(61) Benton County 9.20.2025

We started off with a nice surprise in Belle Plaine- it was their Cider Walk- a crafts and vendor street market! We made sure to stop in the Regal Fritillary Coffee shop so we could sip and stroll.

We were also fortunate enough to be able to stop in the Belle Plaine Area Museum. It’s usually only open in the afternoon, but since it was the Cider Walk, they were opened early! We enjoyed getting to learn a bit more about the local history, including the Jumbo Well. In the 1880’s while digging for a well, they hit an artisan spring resulting in a geyser 50 feet high that flowed for 14 months before they could get it to stop.

And this marks the actual spot of Jumbo Well.

Next up was Vinton- which we found another nice surprise—they were hosting their annual cruise night. The downtown was full of old cars and hot rods!

Vinton has a ton of murals and also these corn sculptures all over- we thought we better get at least 1 picture with them 😊

    

We just did a brief stop at the Vinton Depot and decided to tour the Horridge House instead which we were glad we did! We love looking at these historical houses and learning a little more about the history of these towns

We were excited to stop at Tootsie’s for some yummy diner food and ice cream. It ended up being about as good as the candy—which they handed to us with every plate!

The main attraction of Benton County was Bloomsbury Farm (named after Peter Pan), in Atkins. It was a perfect fall day for a visit to the pumpkin patch, and we had a blast! We would highly recommend for families of all ages. There are a lot of different activities- slides, corn pools, corn maze, apple cannons, and much more 😊

 

We aren’t huge baseball fans, but we couldn’t pass up stopping in Norway, famous for its history of baseball. The movie The Final Season was filmed here, which tells the story of the final season of Norway’s high school baseball program before the school merged with the Benton County schools. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to watch the movie before our visit to Benton County, so that will have to be our next movie watch!

We rounded out the day at Lincoln Café! This café was established in 1928 when the Lincoln Highway paved its way across Iowa. Not only was it neat to eat as such a historical café, but the food was delicious as well!

 

Rate: 2

Other Things to See/Do:

• Preston’s Gas Station, Belle Plaine
• McLaury brothers tombstone, Belle Plaine
• Chainsaw Carvings Tour, Vinton
• Benton County Nature Center, Vinton
• Palace Theater, Vinton
• Rolle Bolle courts, Blairstown
• Youngville Café and Visitor Center, Blairstown
• Stells Garage, Urbana
• Wildcat Bluff, Urbana