Iowa Recreation & Entertainment

Beyond Iowa's fabled cornfields lies a Midwest countryside just made for outdoor recreation. With 35 natural lakes, 200 man-made lakes and 19,000 miles of streams, fishing is popular in all regions of the state. Northern pike, trout, perch, white bass, largemouth bass and catfish make great catches. Hunting pheasant, ruffled grouse, ducks and Canada geese is another popular outdoor sport.

For outdoor enthusiasts who prefer watching or photographic wildlife, there is the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge along the Missouri River north of Council Bluffs, the Union Slough National Wildlife Refuge in North Central Iowa and 90 state preserves totaling over 9,000 acres. These areas, some protecting remnants of land with tall prairie grass, provide habitat for bald eagles, whooping cranes, trumpeter swans, Canada geese and whitetail deer, against a backdrop in summer of more than 200 species of wild prairie flowers.

One of the biggest athletic events of the summer is the RAGBRAI -- the Des Moines Register's Annual Grade Bicycle Ride Across Iowa in which several thousand cyclists peddle across the state from west to east. Bicyclists also tour the Great River Road along the Mississippi River, and the Lewis and Clark Trail and Mormon Pioneer Trail across the state. The Yellow River State Forest, 52-mile Cedar Valley Nature Trail and the Sac and Fox National Recreation Trail offer some of Iowa's best hiking. In winter, cross-country skiers and snowmobilers turn out on over 5,000 miles of trails.

The University of Iowa Hawkeyes of the Big 10 Conference and the Iowa State University Cyclones of the Big 12 Conference bring the excitement of big-time college sports to the state in a big way. Iowa is a perennial football and men's basketball powerhouse, and in recent years Iowa State teams have built national reputations. Baseball teams at Iowa State and women's basketball and volleyball teams at both schools also are highly competitive. The Drake Relays, hosted each spring by Drake University, attract world-class track and field athletes.

In August, Knoxville hosts the National Sprint Car Race Championship, and the Tri-State Rodeo is held in Fort Madison in September. The Okoboji Winter Games are held each January.

One of the oldest and largest agricultural expositions in the United States, the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines is Iowa's great celebration, an 11-day salute in August to the state's best in agriculture, industry, entertainment and achievement. Almost a million visitors come to this fair, which includes a 20-acre Farm Machinery Show, the largest arts show in Iowa, and the largest Foods Department of any state fair. Most of the buildings on the 400 acre, park-like fairgrounds, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, predate World War I.

Music and art take over the city at the Des Moines Festival of Art -- one of the top 10 arts festivals in the country -- each June. The art fair is staged on three bridges over the Des Moines River, while the jazz and blues music festival is held at Des Moines' historic Valley Junction.

Other major events include the Tulip Festival in Orange City and Tulip Time in Pella in May, the Grant Wood Art Festival in Stone City in June, Riverboat Days in Clinton in July, and the Covered Bridge Festival in Madison County in October.

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Photo Credit: Iowa Division of Tourism.