Southwest Iowa Tourism
Southwest Iowa Tourism on IowaBeautiful.com. Southwest Iowa Tourism - your Southwest Iowa Travel Guide to Vacations, Attractions and Events
Hot Air Balloon Days - Creston, Iowa
Hot Air Balloon Days - Creston, Iowa Enjoy the over 60 hot air balloons that participate in this annual event.
The third weekend in September is the weekend to enjoy hot air balloons floating through the blue skies on southwest Iowa during Creston’s Hot Air Balloon Days. 2007 was the 30th year for this fabulous celebration, the second largest of its kind in the state of Iowa and the Midwest.
Hitchcock Nature Center
Outside of Honey Creek the lodge in this area overlooks the Loess Hills Scenic Byway, a wilderness preserve, and the Missouri River valley. As visitors hike the trails in the park, they can enjoy many different species of animals and a number of rare prairie plants. An equal-access boardwalk has been developed in one section of the park.
Historic General Dodge House - Council Bluffs, Iowa
The Dodge House, a 14-room, Victorian mansion, is one of Iowa’s premier historic homes. Built in 1869 by Gen. Grenville M. Dodge, a Civil War general dubbed "greatest railroad builder of all times." The lavish mansion is historically authentic, complete with a majority of the original furnishings.
Henry A. Wallace Life Center - Greenfield, Iowa
On this 40-acre site near Greenfield, Iowa, various outdoor exhibits help interpret the agricultural philosophies, ideas, and achievements of Henry A. Wallace, former secretary of agriculture and one of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Vice Presidents.
Glenn Miller Birthplace Home
Clarinda Iowa is the Glenn Miller Birthplace home. Glenn Miller was a famous trombonist, composer, arranger and director of one of the most famous “Big Bands.” He was born in Clarinda in 1904, and the house has been restored to reflect the time and life styles of that era, and includes period furnishings and family photographs. In the town is the headquarters for the Glenn Miller Birthplace Society, whose purpose is to promote the music and memory of Miller around the world.
Doll House - Griswold, Iowa
Visit Griswold, Iowa where in a cottage that is over one hundred and ten years old, visitors can look at hundreds of dolls, some are just for admiring and others can be adopted.
Betty La Follette Johnson provides a personalized tour. In the living room are displayed the Dolls of Historic Trails—
Decatur County Historical Museum - Leon, Iowa
Decatur County Historical Museum - Leon, Iowa The history of Decatur County is portrayed in vignettes, from a blacksmith shop to a sitting room. Genealogists find this a great resource facility. Another building is home to a collection of antique farm machinery.
Danish Immigrant Museum - Elk Horn, Iowa
Founded in Elk Horn in 1983, the national museum of Danish heritage ws built by Danish Americans on a 20 acre site. The 16,000 square foot museum is reminiscent of Danish construction with the half-timbered architecture.
Cass County Historical Society Museum
The home of the Cass County Museum is a bank built in the late 1800s. Antiques and historical memorabilia from the area are displayed in various sections of the old bank located in Griswold, Iowa.
California Gold Rush Trail And Lied Historical Building - Council Bluffs, Iowa
And Lied Historical Building - Council Bluffs, Iowa
Approximately 8 miles SE of Council Bluffs is the memorial marker of the 1849 Gold Rushers and Pioneers.
Owned and operated by the State Historical Society of Iowa, the Western Historic Trails Center in Council Bluffs opened in 1997. A partnership with the National Park Service, the Center interprets the Lewis and Clark, California, Oregon, and Mormon Pioneer Trails. The Western Historic Trails Center covers 480 acres of river bottom adjacent to the Missouri River and Interstates 80 and 29, including the Lied Historical Building and Harvey’s Recreation Complex.
