The city of Des Moines is the fastest growing metro area in the Midwest. It’s full of great shopping, live entertainment, and eye-pleasing parks and gardens. The hub of Iowa is also home to a number of unique indoor and outdoor museums and galleries, like the Moberg Gallery and Living History Farms—an interactive experience highlighting the history of rural Midwestern heritage.

For anyone who is fascinated with the strange and unusual, Iowa is home to some of our country's most peculiar roadside attractions. From big to small, weird to wonderous, there is plenty for you to take your picture in front of at these destinations. Visit the world’s largest concrete bull in Audubon (his name is Albert) or the Volkswagon Beetle Spider in Avoca. Don’t forget the state’s largest frying pan in Brandon. Standing at nine feet three inches tall, it was built in 2004 for the town’s Cowboy Breakfast Festival.

Iowa is known for its rolling plains and cornfields that can be seen from just about anywhere in the state. Choose to spend time outdoors in one of Iowa’s 83 state parks and recreation areas. Lake Icaria is a very popular place for camping in southern Iowa. The county park offers two campgrounds with more than 150 campsites ranging from full-service water and electric hookups to tent only, as well as a handful of full-service cabins and cottages. Camper van travelers, RV dwellers, and tent campers also love Stephen’s State Forest Campground south of Des Moines and Pikes Peak State Park.

Other popular outdoor recreation activities in Iowa include cave exploring at Maquoketa Caves State Park or kayaking along Lake Red Rock past sea caves and astonishing red rock formations. Experience the true thrill of Iowa’s incredible outdoor scene when you make your way through this remarkable Midwestern state. A camper van adventure through Iowa gives you the power to completely tailor your own adventure.

Pigs outnumber people in Iowa by a ratio of roughly 1:7. As of 2013 there were 21 million pigs and three million humans.

Iowa is the only state bordered by two paralleling major rivers: the Missouri River and the Mississippi River.

Iowa is the corn capital of America, producing over two billion bushels per year.