Iowa is a surprisingly fun place to visit! You think cornfields when you hear Iowa, and you’d be right. But what you may not know is Iowa has some remarkably hip places to visit and some pretty romantic places as well. So we’ve put together this 4-day Iowa road trip, specifically for couples! Continue reading to find out how to spend a long weekend in these “fields of opportunities”. If you follow this Iowa itinerary, you’ll spend time in some fun towns, see the famous bridges of Madison County, and have a relaxing and rejuvenating long weekend.
When to Visit
Much of this road trip takes advantage of the outdoor resources Iowa has to offer. Therefore, it is best to visit between late spring and early fall to get the best weather. This trip can be especially great during the fall color changes, which generally happen in October.
Getting There and Around
You will need a vehicle of some sort to get around as this is a road trip. Iowa does not appear to have many tour companies that are willing to do the driving for you. Renting a car at the airport and driving this road trip in a loop or from Chicago to Des Moines is the best option. While you will go down some gravel roads, you won’t need anything other than a basic car.
If you are flying to Iowa, the best airport is the Des Moines International Airport. This airport frequently has very cheap flights, especially last minute. Because of these flight discounts, Iowa is one of those great destinations that would make a great last minute trip.
However, for this Iowa road trip, we’d recommend flying into Madison or the Quad City airport, completing the road trip, and flying out of Des Moines. This will save you a bit of driving time. It may or may not be more expensive so check flight prices for these airports and the Des Moines airport to compare and decide.
What to Budget
Between the cheap airfare and the low accommodation prices, an Iowa vacation can be a great budget trip. Airfare from larger airports throughout the US can fall below $100/person. And hotels or home rentals can frequently be found below $100/night as well.
Eating out in Des Moines is relatively cheap. Sit-down eateries can be as cheap as $12/person.
For excursions, plan on budgeting around $30/person/day. This will get you into Salisbury House and whatever excursion you plan on doing in Dubuque. If you decide to tackle the wineries of Madison county, in addition to the bridges, you’ll need about $5/person for each winery you visit.
Where to Stay
Staying in downtown Des Moines is most convenient for the time you’ll spend exploring Des Moines. While Des Moines isn’t a very walkable city, you will cut down on driving time by staying in the city. Prices in downtown Des Moines, as an added bonus, aren’t very expensive. Des Moines is one of the least expensive vacation destinations we’ve visited. We also liked staying in Des Moines each night because we were able to unpack and get settled even though we visited two other towns.
If you’re planning on staying in a hotel, prices downtown average about $150/night. You can find less expensive hotels on the outskirts of town.
We’d recommend staying in a vacation rental when visiting Des Moines. We stayed in the east village and paid $50/night for an AirBnB. Home rental prices downtown average around $100/night.
Iowa Road Trip Itinerary
Day 1 – Dubuque and the Mississippi
Start your Iowa road trip in Dubuque, Iowa. This town lies along the Mississippi River just across the river from both Wisconsin and Illinois.
Stop in to see Horseshoe Mound if you are up early. Take in the great views. Or if you’d rather stay inside, check out the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium. This is a great museum and a fun aquarium for the kiddos.
Whatever you spend your morning doing, you can spend some of your time in Dubuque at the wineries in the area. Admittedly, we spent all of our time there, which explains our lack of suitable photos from Dubuque.
Make sure you don’t drink too much because you’ll have to drive the 3.5 hours to Des Moines before the end of the day.
Stay overnight in Des Moines.
Day 2 – Des Moines
Start your morning at the downtown farmers market if you’re visiting on a Saturday. Go hungry and plan on eating your breakfast at the market. Try the tasty breads and pastries and then wander to see if any of the arts and crafts catch your eye.
Next, visit the Iowa state capitol building. They offer free tours of the capitol building every day except Sunday. These tours are really great and the tour guides are very accommodating.
Next, take a tour of the Salisbury House. The Salisbury House is a Tudor style home built during the great depression. It provides a cool history of depression era Des Moines.
Spend your evening exploring the cool local breweries that call Des Moines home. Check out the Des Moines breweries here.
Stay overnight in Des Moines.
Day 3 – The Bridges of Madison County
Today you’ll take in the famous Bridges of Madison County! Made famous by the movie starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep, the bridges will fill day 3 of your Iowa road trip. Sprinkled in with the bridges, we stopped at the wineries of Madison County. We’ve included these in our itinerary as well but make sure to designate a driver.
Start your morning with a nice drive from Des Moines to Hogback Bridge – the first bridge you’ll visit in Madison County.
Head into the town of Winterset and walk around the town square. Then visit the birthplace of John Wayne. It’s pretty underwhelming, but if you’re a John Wayne fan, you’ll have fun.
Then visit the Cutler-Donahoe Bridge which is in a cute park just outside of the town square.
Next, visit the Holliwell Bridge.
Then relax and enjoy a wine tasting at the Madison County Winery.
Head in to St. Charles and visit Imes Bridge.
Then visit the Two Saints Winery before heading back to Winterset.
Detour away from Winterset to visit the most famous of the bridges, the Roseman Bridge. Here you’ll also find a gift shop if you’d like a souvenir from your drive.
Then head to Cedar Bridge. This is the last bridge of the tour.
Continue on to Des Moines for the night, stopping at Winterset Cidery and Covered Bridges Winery if you are still thirsty.
Again, stay overnight in your Des Moines accommodations.
Day 4 – Des Moines
Spend the morning exploring the outdoor attractions of Des Moines like the Pappa John Sculpture Park and the Better Homes and Gardens test garden.
Then head home!
Want to Adjust the Itinerary
With less time in Iowa, just visit Des Moines. It’s a really cool town and you’ll find plenty to do here. If you do one side trip from Des Moines, we’d choose Madison County over Dubuque as it’s closer.
If you have more time, consider visiting more of the attractions in Des Moines. We’ve created a list of fun things to do here to fill more days.
We hope this Iowa road trip itinerary has helped you to plan your Iowa vacation. If you have any questions or suggestions to add, please leave them in the comments below.
