Eastern Iowa, Iowa travel guide: things to do, food & where to stay

Overview

Eastern Iowa is the central region along the Mississippi River in Iowa, home to several of the state's main population centers. The region is both somewhat characteristic of the rest of the state in terms of demographics but also unique in both its geography (bluffs and rolling hills) and its denser population. In many respects, it shares more in common with the nearby Illinois and Wisconsin regions than the rest of Iowa.

Updated from Wikivoyage on 1 October 2026 · Something wrong or missing? Improve it on Wikivoyage

Plan your trip

Best time to visit & weather

Most comfortable: May–Oct. Summer highs reach about 84°F; winter lows dip to about 12°F. Cold months (Jan, Feb, Dec) can bring snow and ice; check road conditions. Wettest: Jun and May. (climate data from nearby Iowa City)

Blue bars: average daily high and low (°F). Purple columns: average monthly rain and melted snow (inches).

Getting there

From you: to see whether to drive or fly, and how long it takes.
CID The Eastern Iowa Airport, Cedar Rapids — 35 mi away. Directions
DBQ Dubuque Regional Airport, Dubuque — 38 mi away. Directions
DSM Des Moines International Airport, Des Moines — 138 mi away (major hub). Directions

Eastern Iowa is located along two of the country's major east-west thoroughfares (I-80 and US 30) and the Highway of the Saints, a designated route of shared highways between the Twin Cities and St. Louis. I-380 serves a secondary route connecting Iowa City to Cedar Rapids and Waterloo.

Full “Get in” guide ↓

Sample 3-day trip

Day 1: Davenport — Davenport Skybridge, Figge Art Museum, Putnam Museum.
Day 2: Dubuque — Dubuque Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, Dubuque Museum of Art, Fenelon Place (4th Street) Elevator.
Day 3: Le Claire — Buffalo Bill Museum, Mississippi River Distilling Company, Pebble Creek Golf Course.

Built from the best-covered destinations in this region; open each for its own day plan.

Places in Eastern Iowa

Davenport

City / town · 102 listings

Dubuque

City / town · 62 listings

Le Claire

City / town · 30 listings

Amana Colonies

City / town · 26 listings

Muscatine

City / town · 17 listings

Bettendorf

City / town · 16 listings

Clinton

City / town · 8 listings

Kalona

City / town · 5 listings

Grant Wood Country

Region · 2 listings

I-380 Corridor

Region

Understand

Eastern Iowa is most heavily populated and developed area of Iowa outside of Des Moines. It includes the counties of Dubuque, Linn, Jones, Jackson, Iowa, Johnson, Cedar, Clinton, Scott, Muscatine, and Washington. Note that Iowa City is in Johnson County, not Iowa County.

Regions

Grant Wood Country

I-380 Corridor

Quad Cities

Cities

Amana Colonies
Burlington
Cedar Rapids
Clinton
DeWitt
Dubuque
Iowa City
Mount Vernon
Muscatine
Quad Cities - Bettendorf, Davenport, Le Claire

Get in

The entire region is also serviced by airplane via the Eastern Iowa Airport, located just south of Cedar Rapids.

See

Field of Dreams in Dyersville, west of Dubuque, is considered one of baseball's most-treasured landmarks. The field is the same used in the 1989 film Field of Dreams.