Foodies And Nature Lovers Alike Will Fall In Love With This Day Trip To Iowa's Driftless Area
By Trent Jonas|Published July 11, 2023
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Trent Jonas
Author
Trent Jonas came to Minnesota to attend college - and never left. He's a Twin Cities-based writer with a BA in English and a MFA in creative writing, a Minnesota Master Naturalist, and the proud father of two adult children. With more than a decade of freelance writing experience under his belt, Trent is often out exploring his favorite topics: Minnesota's woods, lakes, and trails. Rhubarb pie is his weakness, so discovering new diners is also a passion.
I live in Minnesota now, where I’ve been since college, but I grew up – and graduated from high school – in northeastern Iowa. This corner of the state is part of what’s now known as “the Driftless Area,” a designation I don’t recall from my youth, but it’s a region covering parts of four states, including Iowa and Minnesota, that avoided glacial scouring during the last ice age.
Characterized by high limestone bluffs, deep ravines and valleys, karst geology, sinkholes, and dense forests, the Iowa Driftless Area looks considerably different from the rest of the Hawkeye State. It’s also less populated, which gives much of the region a rather wild feel that you don’t get in the more pastoral southern part of the state.
I try to get down to my old stomping grounds at least once a year to check up on the landscape and my hometown of Decorah, to see what’s changed, what’s gone, and what – if anything – is new, and maybe wallow in a little nostalgia along the way. Grab some snacks for the road, a cup of coffee, and come along for the ride as I drift down to the Hawkeye State on an Iowa Driftless Area day trip. Welcome to OnlyInYourState’s Everyday Explorers.
To get to northeastern Iowa from my home in the Twin Cities, I have a couple of route choices, and both take me through Minnesota's Driftless Area, so I really can't lose either way.
The boundary between the state of Iowa and the Minnesota territory was in dispute for several years based on a misplaced survey marker. It eventually worked itself out, but there's a monument commemorating the dispute at the border near the Mississippi River.
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And frankly, in this part of either state, the line doesn't seem to matter because the terrain creases and folds and wells up on both sides. It dictates where you can build and how the roads are routed.
In fact, to get to the part of Winneshiek County where I grew up from New Albin, I have to follow a road that winds up into Eitzen, Minnesota before it drops down into the Hawkeye State.
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But no matter. The drive along these narrow blacktops and gravel backroads, often following the Upper Iowa River, is as beautiful as it is familiar.
I like to think that I didn't take for granted growing up in such a beautiful part of the country, but I feel my good fortune even more deeply as an adult.
In this part of Iowa, you'll still see old homestead cabins and outbuildings made from logs – squared off in the classic Scandinavian style – many restored and still used today.
Like that old house, there are some pieces of my youth and the area's rich history that have also gone by the wayside. The Sattre Store was a rural institution for decades – saving folks who lived out in the country a trip into town for staples like coffee, bread, or milk – as well as cheese curds, cookies, and Spring Grove soda.
The store closed for good in the early 2010s. For a while, new owners tried to get some traction as a wine bar, but it didn't take. Now it's a private residence with an empty storefront – but it still stands on its hill at a crossroads; a landmark for anyone giving or getting directions the old-fashioned way – something still necessary out here due to spotty cell service.
Winding through the valleys of the Driftless countryside, I finally made it to Decorah, the community where I went to high school and that I identify as my hometown.
This little college town has managed to retain its charming, historic character despite challenges like fast food chains and a Super WalMart creeping in on the edge of town. You can see just how lovely it is by heading up the narrow, winding road to the viewpoints in Palisades Park.
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Magpie was one of the first – if not the first – coffeehouses to open in town. I've been stopping in since it was in its original location on Winnebago Street – before it moved into the space where the bakery used to be.
Magpie Cafe & Coffeehouse, West Water Street, Decorah, IA, USA
They're no longer the only coffee game in town, but I like the coffee shop's coffee and breakfast options, so I always pop in at least once on a visit.
With coffee in hand, I have the fuel needed to visit Dunning's Spring for a bit of a hike, a little climb, and on this hot day, to enjoy the natural air-conditioning flowing with the water from the bluff side cave.
Dunning's Spring Park, Ice Cave Road, Decorah, IA, USA
Springs and creeks flowing directly from bluff faces is another characteristic that makes the Driftless Area so naturally beautiful. (A fun place to see this phenomenon in the Iowa Driftless Area is on a boat tour of Spook Cave near McGregor).
For lunch, I stopped in at T-Bock's, a bar and grill owned by the family of a high school classmate.
In Decorah, there are two seasons: winter and Whippy Dip season. The Whippy Dip has been a community mainstay for decades, and its springtime opening marks the end of winter for many folks.
With the nostalgia that I have for the Whippy Dip's standard soft-serve, after lunch, I couldn't resist grabbing a small vanilla cone to enjoy on the short drive to my next stop.
Re-energized, I headed out of town a bit for my next stop: Siewers Spring, at the Decorah Hatchery. The spring is the headwaters of Trout Run, a short tributary that flows from just a few miles from the face of a limestone bluff to the Upper Iowa River.
Siewers Spring Road, Siewers Spring Rd, Decorah, IA 52101, USA
It's a great spot for a walk along the stream, watching people fish – or trying your own hand if you bring gear. You can also buy a handful of food pellets from a machine and feed the trout in the holding ponds at the hatchery.
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A visit to the Iowa Driftless Area and Decorah would not be complete without getting pizza from Mabe's – and just about anyone who grew up in Decorah would probably fight you if you tried to say there's a better pizza out there.
Mabe's Pizza, 110 E Water St, Decorah, IA 52101, USA
I only wish I could have spent more time on this trip. When I go down for a weekend or for an event like a high school reunion or Nordic Fest, I like to stay at the Fairfield Inn and Suites Decorah or the historic Hotel Winneshiek, but this time I needed to get back to my responsibilities at home. I’ll return soon, though – the Iowa Driftless Area always calls me back.
If you’ve visited the Iowa Driftless Area, I’d love to hear about your own experiences in the comments.
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