A Wonderful Travel Itinerary for an Afternoon in Winterset!
Sometimes we have entire days to travel and sometimes we only have hours. But either way, travel is always worth it! Join me as I lay out an itinerary for a wonderful getaway to Winterset, Iowa, a quaint small town in central Iowa.
I started my travels at the Madison County Welcome Center. I wanted to ask a few questions about which covered bridge I should see and I wanted to know what sights they would recommend. The woman at the welcome center was very knowledgeable and gave me some great recommendations about places for lunch and sights to see on a short trip. If you are either unsure about what is available or have questions about anything, a visitor center should be your first stop. Yes, you can look attractions and restaurants up online, but the locals know the locations best and can help you streamline your visit on a tight schedule or expand it if you have several days.
Next I headed across the town square for lunch at a small restaurant called The Honey Lounge. The restaurant was small, but cozy and had a unique offering I was anxious to try - a sourdough bread flight. What is that, you ask? It contained 5 generous pieces of sourdough bread with two different toppings. One topping I chose was a delicious homemade jam. The other spread was a warm, slightly spicy honey topping with feta cheese. While the second option sounds spicy, the honey and feta cheese toned everything down. Both were absolutely delicious, but my favorite was the warm honey spread with feta cheese. And when I ran out of spread for my last piece of bread, they gave me my choice of more. It made for a lovely lunch and would make a great appetizer too. The restaurant also serves different types of mead (sort of like a honey beer) and charcuterie, as well as a daily special. In addition to the restaurant food, there is local honey for sale. I was glad I went, as I always like to try something unique!
After lunch I headed to the John Wayne Museum just off the main square. John Wayne, the famous movie star, lived in Winterset for a time and you can view much movie memorabilia and learn about his life. In warmer months you can visit the four-room house he grew up in. After browsing two rooms full of exhibits, you can visit a mini theater showing clips of John Wayne movies and learn more about his personal life. The movie is eleven minutes long and runs on the quarter hour, or every fifteen minutes. There is also a large gift shop in the center of the museum. While, admittedly I am not much of a Western or Classic movie fan, I did enjoy my visit. My favorite part was seeing the artwork related to John Wayne, such as a piece from Andy Warhol and several sculptures. I had no idea that John Wayne starred in so many films. I’d recommend the museum if you have at least an hour to spend in town.
Near the museum was the Madison County Freedom Rock, so I stopped and took some photos.
The next attraction I took in was the Iowa Quilt Museum. It turned out to be my favorite attraction of the afternoon. The quilts displayed were themed, “Renewal, reinvention, and resurgence…” Some of the quilts were older and remade for a new purpose. The quilts were colorful, creative, and varied in their topics. I spent about 30 minutes there taking it all in and taking photographs. Incidentally, a quilting group was working in part of the museum and they sounded like they were having a wonderful time while they worked. I wanted to join them! The museum does have an upstairs with additional quilts. While I didn’t have time to see that, I will go back on a future visit. The quilt exhibits change several times per year so there is always something new to see. There is also a fun quilt-themed gift shop in the entry area of the museum. Down the street is a full service fabric and quilt shop called the Piece Work Quilt Shop. I regret I did not have time to visit, but I will certainly do so when I go back.
One thing in Winterset that is not to be missed is their City Park. The park has the typical things you might find in a good city park such as updated and inclusive playground equipment and shelter houses for a picnic. It also has numerous fun wood carvings crafted from tree trunks left after a tornado went through several years ago and destroyed the trees. Instead of taking out the trunks, artists carved them into whimsical masterpieces. The most recent masterpiece is a fairy house with stained glass. How fun! Three other unique features round out this park. First, there is a trail, roughly a mile long that you can hike to (and drive to in warmer weather) that takes you to a castle-like tower with beautiful views if you climb to the top. The gate to the tower was closed the day I went but I will go back in warmer weather to experience it myself. Second, there is a covered bridge in the park named the Historic Cutler Donahoe Bridge. It is a small bridge that would be ideal for taking family or group photos. And last, there is a unique log cabin in the park that is interesting to view. All in all, it is a great city park and well worth the time to visit.
My next stop included driving through the Madison County Historical Complex. While it is not open in the winter, you can drive through the area and see buildings such as an old fashioned barn, a vintage gas station, a blacksmith shop, a country church, and more. When the museum is open, it functions as a living history museum with a large central museum to visit as well as the outside and inside of all the various buildings. Again, it is something I will have to visit in the warmer months when it is fully open.
My last Winterset stop included driving through town that took me to a beautiful series of murals in a little alley wall on the main town square. There were several different murals and I enjoyed viewing them. I will only show part of them because I want you to explore Winterset as well!
Incidentally, Winterset has one of the most gorgeous courthouses in Iowa. It sits right in the middle of the town square and is well worth a visit too. I had already been there on a previous visit so I just took photos of the outside.
My last stop of the afternoon was a covered bridge about 4 miles outside of town on a gravel road. Touring covered bridges in Winterset/Madison County is almost mandatory. After all, Robert James Waller wrote a famous fiction book about the area aptly called “The Bridges of Madison County.” A movie starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep was later made about it. Ever since then folks from all over the world have ventured to the Winterset area to see its famous covered bridges. I had already been to two bridges, so I chose one a little off the beaten path this time. This bridge was called the Historic Hogback Covered Bridge. It was a beautiful day to view a beautiful bridge and I loved taking photos of it. As a bonus, I met a great couple from the next county away visiting the covered bridges that day too. We took photos of each other and had a fun conversation. That’s another one of the best things about traveling - you meet so many great people!
Winterset is a lovely town and I will go back! The next time I am in Winterset I plan to see the following…
Pammel State Park
The historic castle tower in the City Park
The Art Center
The Iowa Quilt Museum (a new exhibit)
The Madison County Historical Complex (when it is open)
The Holliwell Covered Bridge (one of six historic covered bridges in Madison County)
The Piece Work Quilt Shop
The Iowa Theater
Question Haven Books and Comics
The Winterset Cidery
Mi Pueblito Mexican Restaurant
The Monroe’s Pharmacy (which has a diner and soda fountain inside)
The Urban Taproom (for their roast beef sundae)
And more!
See, I have a whole weekend trip yet to go! I’ll be sure to check with the Madison County Welcome Center to ensure everything I want to see is open first. As you can tell, there is much to see and experience in the Winterset area!