Between Des Moines And Decorah Is Iowa's Scenic Midwest City With A Charming Downtown, Wildlife, And Outdoor Fun

Travelers will find a small city offering vintage Midwestern vibes and outdoor splendor at Iowa Falls, located in the state's north-central region. This community has a preserved downtown packed with historic architecture, including an old opera house, a Gothic church, and an Art Deco-style restaurant. Iowa Falls, otherwise known as "Scenic City," is split by the Iowa River, winding past wooded banks and bluffs. Just outside of the downtown core is Calkins Nature Area, where you can walk among native prairie flowers and butterflies.

Iowa Falls is roughly midway between Des Moines and Decorah, making it a practical detour if you're driving across central Iowa. You can get there in slightly over an hour by car from Des Moines, or closer to 2.5 hours from Decorah. Iowa Falls is an easy place to spend a day when you want a little Main Street history followed by quality time outside. Downtown offers a shopping strip on Washington Avenue, where you'll find a book shop, boutiques, and more unique retailers filling in brick storefronts. The river and its numerous waterfront parks provide ample opportunities for hiking, paddling, or wildlife watching. Plus, among some of its particular charms, the town is scattered with wood carvings for a fun, family-friendly scavenger hunt.

If you spend a day walking around Iowa Falls' downtown, you'll see ornate storefronts, old churches, and bridges. There are quite a few buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places here, largely clustered around the central intersection of Washington Avenue and Oak Street. The city even has a travel itinerary dedicated to these historic sites. Among them you'll find the restored Metropolitan Opera House, built in 1899, which still hosts audiences (albeit for movies rather than operas).

A couple of buildings over is a squat Art Deco edifice that used to house the Princess Sweet Shop. Construction for this sweet shop was completed in 1914, and this business's cousin purchased another sweet shop a few doors down one year later. The businesses eventually combined in 1928, forming the Princess Cafe & Sweet Shoppe. Though the sweet shop is no more, you can still stop into the historic space if you're hungry. It's now occupied by the Princess Grill & Pizzeria, with 4.4 stars on Google Maps at the time of this writing, and lots of love for the prime rib. Directly across from Princess is the Coffee Attic & Book Cellar, set in a corniced brick building, with 4.8 stars on Google Maps. The store has a coffee bar with pastries on one level, and you can head downstairs to find plush chairs among stacks of books.

For a fun activity around downtown, you could hunt for the dozens of wood carvings placed around the area and detailed on a Story Map (put it on your pre-trip reading list alongside the unwritten rules to know before a visit to the Midwest). Aside from being quirky landmarks, the carvings are a symbol of the city turning a misfortune into something memorable. They were created by artist Gary Keenan, per the City of Iowa Falls, sculpted from ash trees that were ravaged by invasive emerald ash borers. Look for sculptures like a stack of books, a riverside hawkeye, or a wolf.

The Iowa River, which runs through Iowa Falls, is a major draw for outdoor enthusiasts. Iowa Falls is part of the Iowa River Greenbelt, a bluff-lined river valley recognized by the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation that also includes Eldora, a city with a popular camping and tubing spot. If you want to paddle, Hardin County features several access points around Iowa Falls, including at Assembly Ground Park, Foster Park, Eagle City, and Dougan's Landing — the last of which is a hard-surface boat ramp with an easy-to-reach location a couple of blocks from Washington Avenue. Assembly Park, tucked into a river bend, has some walking trails and a cross-river swinging bridge.

The same river corridor that makes Iowa Falls good for paddling also supplies excellent wildlife viewing. Calkins Nature Area, a 10-minute drive from the town's center, has 76 hilly acres set against the river, with trails through native habitats, a wild bird observatory, and a butterfly house. There's a live animal display housing injured or orphaned animals, including owls, foxes, and turtles. Closer to downtown, keep your eye out for wildlife at the Ira Nichols Outdoor Classroom, a 16-acre, forested refuge. If you're looking for more wildlife in the vicinity of Des Moines, you could head south an hour and a half to Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, Iowa's tallgrass haven with roaming bison.