12 Awesome Things To Do NEAR Dubuque Iowa | USA

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As a Brit living in the USA, I explored so much of Dubuque County and the surrounding area! I wrote a huge guide of things to do in Dubuque, which you can find here. The post is SO BIG that I didn’t even cover what can be found in the rest of Dubuque County and the Tri-State area! Here’s a continuation of that post!

Things To Do Near Dubuque

IOWA: Dubuque County | Jackson County | TRI-STATE AREA: Wisconsin | Illinois

Dubuque County

• ⚾️Field of Dreams Movie Site
• 🛍️Plaza Antique Mall
• 🪨Dubuque County Freedom Rock
• 🌳Swiss Valley
• 🎨Peosta Graffiti Tunnel
• 🌲Whitewater Canyon Wildlife Management Area
• 🏖️Mississippi River Beaches
• 🛥️Mississippi River Boat Cruises

Cutting right across Dubuque County (and the whole width of Iowa!) is Highway 20. You can find a road trip guide here, which shares a range of things to do near Dubuque: Dubuque To Waterloo: Events & Things To Do Along Highway 20 Iowa. Here are a few of the main attractions and things to see.

Field of Dreams Movie Site (Dyersville)

🚙Drive time from Dubuque: 35 minutes

The Field of Dreams Movie Site is the filming location for the 1989 Kevin Costner movie ‘The Field of Dreams’. The baseball field is ‘open’ every day. It is free to visit and use if you fancy playing a game of baseball in front of the farmhouse!

During the summer months, Ghost Saturdays is a great free, family event. I’ve only seen the film a couple of times but even I got chills when the players came out of the cornfield! You can even meet the players, get their autographs, and have pictures taken with them after the show!

The ‘If You Built It Exhibit‘ in downtown Dyersville shares the history of the movie in more detail.

Visit the Plaza Antique Mall (Dyersville)

🚙Drive time from Dubuque: 30 minutes

While you’re in Dyersville, the antique shop is fun to wander around! The outside looks like an old theatre and there are a couple of old classic cars on the inside! There are lots of antiques and old toys…some of which I remember playing with when I was a kid…not too sure how I feel about them being considered antiques now!  

There is also a farm toy shop nearby and Dyersville also hosts the National Farm Toy Show twice a year.

Visit The Dubuque County Freedom Rock (Epworth)

🗺️102 Jacoby Walkway, Epworth, IA 52045, United States

🚙Drive time from Dubuque: 25 minutes

Artist Ray “Bubba” Sorensen II, has been painting murals on giant boulders since 1999. The first of his creations, the ‘Freedom Rock’ in Menlo Iowa, is the biggest (weighing over 60 tonnes/12ft tall).

There is now one smaller rock (around 10 tonnes) in each of Iowa’s 99 counties, honouring veterans and promoting tourism within Iowa. Dubuque Country’s Freedom Rock is located in Epworth, in front of the fire station.

Go Geo Caching at Swiss Valley Nature Preserve (Peosta)

🚙Drive time from Dubuque: 20 minutes

I’ve been to Swiss Valley just outside of Peosta, but I’ve not been geocaching there yet! For those who don’t know what geocaching is, it’s like a nature version of a treasure hunt. Little capsules are hidden and when you find it via coordinates, you write your name on the list hidden inside, replace it, and log on your personal records that it’s been found!

Swiss Valley has geocache kits that you can borrow for free!  It’s often frustrating trying to search for something that a lot of the time is so tiny but it’s SO EXCITING when you finally find it!

During the winter try snowshoeing! Swiss Valley has free snow shoes that visitors can borrow (limited supplies).

Find The Abandoned Graffiti Tunnel (Peosta)

🚙Drive time from Dubuque: 20 minutes

If you enjoy photography, there’s a tunnel in Peosta that is a bit of a ruin and is covered in graffiti. It was once upon a time a tunnel that passed under the train line, however, the road has now subsided.

From Hwy 20, take either Cox Springs Rd and turn right onto Chesterman Road, this end is hard to access though. Otherwise, head to Thunder Hills Rd and turn left onto Chesterman Road and it’ll put you at the opposite end of the tunnel. If you jump over rocks you can get halfway into the tunnel.

Whitewater Canyon Wildlife Management Area

🚙Drive time from Dubuque: 20 minutes

Whitewater Canyon is a really nice quiet place to go hiking near Dubuque. You’ll find several different trails, viewpoints, and access to Whitewater Creek River. Unlike some of the other hiking areas, there aren’t any toilet facilities, so make sure you go before you arrive!

Have a Beach Day/Enjoy the Mississippi River!

Yes, there are beaches in Iowa!! The Mississippi River is full of sandbars that can only be reached by boat. If you hunt around you can find your own private spot!

However, if you haven’t got access to a boat, Finley’s Landing Park in Sherrill has a large beach that can be reached by car!

Mississippi River Cruises

If the beach isn’t your thing, you’ll find several companies that run Mississippi River Cruises from Dubuque. The most frequent is the American Lady, which is based in Dubuque and therefore runs on a daily basis. 

There are a couple of other companies with larger, more traditional, riverboats which have cruises departing from Dubuque, scattered through the summer season. Viking Cruises also have a stop in Dubuque.

Jackson County

• 🦇Maquoketa Caves State Park

Maquoketa Caves State Park

🚙Drive time from Dubuque: 35 minutes

Maquoketa Caves State Park is located 35 minutes from Dubuque in Jackson County, Iowa. The awesome thing about it is that it’s completely free to visit!

The park consists of 6 miles of walking trails through a woodland area (complete with the deer!). Some follow the path through large caves and others lead to the entrances of caves that require a bit of crawling!

There are 16 caves altogether, around 50% are ‘walk-in caves’. One of the biggest caves, is ‘Dancehall Cave’. They were first discovered back in the 1830s.

For those who want to stay close by, there is a campground on-site.

Wisconsin

• ✝️Dickeyville Grotto

Dickeyville Grotto

🚙Drive time from Dubuque: 10 minutes

Dickeyville is located in southwest Wisconsin, just 10 minutes from Dubuque and the Mississippi River.

The Dickeyville Grotto is a series of shrines built by Father Matthias Wernerus, a German immigrant Catholic Priest, between 1925-1931. He built them as a dedication to his love of God and his love of America.

Each Shrine is made out of stone and covered in a mosaic/collage style with various colourful objects such as: shells, coral, starfish, coloured glass, gem stones, and copper. Even if you aren’t religious, it’s such a unique thing to see.

The Grotto is free to visit and is open year-round. (It is recommended that a donation of $1-$2 dollars is given, to help with the upkeep and to look after the grounds). There’s also a gift shop which has a wide range of products. Roadside parking can be found along Great River Rd.

Illinois

• 🍽️Timmerman’s Supper Club
• ⛷️Galena

Timmerman’s Supper Club

🚙Drive time from Dubuque: 8 minutes

Supper clubs became popular around the 1930’s during the Prohibition Era. Many still operate in the Midwest today, with several close to Dubuque. One of my favourites is Timmermans Supper Club in East Dubuque, Illinois.

It sits high up on top of a bluff that partly overlooks the Mississippi River. From the outside, it doesn’t look like much, but once inside, the restaurant is surrounded with windows and you’re greeted with a pretty awesome view!

On a Sunday morning between 9.30am – 1pm, Timmermans Supper Club is open for Brunch in the style of an ‘all you can eat’ buffet! They have hot breakfast options, an omelette station, pastries & breads, fruit, veg & salads, lunch (fried chicken, sliced ham, taco bar, mashed potatoes etc), and dessert.

It is also open from 4pm in the evenings for dinner (closed on Monday and Tuesday). All Entrees are served with soup or salad, a choice of starch and bread rolls. The menu consists mostly of: chicken, beef, pork, fish, and seafood, with the seafood section taking up the majority of the menu.

Galena

🚙Drive time from Dubuque: 25 minutes

A 25-minute drive from Dubuque is the small town of Galena, Illinois. In the early 1800’s Galena was a booming lead mining town, and was once home to the former President, Ulysses S Grant.

There are so many things to do in Galena! Its main street is packed full of independent businesses, offering a range of restaurants and shops. Just outside of the downtown area, is even a micro-distillery!

One of my favourite things to do is Chestnut Mountain Resort! During the winter it is a ski resort (there’s also a ski resort in Dubuque), but during the summer there is a zip line, an alpine toboggan, Segway tours, and more. It is a great place to enjoy the outdoors and has awesome views across the Mississippi River!

Other Dubuque Posts You May Enjoy

(The following posts are included in my main Dubuque guide. But they are on the edge of the city outskirts, so are a bit of a drive from Downtown Dubuque)

• The 3 Best Hiking Trails at the Mines of Spain, Dubuque IA | USA
• Sky Tours Zipline Dubuque: Ziplining in Iowa USA!

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