a tulip garden and a Dutch-style windmill, while Pella's Historical Village shows examples of Dutch architecture of a kind and quality that are rarely seen in the United States.

Elk Horn

Elk Horn, is an under-the-radar-town with only 600 inhabitants, nonetheless deserves a place among Iowa's quaintest places. Incorporated in 1910, the town is named after the nearby Elk Horn Creek. Like Pella, Elk Horn has a proud immigrant history, this time due to its concentration of Danish settlers. The town's Museum of Danish America further emphasizes the place's particular role in Iowa's past and present. The town also has old-time wind power, which it called its Danish Wind Mill, another example of the place's specific heritage, which the town imported from Denmark in 1976. Tourists can also seek out the Viking House, which is a replica of an old Scandinavian dwelling.

Winterset

Winterset is a small and friendly community with 5,500 inhabitants in Madison County, several miles south of Des Moines, has inspired movies and moviemaking for decades. The town is known for its covered bridges, which in former times protected bridges from winter snow and ice. Today, the Covered Bridges Scenic Byway draws drivers, cyclists, and other visitors. The hit romantic movie from 1995, called "The Bridges of Madison County," made the area even more popular with local and not-so-local tourists. Winterset enjoys fame for another reason: it is the birthplace of John Wayne, the legendary Hollywood actor.

Dyersville

The picturesque town of Dyersville, population 4,600, sits about an hour south of Elkader. Best known in recent decades as the film sight for "Field of Dreams," a 1989 feature about baseball, the town's history is much older and just as interesting. Bavarian immigrants arrived in the region as early as the 1840s, followed by others, including the Englishman James Dyer, after whom the town took its name. Dyersville residents built The Basilica of St. Francis Xavier in 1888, a double-spired Catholic place of worship. The town also hosts the National Farm Toy Museum, named after the miniature farm-themed toy industry the town began in the 1940s. Dyersville's attractions, from toys to baseball and the movies, should appeal to visitors of all ages.

Iowa has quaint small towns in abundance, home to hamlets with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants, like Elk Horn, or more than 10,000, like Pella. Iowa's frontier history has seen immigrants, Wild West icons, movie stars, and modern industry pass through its midst. The town's history and connections to other parts of the world span not just the US but also Europe and North Africa. From Dutch and Danish windmills to movies, stories, toys, and machines beloved by fans from around the world, Iowa's quaint small towns provide many reasons to make a trip to the state soon.