Hometown Heroes in Grinnell serves a mighty fine burger. The popular eatery also won the 2025 award for Iowa’s Best Breaded Pork Tenderloin from the Iowa Pork Producers Association. Photo: Duane Tinkey
Writer: Karen Novak
We all have people in our lives who are tough to buy gifts for. For me, it’s my parents. They’ve collected a lifetime of treasured possessions and have been lucky enough to buy themselves almost anything they want. They really don’t need more stuff.
A few years ago, it occurred to me: Why not try a different approach?
I planned a surprise outing for each month of the year. My only rules were that every destination had to be within easy driving distance and offer something we’d never done before — the more unusual, the better.
At Christmas, I gave them 12 sealed envelopes, one for each month of the coming year. Each held the name of a destination. We chose a date for each outing, and each time I arrived to pick them up, they’d open that month’s envelope to discover our destination. Sometimes I didn’t even let them peek. We just hopped in the car and I started giving them clues. It was great fun!
This has become one of our favorite traditions, and so much more than a bauble to unwrap on Christmas Day. It’s a gift for all of us that keeps giving throughout the year.
Want to steal the idea? Go right ahead. Here are a dozen ideas in and around Central Iowa to get you started.
January: Escape the winter with a trip to the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden and have lunch at Flora, the garden’s sunny cafe. If you go on a Sunday, catch a Botanical Blues concert.
“Jewel Box” Bank, Grinnell
February: Visit Grinnell and take a quick spin through the Grinnell College campus, the town square and Louis Sullivan’s 1914 “Jewel Box” Bank before an early dinner at the Prairie Canary. The downtown restaurant features high quality, beautifully presented meals made from locally sourced ingredients. For heartier fare, head to Hometown Heroes, where you’ll find enough sports-themed burgers (The Blitz, The Fumblerooski) to feed a football team.
March: Head to Marshalltown and hit one of the oldest Maid-Rites, which opened here in 1928. Then visit Lillie Mae Chocolates, which has been making hand-dipped chocolates and small-batch popcorn since 1939.
Red Haw State Park, Chariton. Photo courtesy of Iowa Department of Natural Resources
April: Go to Chariton and see the redbuds at Red Haw State Park, where they look almost like a pink fog surrounding the lake. They usually peak in mid- to late April. And if you liked Lillie Mae in Marshalltown, don’t miss Piper’s Candy on the Chariton square. It’s been around since 1903.
Liberty Street Kitchen, Pella. Photo: Duane Tinkey
May: Visit Pella before or after Tulip Time (May 6-8, 2027) and avoid the crowds. You’ll find shorter lines at Jaarsma and Vander Ploeg bakeries, and you can have a great lunch at Liberty Street Kitchen, right on the canal.
June: By early summer you’ll find the wildflowers at the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge in all their glory. If you’re lucky, you’ll also spot some bison grazing on the tallgrass prairie. If you’d like to graze, too, head to Goldie’s Ice Cream Shoppe in Prairie City for a pork tenderloin and an ice cream shake.
Levitt AMP Earlham Music Series, Earlham. Photo courtesy of Levitt AMP Earlham Music Series
July: On Sundays in Earlham, you can step back in time at the Old School House Museum before a free concert in the popular Levitt AMP Earlham Music Series at the city park. On your way there, stop for lunch (and pie, always pie) at Patrick’s Restaurant in Adel or Waveland West in Booneville.
August: Skip breakfast and work up an appetite for the Halftime Bar & Grill in Pleasantville. The place serves nearly a dozen classic and creative burgers, including Iowa’s Best Burger of 2025, according to the Iowa Beef Industry Council and Iowa Cattlemen’s Association.
September: Did someone say doughnuts? You’ll find some amazing ones, along with other tasty pastries, at Bricktown Bakery in Nevada. A few miles east in Colo, visit the 1923 filling station at the intersection of the old Lincoln and Jefferson highways. It now houses a little museum and Niland’s Cafe.
October: See the fall foliage in all its splendor at Ledges State Park, where 100-foot-tall sandstone outcroppings overlook the Des Moines River. Before or after your hike, fuel up at the Town & Country Cafe, a classic eatery in Madrid.
November: Take in the late fall countryside on a trip to Cedar Falls to visit Barn Happy. The name says it all: The super-cute renovated dairy barn built in 1925 sits just west of Cedar Falls and provides a happy and relaxed vibe. In addition to yummy dishes made from locally sourced ingredients, there’s a gift shop filled with fun and unique items. It’s a great place to have lunch and start your Christmas shopping.
The POET Tree, Hanlontown. Photo: Clayton Rye
December: If you’d like to experience Frank Lloyd Wright’s Historic Park Inn Hotel in Mason City without staying overnight, book a table at the Leadlight, the stylish restaurant on the first floor. Nearby, Birdsall’s Ice Cream is always worth a stop (even in the winter). And 20 minutes north, just outside of Hanlontown, you’ll find the POET Tree, which employees from POET Bioprocessing decorate with 80,000 lights for the holidays. You can see it for miles, glowing on the horizon.
Contributor Karen Novak Swalwell is a retired executive recruiter. When she’s not traveling Iowa’s backroads, you can find her enjoying live local music or the bike trails around her home in West Des Moines.
