Lightly armed cavalry soldiers known as Dragoons were among the first people to scout Iowa after the Black Hawk Purchase of 1832 put the area under U.S. control. In the summer of 1835, the Dragoons blazed a trail along the Des Moines river and established outposts from present-day Des Moines to Fort...

In the northeast corner of Iowa, travelers will find a scenic road that winds all the way through Allamakee County. This byway zigzags through terrain as varied as the directions of the road. Travelers will pass farmland, forests, valleys, and limestone outcroppings near the Mississippi River area...

The Grant Wood Scenic Byway is a symbol of the Americanheartland. Named for 1930's Iowa artist, the byway is a tribute toGrant Woods skill in reproducing a place and a culture through hisart. Grant Wood artwork is well known. Travel the Grant Wood Byway,and you will see where he found his inspiratio...

In sheer size and importance, the Mississippi River has few equals. Hundreds of years ago, Native Americans used it for trade and travel, with the Hopewell Indian culture becoming the most advanced society in early North America. The French sent trappers down its banks after coveted beaver fur. F...

This byway meanders across the Iowa River Valley in east central Iowa. It encompasses the historic Amana Colonies that are known today for their fine craftsmanship and excellent German-style restaurants. These seven villages formed a communal society in the 1850's, most of the settlers being members...

Eager to open the west to settlement, President Thomas Jefferson commissioned captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Territory. Lewis and Clark led 40 soldiers and boatmen on an epic trek from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. The exploration ...

The Loess Hills Scenic Byway traverses internationally distinctive landforms as it follows the Missouri River Valley in Western Iowa, taking you through some of the most interesting country in the Midwest. Thousands of years ago, active glaciers covered much of the northern United States. When thes...

From 1846 to 1869 tens of thousands of Mormons blazed a trail from Illinois to Utah. The Mormon pioneers made one of the most significant migrations in American History. The completed journey from Nauvoo, Illinois to the Great Salt Lake Valley covered a distance of 1,200 miles. On their way to Utah,...

Traveling in a loop through four counties, this scenic drive takes travelers to Northwestern Iowa. The byway is referred to as a glacial trail because of its natural history as a plain created by a glacial drift. The byway crosses the picturesque waterways of Waterman Creek and the Little Sioux Ri...

Feeling loopy? The River Bluffs Scenic Byway lets you end whereyou begin. This "loop tour" is its own destination. You will viewbreathtaking bluffs, and wooded hill tops, as you explore theroller-coaster roads of northeast Iowa. View Eagles as they sorefree over the green countryside. Perhaps you'll...