Lori Erickson - Iowa Off the Beaten Path®: Discover Your Fun

Lori Erickson is a freelance writer who grew up on a farm near Decorah, Iowa. She earned degrees from Luther College and the University of Iowa, and her articles and essays have appeared in many regional and national magazines and newspapers. In addition to Iowa: Off the Beaten Path, Lori has written the childrens book Sweet Corn and Sushi: The Story of Iowa and Yamanashi. She lives in Iowa City with her husband, Bob Sessions.

Northeast Iowa is a land of thickly wooded hills, steep bluffs, secluded valleys, and scenic vistascountryside that in many places seems more like that of New England than the Midwest. From river towns rich in history to immigrant enclaves where old-world traditions remain strong, northeast Iowa offers a host of unique treasures.

Begin your tour of northeast Iowa in Dubuque, one of my favorite destinations in the state. Much of what makes the city so appealing relates to its long and colorful history as a Mississippi River town. The city is named after Julien Dubuque, a French-Canadian fur trader who received permission in 1788 from the Fox Indians to work the lead mines in the area. The territory was opened to white settlement in 1833, and soon hundreds of new residentsmany of them immigrantswere pouring into the new town. The next century saw a decline in mining and the growth of the lumbering, boatbuilding, shipping, and meatpacking industries. As the city grew rich, its citizens filled its streets with magnificent homes and buildings, structures that stand today as eloquent reminders of the citys past.

Within the past two decades Dubuques tourism industry has undergone a rebirth, thanks to a $400 million redevelopment project on its waterfront. The citys harbor area now has a complex of sites celebrating the historical, environmental, educational, and recreational majesty of the mighty Mississippi.

The riverfronts centerpiece is the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium. An affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the museum is the best place in the nation to explore the cultural and natural history of the Mississippi River.

Begin your tour at the William Woodward Discovery Center, which contains large freshwater aquariums, live animals (including alligators, otters, turtles, fish, and snakes), touch pools, stream tables, living-history demonstrations, and the National Rivers Hall of Fame. Here you can pilot a steamboat, touch stingrays from the Gulf of Mexico, see a simulated flood, and marvel at massive catfish and peculiar longnose gar (fish with long, rodlike noses).

The adjacent Fred W. Woodward Riverboat Museum is the citys original museum, located on the site of a boat works that once manufactured some of the largest boats and paddle wheelers in the nation. Inside are displays that bring to life the history of the river, including exhibits on Native Americans, river explorers, the lumber industry, and recreation on the river.

Outside youll find more attractions, including the William M. Black. The Black is a large dredge boat (almost the size of a football field) that once roamed the waters of the Missouri River digging up tons of mud and muck in order to make the channel safe for navigation. Today visitors can tour the boat and even (for an additional fee) stay overnight in the crews quarters.

The harbor area outside the museum also features a wetlands walk with a Native American wickiup home and a boatyard area featuring steamboat artifacts, boatbuilding demonstrations, and a childrens play area. The Depot Caf, located in the restored Chicago Burlington Northern Railway Depot, sells inexpensive snacks, sandwiches, and refreshments.

AUTHORS FAVORITES

Effigy Mounds National Monument

Seed Savers Heritage Farm

Hayden Prairie

WW Homestead Dairy

Worlds Smallest Church

Fenelon Place Elevator

Waverly Midwest Horse Sale

Galleria de Paco

Backbone State Park

the great mississippi

The Mississippi River is the longest river in North America, passing through ten states as it winds 2,552 miles from its headwaters in northern Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana. The river serves as a water source for more than four million people and drains 40 percent of the continental United States. It is also a major flyway for migratory birds.

The National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium is located in the port area of downtown Dubuque. Its open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (during the winter months it closes at 5 p.m.). Admission is $15 for adults; $10 for youth. Call (800) 226-3369 or visit rivermuseum.com for more information.

The Grand Harbor Resort and Waterpark, located adjacent to the museum, offers fun of a different type. The resort overlooks the river and features 193 guest rooms, and its 25,000-square-foot indoor water park has enough slides, tubes, water spouts, rope ladders, water cannons, and wading pools to keep children entertained for hours. You can visit the water park even if youre not staying at the hotel. For more information, visit grandharborresort.com or call (866) 690-4006.

Other parts of the waterfront complex include the Alliant Energy Amphitheater, which features special events and live entertainment, the Mississippi Riverwalk, and the Rivers Edge Plaza. The Riverwalk is part of a 44-mile trail connecting the Mississippi River to the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, another popular Iowa attraction that is described later in this section. The Rivers Edge Plaza serves as a docking site for the Delta Queen Company riverboats and other large excursion vessels.

Al Capones Hideout

During the Prohibition Era, Al Capone was a frequent guest at the Hotel Julien, and theres evidence that at one time he was actually part-owner of the hotel. Local lore says that Capone and his entourage would come to Dubuque when things got too hot for him in Chicago. He used a nearby underground garage to hide his cars and would take over the hotels entire top floor for weeks at a time. Conveniently, the location provided an excellent view of the bridge that led to Illinois, so Capone would have warning if federal authorities or rival gangs came looking for him.

Today the hotels Capone Suite recalls the hotels most notorious guest. Located on the second floor, it includes two bedrooms, a living room, and a kitchen, all decorated in a luxurious style that likely would have pleased the gangster.

TOP ANNUAL EVENTS

JUNE

My Waterloo Days

Waterloo, June

(319) 291-2038

mywaterloodays.org

Strawberry Days

Strawberry Point, second weekend in June

(563) 933-4482

strawberrypt.com

Sturgis Falls Celebration

Cedar Falls, last full weekend in June

(319) 277-0996

sturgisfalls.org

Americas River Festival

Dubuque, second weekend in June

(563) 845-7698

americasriverfestival.com

JULY

Nordic Fest

Decorah, last full weekend in July

(563) 382-3990

nordicfest.com

SEPTEMBER

German Fest

Guttenberg, fourth Sat in Sept

(563) 252-2323

germanfestinguttenberg.com

OCTOBER

Fall Arts & Crafts Festival

McGregor, first weekend in Oct

(563) 873-2186

mcgreg-marq.org

NOVEMBER

National Farm Toy Show

Dyersville, first weekend in Nov

(563) 875-2727

nationalfarmtoymuseum.com

Two more riverfront attractions are the