10 Delightful Iowa Destinations to Explore this Season

As summer comes to an end and we approach the most colorful and to many delightful time of the year, consider taking your retreat or conference to one of these Iowa group destinations for some inspiration.

Front and Central

Mix things up by meeting in central Iowa. Appearing on more “Best of” lists than most any place you’ll ever visit, Catch Des Moines delivers affordable accommodations, state-of-the-art facilities, award-winning restaurants and bars, festivals, hiking and biking trails, outdoor concerts, golf and more. You name it, Des Moine’s got it.

The good folks at Ottumwa CVB are happy to help you plan your meeting or event. In addition to the Bridge View Center, Ottumwa offers several venue options, including Hotel Ottumwa and Hay Barn at Pioneer Ridge Nature Area. Multiple lodging options offer welcoming and comfortable accommodations. A wide range of dining choices are available here as well, from casual to fine. After hours, your guests will want to explore the Airpower Museum, play a round at Cedar Creek Golf Course, or bike the Wapello County Trail System.

Welcoming guests to an area rich in scenic beauty, diverse attractions, and superb meeting facilities, Council Bluffs invites you to plan your retreat or conference here. Multiple venues include the Ameristar Casino and Hotel, Council Bluffs Country Club, Dodge Riverside Golf Club, and the Mid-America Center to name just a few. Dozens of hotels and comfy lodging is available with attractions, entertainment, and activities all in proximity.

Up North

Venture north to an area lush with thriving culture, natural beauty, and spectacular glacier-carved lakes. Vacation Okoboji prides itself on beautiful surroundings, including Iowa’s largest natural lake. Home to the “University of Okoboji,” a fictitious college with a curriculum that is focused on celebration rather than academia, this city welcomes visitors with 45,000 square feet of meeting space, 1400 sleeping rooms, golf courses, shopping museums, plus so much more.

Visit Cedar Falls Tourism & Visitors Bureau for year-round adventures, arts and culture, and small-town charm all nestled in the scenic Iowa countryside. Whether you want to get comfy in a historic inn or pamper yourself at a luxury boutique hotel, you’ll find some of Iowa’s best accommodations here. Get a taste of local flavor at area restaurants serving everything from American cuisine to Asian, Mexican, and Italian and a variety of unique meeting spaces that can accommodate conferences or banquets.

Back East

Meander back east and the Travel Dubuque pros will welcome you with helpful meeting planning services, an 86,000 square-foot convention center, an invigorated casino and gaming complex, a riverwalk, an expansive outdoor plaza, and a large amphitheater.

Vibrancy, charm or just good old-fashioned fun can be discovered when you enlist the complimentary aid of the Waterloo CVB. Happy to help, these planning pros can assist you in scoring some of eastern Iowa’s best off-site event venues, exceptional dining and nightlife, and award-winning attractions. In addition, they offer a variety of complimentary services, including grant assistance for such things as meeting room rentals, entertainment and honorariums, and event marketing.

Of course, the planning pros at Cedar Rapids CVB might have a few amenities you’re looking for as well. You do the math…there is the Cedar Rapids US Cellular Center, an 80,000 square foot meeting and banquet space for as many as 10,000 guests, a 267-room attached Double Tree Hilton Hotel, and a 500 space parking facility.

And as long as we’re doing math, we really cannot leave Quad Cities out of the equation. Offering free meeting planning services and incentives, 6,000 rooms city-wide, 24,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, arts, theater and musical events, summer festivals, and winter fun, you’ll discover it all adds up to a memorable event.

Not to be outdone, the team at Iowa City | Coralville CVB want you to come take advantage of big city choices while enjoying a small town atmosphere.  With top rated convention and meeting facilities, comfortable and plentiful accommodations, and attractions galore (galleries, museums, farmer’s markets, parks, golf courses, spas, etc.) you’ll see why so many consider Iowa City/Coralville a hidden gem.

For a complete listing of meeting destinations in your area, visit our Iowa Destination Meeting Planner Guide.