Road-trip stops in Iowa

Field of Dreams Movie Site

The actual ballfield from the 1989 film, still surrounded by corn. Free to visit, run the bases, swing a bat, walk into the cornstalks. Bring a glove. The current ownership runs MLB games here in August — book early if you want to time a trip. Dyersville is an hour from I-80.

Grotto of the Redemption

A priest named Father Dobberstein spent forty-two years setting millions of dollars worth of gems, geodes, petrified wood, and rare rocks into nine connected grottoes. Built by hand. It is the largest collection of minerals and petrifications in one place anywhere. Free to walk through, gift shop, small museum. Two minutes off US-18 in west-central Iowa.

Iowa 80 — World's Largest Truckstop

When the truckers themselves call something the world's largest, you stop. 800-seat restaurant, free trucker museum, theater, dentist's office, barber shop, and 24/7 fuel. The kids will spend 90 minutes wandering. It's the rare interstate stop where 'real America' is genuinely the right phrase.