Iowa, United States: Towns to Explore on Foot

Things to do in Iowa range from exploring river towns and historic buildings to discovering prairie landscapes, wetlands, and dramatic geological regions. Iowa is a state shaped by the Mississippi, Missouri, and Big Sioux rivers, by Indigenous history, and by agriculture—but its cities, industries, politics, and natural scenery tell a broader story. Neywo offers free audio guides for 6 cities in Iowa, with 45 narrated places in total across 7 walking tours.

What to see and do in Iowa

Understand Iowa’s Indigenous and colonial history

Iowa’s name comes through the Iowa River from the Ioway people, a Chiwere-speaking Siouan Nation. Indigenous people had lived in the region for more than 13,000 years, first as hunters and gatherers in a glacial landscape. The territory that later became Iowa included Native lands before European settlement and the forced removal of Native people westward.

Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet were the first known European explorers to document Iowa while traveling along the Mississippi River. The region later became part of French and Spanish Louisiana. After the Louisiana Purchase, settlement expanded, and American settlers officially arrived in 1833. This history remains essential to understanding Iowa’s place, name, and landscapes.

Follow the rivers

The Mississippi forms Iowa’s eastern edge, while the Missouri and Big Sioux trace much of the western boundary. These rivers give the land a strong sense of direction and have influenced settlement, trade, scenery, and the growth of river towns.

The eastern side of the state includes communities with historic architecture and connections to the Mississippi. Burlington, Iowa, Muscatine, and Dubuque are among the Iowa cities covered by Neywo’s audio guides. In Le Claire, the river-town story includes the Lone Star and the Buffalo Bill Museum.

Explore the Loess Hills

Along Iowa’s western border, the Loess Hills provide some of the state’s most dramatic scenery. Their distinctive landforms stand apart from the broad agricultural image often associated with Iowa and offer a different way to experience the state’s geography.

The wider western edge is also shaped by the Missouri and Big Sioux rivers. Together with the Loess Hills, these features show how strongly Iowa’s identity is tied to its boundaries and underlying geology.

Discover the Driftless Area

Northeast Iowa belongs to the Driftless Area, a region of steep hills and deep valleys. Forest and terraced fields create a landscape unlike the flatter areas commonly associated with the Corn Belt.

The region is a reminder that Iowa’s terrain changes considerably from one part of the state to another. The state includes tallgrass prairie, savanna, forested river valleys, wetlands, flood plains, and northern prairie pothole wetlands.

Look for prairie, wetlands, and changing ground

Iowa’s natural vegetation includes tallgrass prairie and savanna on higher ground. Flood plains and protected river valleys support dense forest and wetlands, while northern prairie areas contain pothole wetlands.

The geology is equally varied. In northwest Iowa, bedrock can be about 74 million years old. In eastern Iowa, Cambrian bedrock reaches back roughly 500 million years. These differences are part of what makes the state’s landscapes more varied than its agricultural reputation might suggest.

Iowa has a humid continental climate, with real extremes of heat and cold. It is landlocked, but its river borders give the state a distinctive geographical edge.

Visit Iowa’s cities

Iowa’s cities offer a closer look at the state’s religious, cultural, political, and industrial history.

• Cedar Rapids has 11 narrated places, including the Mother Mosque of America, the African American Museum of Iowa, Brucemore, and the Museum of Art Cedar Rapids.
• Dubuque has 18 narrated places, with highlights including the William M. Black, the Shot Tower, the Andrew-Ryan House, and Eagle Point Park.
• Waterloo has 4 narrated places, including Black Hawk County, Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, the Grout Museum, and Walnut Street Baptist Church.
• Burlington, Iowa has 6 narrated places, including the Capitol Theater, Christ Episcopal Church, First Congregational Church, and German Methodist Episcopal Church.
• Muscatine has 4 narrated places, including First Presbyterian Church, Greenwood Cemetery Chapel, Ss. Mary and Mathias Church of Muscatine, and Trinity Episcopal Church.
• Le Claire has 2 narrated places: Lone Star and the Buffalo Bill Museum.

Together, these towns show different sides of Iowa, from river heritage and religious buildings to museums, parks, and local history.

See how agriculture shaped the state

Agriculture became the foundation of Iowa’s economy and placed the state at the heart of the Corn Belt. Farming still matters deeply, but Iowa is no longer only an agricultural state.

During the later 20th century, the economy broadened to include advanced manufacturing and processing, financial services, information technology, biotechnology, and green energy production. Manufacturing is now the state’s largest economic sector, with major activities including food processing, heavy machinery, and agricultural chemicals.

Explore Des Moines and Iowa’s public life

Des Moines is Iowa’s capital, largest city, and political and economic center. Iowa has also become more urban than rural, continuing a trend that began in the early 20th century.

The state holds an influential place in national politics through its caucuses, where voters choose delegates to state conventions. The Iowa caucus is the first presidential caucus in the country.

Iowa’s political history also includes early action against racial discrimination in education and support for Black suffrage. The state’s public life therefore extends beyond farming and industry, encompassing national politics and an important civil-rights history.

Notice the Hawkeye State’s symbols

The nickname Hawkeye State comes from The Last of the Mohicans and later received official recognition. Iowa’s flag, patterned after France’s, recalls the French connection to a region that once formed part of French and Spanish Louisiana.

These symbols bring together several layers of Iowa’s past: Indigenous history, European claims, American settlement, and the state’s later identity.

Explore Iowa with Neywo

Neywo has free audio guides for 6 cities in Iowa, with 45 narrated places in total and 7 walking tours. Narration is available in 11 languages. The app tells the story of each place as you reach it, at your own pace, with no group and no schedule. Download Neywo and explore Iowa while the city and landscape unfold around you.