9 Things To Do in Dyersville Iowa near The Field of Dreams Movie Site
2021 saw the first ever MBL (Major League Baseball) game played in Iowa. Iowa doesn’t HAVE any MBL teams, BUT it does have the Field of Dreams, which is a pretty famous baseball diamond, made famous from the 1989 movie staring Kevin Costner. The movie site is located in Dyersville, 30 minutes away from Dubuque. ‘If you build it, they’ll come’, here are some top things to do in Dyersville.
Things To Do In Dyersville Iowa
Field of Dreams Movie Site
🗺28995 Lansing Rd, Dyersville, IA 52040
The Field of Dreams Movie Site is ‘open’ (for free) 365 days a year during daylight hours. You are free to play on the baseball diamond, if there’s corn…you can walk in and out of it like they do in the movie and see the outside of the house. Guided tours of the house are available, even during the off season, but they need to be pre-booked in advance. The gift shop is open daily between April and October.
Ghost Sunday is a fun (also free!) event during the summer, where a team of ‘ghost players’ put on a comedy show with audience participation. In 2020, there is only going to be 2 shows, one on July 19th and a second on August 2nd.
And then of course, on August 13th is the MLB game between the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox. They won’t be playing on the ACTUAL baseball diamond at the movie site. Instead another diamond is being built, along with an 8000 person stadium. Apparently attendees will walk to the diamond via a pathway through the corn field!
If you’re a huge fan, the Field of Dreams House can also be found on booking.com! I’m not going to lie, the rates are pretty steep, the cheapest being $550 (+$200 in taxes) per night off peak and $750 (plus taxes) in the summer season/weekends.
National Farm Toy Museum (& Show)
🗺1110 16th Ave SE, Dyersville, IA 52040
The National Farm Toy Museum is a collection of, you guessed it, farm related toys, from tractors to farm equipment. Current exhibits include a handmade wooden toy collection by Bernie Kluesner and 100 years of John Deere tractors. The museum is open daily and adult admission costing $7.
During the first weekends of June and November, they host the National Farm Toy show. 2020 is the 35th anniversary! It’s held in some of the buildings surrounding the museum as well as in pop up gazebos in the car park. There are collections to view along with toys to buy.
Plaza Antiques Mall
🗺1235 16th Ave Ct SE, Dyersville, IA 52040
I paired my visit to the summer National Farm Toy Show with a stop at the Plaza Antiques Mall. The outside of the building looks like an old movie theatre and the inside is full of all kinds of toys, antiques and collectibles, including several old classic cars!
Textile Brewing Company
🗺146 2nd St NE, Dyersville, IA 52040
I love the Textile Brewing Company! For over 100 years, the building was used as a sewing factory, however in 2019 it reopened as a brewery and taproom! A lot of the decor was part of the factory, including the tables complete with measuring sticks and sewing machines!
I’ve found a taste for the ‘sours’. In my opinions, these types of beers are closer to a cider and tend to be fruity and yes, quite sour! If you don’t want to buy a full flight of beers (which is what I like to do when visiting microbreweries), you can buy 5oz ‘taster’ sizes for either $2 or $2.50 (depending on the beer), which is great if you want to sample a couple of different flavours.
My personal favourite are the giant pretzels, they are AMAZING. It’s probably best to find a friend to share with because they are very large. I’ve tried both the classic pretzel and the bacon one. They are served hot and unlike some giant pretzels they were quite light and fluffy (if fluffy is the correct word?! They aren’t solid!)
Brew & Brew
🗺213 1st Ave E, Dyersville, IA 52040
We get Brew & Brew coffee deliveries at work but their coffee shop in Dyersville serve various different types of drinks, as well as sandwiches, wraps and soups. They’ll often have seasonal drink flavours to choose from (I recently had a Toasted Macaroon Cappuccino), or you can ‘build your own’!
Basilica of St Francis Xavier
🗺104 3rd St SW, Dyersville, IA 52040
While you’re in Downtown Dyersville, you can’t miss the Basilica of St Francis Xavier. This catholic church has 2 spires each measuring a height of 212ft, topped with gold crosses 14ft tall!
The Basilica as it stands today, began construction in 1887 and was dedicated on December 3rd 1889 (99 years before I was born!). The doors are open from 7am until 8pm if you wanted to take a look inside. There are brochures available for a self guided ‘walking tour’.
Dyersville Yoga Studio
🗺103 5th St SE, Dyersville, IA 52040
The Dyersville Yoga Studio offers various classes at several times during the week. The drop-in fee is $10 a class. Mats, blocks and blankets are provided. I attended one of the special workshop sessions which focused on stress relief and was provided with hand outs that I could take home as well as enjoying a cup of herbal tea and sampling a warm herbal milk drink.
Hike The Heritage Trail
This 26 mile hiking trail starts in Dyersville and finishes in Dubuque. It’s made of crushed limestone so is suitable for cycling too. Visitors are required to buy a pass to access the trail, available as daily ($2) or annual passes ($10 for 17yrs – 64yrs, senior citizens $5) and can be found at several locations (such as gas stations and chamber of commerce buildings) along the route. You can find out more about the route on the Travel Iowa website.
Dyersville St Patricks Day Celebration
Each year Dyersville holds a St Patricks Day celebration. The day starts with an 8k or a 2 mile fun run in the morning, followed by a parade at 1.30pm (one year they were giving out free hot dogs! They were also handing out key rings and t-shirts…makes a change from just getting sweets!) and in the evening there is live music and of course, beer. During 2020’s celebrations Textile Brewing will be serving up GREEN beer!
About the Author – Kylie
My travels have taken me to over 40 countries worldwide (& I lived in USA for 4yrs). I hold a BTEC National Diploma in Travel & Tourism (triple distinction) and have been writing on Between England & Everywhere since 2015.
Expert in: Adventure travel🎢, beach destinations🏖️, and packing light (mid-budget backpacker)🎒
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Last Updated on February 9, 2024
Dyersville looks amazing and that pretzel would be worth the trip alone! I love Field of Dreams so visiting the baseball diamond and house would just be incredible, and unbelievable that they are playing a top level game there this season. Need to keep my eye out for that and see if we can catch some highlights over here.
The pretzels are amazing!! Yeah you might be able to find something, or if not maybe it’ll be online or something from it on YouTube!