Great Wine! Good Food! Amazing friendly service! I try to stop passing thru Iowa every chance I get.read more

A beautiful setting with nice trees for lovely days outside. Plenty of friendly faces to help while…read moreyou're there. It would be good if they had more organization to help speed the process of sampling and ordering. There are many wine choices especially if you prefer sweeter varieties. Hopefully they get more dry and less sweet varieties.

Iowa's oldest continually operating Theater / Opera house right in downtown Story City…read more It's fairly well-kept and you can catch a movies here about 2-3 weeks after they are initially released. Unless it's a block-buster movie event and I feel compelled forgo the wait on Netflix I watch movies here. It's just too easy as a Story City resident and you can't beat the prices. For $5 you can gain admission and a snack. You're not going to find DLP projection or DTS here. You're also not going find 3-D movies. High value and convenience and historic surroundings. The seats here are just plain wood. Something close to what I recall in the auditoriums of my high school. They aren't the most comfortable but will serve the purpose for the duration of any film. A neat little theater and another great asset to the people of Story City. While it may not offer a lot of awe in comfort or technical execution it's really nice to be able to watch recent movies right here in northern Story County at a low price.

Just cannot say enough good things about the Center Grove Orchard. If you go to their website at…read morecentergroveorchard.com you'll see that there is MUCH more than a store on site. All sorts of activities for families, including a corn maze, Jumping Pillows, Pedal Carts, Super Slides, Goat Walk, and unlimited CGO Express Train rides. (Sorry ... I copied that from their website.) But, now I wanna talk about what's offered in the store. APPLES. And more apples. Pies, jams, salsa (best I've had in the area), dressings, dips, they have it all. The website claims 11 venues around the farm to enjoy. I haven't found all of them. But, inside the store they have the best dang coffee around, and awesome pies (with ice cream of course if you're interested.) Oh yeah, take home a couple frozen chicken pot pies. THE BEST Yep, you knew this was coming. If you follow me, you know I check out the restroom at places we visit, since I feel the condition of these facilities are as important as the food. On this busy afternoon, after what I'm sure were many men and young men in and out of the men's room, I can report the restroom was tidy with just a few areas of water dripped on the floor. Good job Center Grove! So, make the journey, you'll be glad you did.

Center Grove Orchard was such a fun place to be this past fall, and in years past. There is so much…read moreto do, you really can make a full day visit. Lost of farm animals to check out, tons of kids activities, a huge pumpkin patch, an apple grove where you can pick your own apples, a train to ride, a corn maze, and a market where there are farm made jams, jellies, peanut butter, honey, baked goods and more. There were also signs up saying there will be strawberry picking in the summer, and they also have fields of flowers in the appropriate seasons. They are striving to make their farm a year-round destination.

This was a wonderful experience and we will definitely be returning for the different seasons…read more Maybe even the dinner train. I'm not sure why they have you show up a hour before departure time. But we did spend the time waiting in the museum. I wish there had been a description of the cars or even pictures of the various cars when choosing on the website. We ended up in the open air on a misty cloudy day. I thought this was a car without windows or something. But after about ten minutes it stopped raining and surprisingly it was not cold. Somehow the wind is blocked. They did say we could go into the other car if we wanted. I do have to WARN anyone riding in the open air car that the soot from the train ends up landing on you and by the end of the ride you are speckled with black dots. It's been a few days and I still have a few spots that won't wash off. With all these little complaints it still was wonderful. I just have more knowledge for next time.

We had tickets for an open car on what turned out to be a hot day. The crew offered us to seat in a…read morecar with shade. The railroad is the main attraction. The view is ok with a couple of highlights. We originally wanted to be on the pedaled carts but they were sold out. They certainly looked like fun. A good attraction for kids and seniors.

What a great spot - an unexpected treasure!…read more I'm embarking on a 50 states/50 wineries challenge and this was one of my Iowa stops. Definitely my favorite winery in Iowa. The wines were delicious (I bought three bottles!), and this is coming from someone who frequents Napa. The atmosphere was lovely. Relaxing and welcoming. Would absolutely visit again!

Beautiful spot for a little wine tasting! We sat outside and enjoyed a wine flight. As first time…read morecustomers, a little more guidance would have been helpful. We didn't really know where to go or how everything worked. We didn't know or see a sign saying they sold charcuterie/snacks, until we found out after the fact. We did enjoy some of our wines & definately will come back & try more!

I've lived in Story City for nearly 10 years and was just recently turned on to this family…read moreoperated orchard south of town. It's another example of yet another unheralded treasure right under my nose in this great little town. This is a bare-bones orchard. You're not going to be able to get a pie, or a cup of coffee. Unquestionably the tastiest, freshest apples I've ever eaten. We bought 2 bags of honeycrisp apples, a bag of gala apples, asian pears and some cider. All have proven to be delightful and a sweet, crisp healthy snack. The young woman tending the "apple barn" was very helpful in making recommendations and offering samples of their product. Next thing you know, we had 4 armfuls of goods.

This family owned and operated orchard is wonderful! They're all incredibly friendly and the prices…read moreare perfect! Everything we got was delicious and fresh. Going and picking out our pumpkins was such a fun experience and the orchard was beautiful! The kids had a blast too. 10/10!!!!!!

Has it really been 16 years since I last visited Reiman Gardens and wrote a Yelp review about it?…read more Maybe, and it seems that the facility has significantly expanded since then. Gayle and I stopped by today to wander and enjoy. It's still a little confusing to get here as it seems that you're entering the Jack Trice Stadium complex instead of the Reiman Gardens parking lot. But once we were parked, it was an easy walk into the main building to pay our admission and start our journey. Reiman Gardens is a year-round facility that is owned by Iowa State and no doubt also hosts various University events and weddings. The Butterfly wing is still there, plus some sort of goth theme in another greenhouse. Also inside is a cute little gift shop and lots of office and meeting space. The outside is expansive, with lots of nicely landscaped grounds and plenty of shade in various areas. Gayle and I especially enjoyed the large Gnome, the Sycamore Falls complex, the various hordes of pollinators on some flowers, and just wandering around the various curved paths. Some parts are a little close to a busy road, but we chose to concentrate on the Gardens present. Maybe it was also the soothing sound of water in various places. We spent at least a couple hours here and allowed ourselves to be immersed in the various shades of solitude within a campus that seemed so far away. Gardens staff were friendly, helpful, and excited about being there. Hopefully, I won't wait so many years before coming back.

Our family visited on a Friday morning. We spent most of our time in the butterfly wing. There were…read morenearly 1000 butterflies fluttering about and our girls had the most wonderful time observing. Afterwards, we walked around the gardens and had some interesting finds, such as the Up house replica and world's largest concrete gnome.

This was my first time at the speedway. If you are a car racing enthusiast that could be a great…read moreactivity for you. The night we went it was very cold and windy. There is only bleacher seating so if you want a back to your seat you probably want to bring one. As you probably know the the fumes are strong too. It appears to be a real draw for people however it is just not my cup of tea. Parking is plentiful and access is easy.