Iowa

The Iowa State Capitol is located in downtown Des Moines, IA near East Village—a fantastic part of the city where I ended up staying. This capitol building is magnificent and the grounds on Capitol Hill are lovely. Des Moines is great, too!

The capitol grounds, called Capitol Hill, provide a great view of downtown Des Moines from the West Terrace, and have beautiful memorials and monuments between Walnut Street and Court Avenue on the south side. 

Learn more about planning your visit to the Iowa State Capitol. Before you go, I highly recommend downloading the Iowa State Capitol Visitor Guide (PDF), which is a detailed resource about the interior design and art on display. This publication is the best I have seen for a state capitol building and provides:

• Detailed information about each floor and the grounds, including tour stops and maps

• History of the capitol

• Information on exhibits

They did such a great job with this publication I really don’t need to go into detail here.

The only five-domed capitol in the United States, the central dome is covered in thin sheets of 23-carat gold that shine brilliantly. Four other simpler domes rise above the building’s corners. 

Everything about the interior of the Iowa State Capitol is stunning by any state capitol standard. Both chambers of the Iowa Legislature are gorgeous and ornate with rich detail. The Iowa Governor’s office is also in the capitol. The Iowa Supreme Court has a chamber here, but most of their work is done in the Iowa Supreme Court building.

Do not miss this State Law Library! Many state capitols have state law libraries (and they are typically very nice), but this one is my favorite! It is so grand—once you get past the skeleton that greets you at the door. If you need to sit and rest for a bit, do it here (quietly) and take it all in.  

If you are on your own journey to visit all state capitols, plan on staying at least a few days in Des Moines. Even if you are not keen on visiting them all, I still recommend a visit here. 

Des Moines was the last stop on my Great Midwest Loop trip in 2023. Knowing I would be headed straight back to Texas after this visit, I decided to take my time. My sister said I would love it because it’s a smaller version of Austin, and I was not disappointed.

Though I parked in a state parking lot a block or so away from the capitol building, I could have parked at the hotel in East Village and easily walked. There are a few hotels on the east side of the Des Moines River, so I recommend staying at any of them and walking to all downtown destinations if you are willing and able. East Village has a lot of good local shops, restaurants, and coffee. 

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