Review Visit: August 14th, 2017…read more 'Snake? Snake!? SNAAAAKE!' The original purpose of this twisty and windy path is detailed on the wiki page linked below. I will give you the Spark Notes version; it was created as a shortcut for horses to traverse down the hill to Main Street. This place has been on my list for awhile now and on a beautiful August day, I finally made the trek up to see it. It was not quite what I expected, which is a good thing. The alley itself is rather short, but if you make the walk down and up it, you'll feel it in your legs. The alley is lined with houses on one side, which has to make for a very interesting living arrangement. I figured the road was closed for vehicle traffic, but was I wrong! You can apparently drive down the path... which I did. Driving down it was almost like being on a roller coaster, in your own car. The windy paths and sharp turns were super fun and gets your adrenaline going. At the bottom, there is a chance to bottom out as you pull out into normal traffic, so be careful if you do take the fun plunge. Luckily, if you are not a fan of snakes or the video game Metal Gear Solid, you can happily visit Snake Alley. If you are a fan of odd things and fun car rides, Snake Alley is the place for you.

Neat road! It…read morereminds me of Lombard St in San Francisco! Built in 1894, Snake Alley originally provided a shortcut from Heritage Hill to the business district. Bricks were laid at an angle to allow horses better footing as they descended. Unfortunately, riding horses back up the alley often resulted in a loss of control at the top; for this reason, even to this day, Snake Alley remains a one-way street, with all traffic heading downhill. It's even listed in Ripley's Believe it or Not! The turns are even sharper than Lombard St.!

Unfortunately when I visited the visitor's center was closed, but I still had a blast! There is a…read morelot that you can park in, and then travel down a path to a bunch of informational displays about the flood in 1993 that carved out this gorge, revealing all of the fossils. Then, you proceed down the path into a gorge, keeping an eye out for fossils. I saw a bunch of fossils on the bank to my right, before I even made it to the gorge. There were a few people scattered walking their dogs, although one group was actively looking to spot fossils and had the brochure from the Army Corps of Engineers about the different fossils present. All in all, this was a great spot to spend an hour walking around. I did see evidence that people have poached fossils from here, which is a shame. Look, but don't take!

Open area with lots to look at. I'm surprised they let people walk over these fossil imprints. Much…read moreof the rock is cracked and loose. Much of the area has numbers imbedded into the ground to help you find the things.

I went to Cobblestone Alley in Burlington, IA on 9/14/2016. It was my 1st time there. It is part…read moreof the Snake Alley Historic District. It is located just east of Snake Alley and is quite a contrast from it. Plus, I took photos.

We randomly came upon Plum Grove while on a bike ride and it's quite the fun little spot to stop in…read moreat. They're open from 1-5 Wed-Sun and we learned from the sign that the National Society of The Colonial Dames helps out here! Kind of a fun little 20 minute excursion where you can explore a house that was effectively a mansion in the 1840's and today is on the small side of anywhere. The grounds have plenty of reader boards w/ fun facts about what used to go on here and there was even a community garden that is apparently usable. Good place to go explore for a bit and learn a little about how things used to be!

We came and did a little tour here, it's a fun little hidden gem in the middle of Iowa City. It's a…read morecool old house, grounds and gardens that are in surprisingly good shape. The tour is free, and because not many people come it's basically a private tour every time. The tour guides are knowledgeable, friendly, and fun. Ours was very good with my daughter who was just learning how to walk and wanted to get into everything. The grounds are also quite beautiful, with an herb garden, a flower garden, and a vegetable garden, as well as huge old trees. There is plenty of space to picnic there, and it's very peaceful. I really enjoyed spending an hour here and would recommend it!

This is a roadside attraction that delivers on its promises, that is that it's a large wooden…read morenickle. I'm not sure if it's the world's largest, but this is the first wooden nickle that I've seen and so it's my personally largest. There's a gravel lot that you can pull into (although you have to pass through a gate that says it's private property, so your mileage will vary on if it's open) to take photos. I didn't cross the road to get up and close with it since the road was quite busy. I'm kind of disappointed that there's no path that you can walk on to see it, but then again, this is a fairly low effort attraction. There's no amenities that it offers, nor any signs explaining it, but then again it is free. Would I stop here again? If it was on the way, sure, but I wouldn't make a trip solely to see this.

The National Park honoring the life of Herbert Hoover is inspiring and educational. The complex is…read morelarge and includes a Visitors Center, his original birthplace cottage, schoolhouse, blacksmith, gravesite, park and Presidential Library and Museum. We started our tour in the Visitor's Center. We were greeted by a friendly Park Ranger, who described the layout of the center. A twelve minute movie provides a nice overview of Hoover's life from boyhood to post presidential. The Center also has a room with interactive displays and artifacts. I confess that I didn't know much about Hoover prior to this visit. His story is memorable as he was raised Quaker, became orphaned at a young age, yet managed to attend Stanford University and become a successful geologist. Then, he became president and devoted his life to international outreach. What an inspirational story! Despite cold rain, we took the short walk to Hoover's boyhood cottage, the blacksmith shop where his father worked and the schoolhouse. Each stop was informative. Nice boardwalks connect all the buildings, which are wheel chair accessible. The museum was closed for major renovations and will reopen in 2026. The grave site (behind the museum) is peaceful, simple and lovely. There is nearby parking. The Park is easy on/off US 80. The site was free to visit (although donations are accepted). There were public restrooms in the Visitors Center. I encourage a visit if you like history. The Park is a great place to bring kids. Plan a couple hours.

Admittedly, I don't do much research before visiting an NPS site, as I would like to be educated by…read morethe informational displays present. If I have additional questions, I just look them up later. So, it was a huge surprise to me that this place was pretty sizable. Starting from the visitor's center, you can meander your way through the grounds containing the former president's house (and birth place), his school house, and his original Quaker church. There's also a blacksmithery which has demonstrations over the weekends. Finally, you can see his grave site. I unfortunately did not have time to visit the museum, but the NPS ranger had good things to say about it. There is also a small path to the prairie to give you a sense of what Hoover's family encountered before they farmed the land. Overall, this was a great visit!

This is an interesting place. I have been curious about Mormonism from cultural perspective for…read moresome time, and when I had some time off a couple years ago decided to take a trip to Nauvoo to visit this early Mormon settlement. When I was here, it was the middle of the week, so there were few people wandering around. Officially, the Community of Christ--an off-shoot of the Mormon faith, established after the murder of Joseph Smith and the second-largest LDS denomination--is the organization that established the Joseph Smith Historic Site. However, as you're walking through the buildings that are the property of the CoC, you'll also be able to walk around and amongst the locations that are under the ownership of the LDS church. The signage is different so you'll be able to tell what is what, but some of these buildings are literally next door to one another so you won't have to drive from one site to the next. It was interesting to learn about some of the history at places like the blacksmith shop and the Seventies Hall. I didn't feel too much like I was being proselytized to, especially when in a larger group of folks. And you'll almost certainly be in and amongst members of the faith if you visit here. Also very important is that some of these homes are privately owned, and are marked as such, so remember to be respectful.

This was a destination on a pretty cool road trip I took with some friends in the summer. First…read moreheard about Nauvoo as being the holiest land for the Mormon faith; that people all the way from the Phillipines make their pilgrimdge here, to this small river city along the mighty Mississippi. (Which warranted a road trip out of curiosity) We went here at the end of summer. This part of Illinois is really something else. Truly unique. The settlement is prestine, peaceful, and one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in America; we were amazingly suprised, and really not prepared to behold the outstanding beauty of this establishment. The restoration project is incredible. The entire settlement is restored to the old times of the 1800's, and is surrounded by a phenomenal landscaping project; with scores of flowers found all about the property. The Former Quarters of Joseph Smith's family sit nestled along the Mississippi River, with ancient Trees that embrace the home; and it is here where the prophet Joseph Smith is buried. It's as though you have entered heaven. Nauvoo, is a just another delightful slice of Americana for you to discover how amazingly awesome this country is! I highly recommend visiting Nauvoo.

I enjoyed this City. It has a great mall, the area is full of life with solid amenities, growing…read morestructures, easy access to the highway with low traffic. Great selection of stores and hobbies to fit your lifestyle that you can get in your typical big city. Really enjoyed my time here.

I grew up in Iowa City which is adjoined to the City of Coralville. The City of Coralville has…read moredeveloped greatly over the last 30 years...which I have been alive to see. I love many of the City of Coralville's restaurants and stores! Coralville is a longer town than wide and you notice this as you drive down 2nd Street in Coralville. Also, the City of Coralville has the well-known Coral Ridge Mall.

Such a fun tour! Took about 50 minutes and was jammed packed with surprises. If you want a fun way…read moreto learn some davenport history, this is a great place to go!

From the owner: In almost any city you visit, you can find historic home tours. Our home has it all: beautiful…read morearchitecture, family stories, artifacts from around the world, unique room designs, and more!

I wandered past this iconic and historic piece of Iowa City Railroad history during a recent Iowa…read moreCity walk. Although the interior of this building looks like it's used for offices, the exterior (day or night) is a sight to behold, especially if you're like me and love all things trains., This old Rock Island Line station was in use for passenger rail operations beginning in 1898, replacing the town's first depot from 1855. This station remained in service until 1970, when passenger rail service was initially discontinued to Iowa City. And as things turn out, As consideration is being made to starting up passenger train service to and from Chicago, it would be cook to give this station another go, especially regarding its proximity to Downtown Iowa City and the SUI Campus.