Waterloo IA Tourism and Sightseeing

Best Time to Visit Waterloo Iowa
Spring through fall. We have do have the four distinct seasons; the fresh newness of spring with the trees budding out and everything greening up. Our golf courses are open March through October so we have many golfers from neighboring states north of us come down to golf since they open a month or more before theirs. Waterloo was voted #4 in the nation as the best place to play golf by Golf Digest Magazine due to our five beautiful public courses with very reasonable green fees under $20. Waterloo is also home to the Waterloo Open - Iowa’s largest and oldest golf tournament. During the summer months, you really hit the outdoors on our 106 miles of paved recreational trails. The annual Cedar Trails Festival celebrates these trails with live music and special events. Other summer events include the four-day My Waterloo Days Festival, 4th Street Classic Car Cruise, and the Iowa Irish Fest. Lost Island Water Park, Iowa’s largest outdoor water park, is open June through August each year. Each fall while the air is crisp and the leaves are starting to turn their beautiful fall colors, our trail system is great for walking, bicycling, or rollerblading, with them winding along the Cedar River, by lakes and ponds, and through nature preserves. Pick your own pumpkin in a pumpkin patch, take a hayride, and enjoy the fall festivals. Click Here to find hotels in Waterloo. If you need additional visitor information for Waterloo, Click Here.

Average Waterloo Weather
The average temperature in Waterloo is 71.6 degrees during the summer and 20.1 degrees during the winter. Average high temperature in the summer is 83.2 and 29.5 during the winter.

Transportation
Easily accessible by Interstate 380 and Federal Highways US 20, 63 and 218. The Waterloo Regional Airport is serviced by Delta Airlines and Midwest Air Taxi.

Iowa Tourism - Waterloo Attractions, Activities and Day Trips
Suggested day trip:
Take a trolley tour of the John Deere Tractor Assembly and see how the large green tractors are manufactured. It’s the only location in North America that manufactures these tractors! The narrated trolley ride takes you through the complete process until the tractor rolls off the assembly line. Afterwards, shop in the gift shop Deere Crossing. Free tours are offered Monday - Friday at 8:00am, 10:00am, and 1:00pm. John Deere Engine Works also offers trolley tours Monday - Friday at 9:30am and 1:00pm.

Dine at the world famous Galleria De Paco Sistine Chapel Ceiling Restaurant. The artist Paco Rosic created this breathtaking masterpiece using 5,200 cans of Krylon spray paint as he lay on scaffolding for 4 months. Visitors from all over the world come to dine under this masterpiece. Homemade breads, savory soups, and scrumptious desserts make this experience a dining delight!

Experience the Grout Museum District where you can "Touch, See, and Feel" the history. The "Engine of the Heartland" exhibit reviews the history of industry in our area. Waterloo was home to at least 10 automobile manufacturing companies in the early 1900's, automobiles which included the Dart and the Maytag. You have the opportunity to view the evolution of Waterloo from a small county-seat town into a Midwest industrial center. Machines of transportation and power are featured, along with agri-production, food processing, farm implement manufacturing, and printing. Step back in time with a visit to Waterloo’s oldest Victorian mansion, the Rensselaer Russell House, filled with belongings of three generations of the Russell Family. The brand new 30,000 square foot Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum honors all veterans from Civil War to present day with its mix of oral veteran histories, vintage military films, and interactive exhibits. Named after Waterloo’s WWII heroes the Five Sullivan Brothers, this experience puts you inside of a fighter plane and tank to atop the bow of a reconstructed USS Juneau that is viewable and extended from the first floor to the museums second level. Other exhibits include the interior of a Vietnam-era Huey helicopter, the front of a Korean war-era jet fighter, WWII Pacific theater plus generations of memories from Civil War to present day.

Test your luck at the Isle Casino Hotel Waterloo. This new, beautiful full-service hotel has four restaurants including the isle buffet, two lounges, and all the latest & greatest slot machines and favorite table games.

Enjoy a delicious, gourmet 3-course dinner at the new ArtHouse Café located inside the Waterloo Center for the Arts. Then a few steps down the hallway is the Hope Martin Theatre home of the Waterloo Community Playhouse. Since 1916, this theatrical company is one of the oldest and largest in Iowa. They present the best in classics, modern comedies, drama, musicals, and mysteries. Performances are scheduled every six weeks. They always have a summer musical in July and a holiday production in December.

From simple painting projects to magical high-tech adventures, the one-of-a-kind exhibits at the Phelps Youth Pavilion will fascinate kids and adults alike. Among the exhibits are an interactive tractor where visitors can hop on and virtually drive through a Grant Wood painting, a cow that kids can learn how to milk, a hay loft slide kids can go down in Grant’s Barn, a Tap-Tap taxi that will give visitors the experience of riding down the bumpy streets of Haiti, a time machine that will take visitors to experience prehistoric times, and many more unique hands-on exhibits! More than 40 interactive exhibits await you.

Enter a world of discovery at the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute & Museum. This 21,000 square foot facility chronicles the sport of wrestling back some 5,000 years. Gable won three state wrestling championships at Waterloo West High School, two NCAA titles at Iowa State University, and an Olympic championship as a competitor. As a coach he won 15 NCAA titles in 21 seasons at the University of Iowa. The museum holds more than 350 books including one that was published in 1727, thousands of artifacts, dozens or display cases, a video room, Dan's Olympic uniform, collegiate wrestling history from 1986 to present, and an actual wrestling ring. The museum stresses the value and impact of Gable's life and many accomplishments, providing inspiration and motivation to younger generations of athletes. Gift shop on site.

Artistry at its best! The Waterloo Center for the Arts presents a full program of exhibitions & works from its permanent collection as well as changing temporary exhibits of works by regional and international artists. Permanent collections include paintings by Grant Wood, Marvin Cone, and Thomas Hart Benton. They have the largest public collection of Haitian art in the United States featuring colorful paintings, powerful metal sculpture, and glittering beaded and sequined banners. Exhibits extend outside the walls of the WCA into the surrounding tranquil sculpture gardens along the scenic Riverwalk and waterfall fountain near the main entrance. They offer workshops and classes for your group from drawing, pottery, jewelry making, digital photography, and video editing. The WCA Gift Store sells original fine arts & crafts created by over 160 Midwest artists. Opening in 2001, Lost Island Water Park is Iowa’s largest outdoor water park and is fun for kids and "kids at heart" of all ages. This 74-acre park was designed by Disney and features 13 major waterslides including the "Tá Katipo", a 5-person raft ride, 4-lane racer, plus a wave pool, lazy river, several children’s play areas, two restaurants and two snack shops, gift shop, plus adventure golf, and go-karts. They have private pavilions you can reserve, free tubes, and group rates.

Let’s make butter! Hansen’s Dairy Farm where you can enjoy the hands on experience visiting this 240 acre, 170 head dairy farm. A guided tour takes you through the process of getting milk to your table: milking parlor, feeding facility, cow barns, feed shed, creamery, and farm equipment. Feed a baby calf or hand milk a cow.

Whoa! Take a horse drawn wagon ride (or sleigh ride during the winter months) out along the banks of Black Hawk Creek past a rustic cabin in the woods to a 100-year old barn where you have a great home cooked meal at Heritage Farm. Afterwards, have a sing-a-long with Ruthie on the upright piano. There several building full of farm implements and old wagons you can view along with the native farm animals walking around the grounds.



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Things to do in Waterloo IA, Sightseeing and Waterloo IA Tourism