Central Iowa Tourism
Central Iowa Tourism on IowaBeautiful.com. Central Iowa Tourism - your Central Iowa Travel Guide to Vacations, Attractions and Events
Iowa Veterans Home - Marshalltown, Iowa
Iowa Veterans Home - Marshalltown, Iowa
This facility first opened its doors in 1887. The present-day focus of the Iowa Veterans Home is to provide professionally managed health care for aging veterans.
The veterans are treated with dignity and respect at the facility. They get the medical attention they require, the personalized attention they desire and are recognized as having served this county well.
The Iowa Arboretum - Madrid, Iowa
The Iowa Arboretum - Madrid, Iowa 
This facility, located on 378 acres in the middle of Boone County, is dedicated to the preservation and collection of woody plants for both scientific and educational purposes. It contains hundreds of species of trees, shrubs, and flowers in a very quiet setting. The following types of gardens can be found there: herbs, native plants, roses, ornamental grasses, perennials, Siberian iris, daylilies, and hostas.
Morning Star Chapel - Elk Horn, Iowa
Morning Star Chapel - Elk Horn, Iowa at the Danish Museum site there is a tiny chapel that was built in 1951 in Waterloo, transfered to the Danish Museum site in 1995.
At just 6′ x 8 ‘ this chapel has seen baptisms, weddings and heard the prayers of many travelers during it’s lifetime. It has a pulpit, 4 pews and an alter.
You can visit this tiny chapel while touring the Danish Immigrant Museum.
Location: At the Danish Museum site; 2212 Washington Street, Elk Horn, IA 51531-0470
Milwaukee Railroad Depot - Jefferson, Iowa
Milwaukee Railroad Depot - Jefferson, Iowa
The former Milwaukee Railroad Depot in Jefferson, Iowa, has been restored and is used for several purposes. For one thing, it serves as the trail head for the Raccoon River Valley Recreational Bike Trail. The first section of the hard surface bike trail extends 18 miles and connects to an older section at Yale and goes on through Panora and Adel to West Des Moines. The whole trail is 65 miles in length.
The depot also houses tourist information and railroad memorabilia. Local citizens donated money to pave the Lincoln Highway across Greene County in the 1910s—this was the first paved section in Iowa. Memorabilia about the Lincoln Highway is also exhibited at the depot.
Admission – None
Location: Jefferson, IA 50129
Directions – on the east side of town
Phone – (515) 386-4629
The Big Treehouse - Marshalltown, Iowa
The Big Treehouse - Marshalltown, Iowa
12 levels reaching 55 ft. high, this treehouse has over 5000 sq. ft of space - you’ve gotta see it!
The Treehouse is complete with music, electricity, telephone, microwave oven, refrigerator, running water, grill, 13 porch swings, Shady Oaks Museum, 2002 Spiral Stairway, and much, much more.
Iowa Historical Museum - Des Moines, Iowa
Iowa Historical Museum - Des Moines, Iowa
The Iowa Historical Museum is housed in the Iowa Historical Building—a modern glass and granite building. Its many different exhibits showcase all facets of the state’s history from prehistoric fossils to modern-day gadgets.
Pammel State Park- Winterset, Iowa
Pammel State Park- Winterset, Iowa one of the first State Parks to be established in Iowa and was originally dedicated in 1928.
Pammel is noted for its natural woodland beauty highlighted by it’s signature limestone ridge “backbone”. Some of the oldest recorded Oak trees anywhere in the State grow from the craggy surfaces of the “backbone”. All this natural beauty is graced with the meandering flow of Middle River. This is a 350 acre park.
Merchants’ Bank Building - Grinnell, Iowa
Merchants’ Bank Building - Grinnell, Iowa
On the main downtown street in Grinnell, Iowa, is located the “Jewel Box Bank,” which was one of the last structures designed by noted architect Louis Sullivan.
The 1914 building combines prairie-style and beaux-arts features. It is especially noted for an ornate keyhole façade over the main entrance.
Iowa Gold Star Museum - Johnston, Iowa
On the grounds of Camp Dodge in Johnston, Iowa, a training camp for soldiers since 1900 and still an active Iowa National Guard post, a museum honoring both Iowa’s military personnel and those who served with the Iowa State Patrol has been developed.
Maytag Dairy Farm - Newton, Iowa
Maytag Dairy Farm - Newton, Iowa
This is a farm developed in Newton by the Maytag family. It produces many cheeses but is known especially for its blue cheese. Visitors can view a videotape that describes the history and making of this special cheese.
