Driftless Area Scenic Byway

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On this episode of Road Trip Iowa, we explore the Driftless Area Scenic Byway.

It's so unique. You can't find it anywhere else in Iowa.

From New Albin to Decorah --

It's a little bit off the beaten path.

-- this idyllic region offers natural beauty, outdoor adventure --

Okay, we're going to duck into this little backwater here.

-- and unexpected delights around every turn.

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We are playing with fire here, but I'm going to give it a try. Okay.

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There you go!

All right. Tada!

Next, on Road Trip Iowa.

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Kwik Star is proud to be a part of Iowa communities across the state. Family owned for over 50 years, we're dedicated to treating our guests, employees and communities as we would like to be treated.

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Musco Lighting is an Iowa company that travels across the U.S. and to more than 125 countries to light community recreation fields, stadiums, airports, monuments and more. While our reach is global, we're committed to our local communities.

The Gilchrist Foundation, founded by Jocelyn Gilchrist, furthering the philanthropic interests of the Gilchrist family in wildlife and conservation, the arts and public broadcasting and disaster relief.

 

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[Brooke Kohlsdorf] Untouched by glaciers during the last Ice Age, northeast Iowa's Driftless Region is famous for its beauty. The Driftless Area Scenic Byway takes travelers on a 144-mile adventure along the towering bluffs and deep river valleys of Allamakee and Winneshiek counties. Let's take a look at today's itinerary.

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[Kohlsdorf] We'll visit a lavender farm ready to bloom. Dip a toe in the Mississippi River. Stop at a smokehouse rich in tradition. And get a bit of local flavor off the beaten path.

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[Kohlsdorf] We begin in Yellow River State Forest where the rugged landscape tells the story of the area's geologic history.

 

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[Joe Vastine] What makes Yellow River Forest definitely unique is our terrain. You don't have to go very far south of here and you're flat. The ground is typically tilled and farm ground.

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[Joe Vastine] Up here in northeast Iowa it's the Driftless, which is northeast Iowa, southwest Wisconsin, southeast Minnesota. It's where the glaciers did not drift. Thousands of years ago when the glaciers traveled across continental North America, they worked kind of like a grinder or a sander and just ground everything down flat. It missed us here and it left these beautiful valleys and ridges and Iowa's version of the Swiss Alps we're known as.

[Kohlsdorf] Adventure awaits visitors in Yellow River's nearly 9,000 acres of hardwood forest, rocky bluffs and sparkling trout streams

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[Joe Vastine] What I love about Yellow River State Forest, there's so many things to do here, but I like the quietness. I love to trout fish. I love to hunt. But when I come up here camping, sitting around a campfire at night, you can relax. You can be as busy as you want or you can sit in a lawn chair and watch your campfire and enjoy the stars at night.

[Kohlsdorf] Horseback riders, mountain bikers and backpackers will find 48 miles of trails to explore and more than 130 campsites to rest their heads.

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[Kohlsdorf] The forest is home to the state's only fire tower, built in 1963 and added to the National Register of Historic places in 2021.

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[Kohlsdorf] The tower was soon outdated and never used in fire prevention. This park and its rare landscape provide an outdoor experience unlike anywhere else in Iowa.

[Joe Vastine] It's so unique. Why do people go to Colorado? People drive a long way to go to Colorado to see that uniqueness. Well, we've got some of that uniqueness right here at Yellow River State Forest and the Driftless Area. You can't find it anywhere else in Iowa.

 

[Kohlsdorf] The Driftless Area Scenic Byway is well known for its captivating scenery and many opportunities for outdoor adventure. But attentive travelers may notice something unexpected on the northeast Iowa roadside.

[Valerie Miller] I wanted to paint a cow on the side of the building. I love murals. I think they're so much fun. I picked a cow that was actually one of the first cows that I've painted, first steel cow, and her name was Queenie. And I just painted it like she was very stoic, very patient, very wise, you know, just like that standing the test of time type of image.

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[Kohlsdorf] Valerie Miller, with the help of her husband and three boys, is the artist behind Steel Cow, a boutique art studio and storefront located in Waukon. Her signature paintings of farm animals and wildlife have gained international acclaim in the 20 years since the brand's inception and are inspired by Val's own Iowa upbringing.

[Valerie Miller] Our family has been here in Iowa for a super long time. And so, I really do feel like I'm of the place. I love Iowa. I love living here. I love the people here. I love the animals here. I love the culture here. And it is important for me -- that's not why I paint on the surface, but honestly deep down in I think it is.

[Kohlsdorf] Across town, Val and her family are preparing to welcome visitors in a new way, at the Steel Cow Lavender Farm.

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[Valerie Miller] My husband wanted kind of a non-traditional way to spend some of our extra time. He said, let's grow something, you pick. It took us a while but we finally landed on lavender. Lavender takes about three years to really start producing a whole lot of material. So, this upcoming summer we'll have more stuff to work with than what we've ever had before, which is really exciting.

[Kohlsdorf] The farm will sell lavender products and host events like painting workshops led by Val.

[Valerie Miller] I love to do things. I love to make things. I love to create things. I love doing things with my hands. But I also love that ability to focus on something new, to learn new things and then also to get it done and finished. And so, for us and for me the workshops are going to be such a big portion of Steel Cow lavender farm. And I'll be teaching some of them and then other people will be teaching some of them as well.

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[Valerie Miller] I really feel like this is going to be a wonderful place to gather for community and experience things that you don't normally experience.

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[Steve Lawless] I think there's the things you see, but there's also the things you feel.

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[Steve Lawless] And I think that is very much a part of why we go into the backwaters. There are these intimate spaces, these kind of labyrinths. And when you get out there you just have this feeling of being in this cathedral of nature.

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[Kohlsdorf] The wide and mighty Mississippi might not seem like a good place to launch a kayak. But tucked between the bluffs of Iowa and Wisconsin's Driftless Area, the river's backwaters create an inviting stretch of calm water for eager adventurers to explore.

[Steve Lawless] The backwaters are this amazing braid, if you will, of land and water that come together here. And it really begins a bit up in Minnesota and comes down into Iowa. By the time you're down into Missouri you're not finding these islands as much. And so, these kind of tranquil, easy waters to paddle are very different than the main channel of the river.

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[Kohlsdorf] With Steve Lawless at the helm, kayakers navigate the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge situated on the shores of Lansing, Iowa and De Soto, Wisconsin.

[Steve Lawless] This is not a horse race. So, just go out, enjoy the flow of the river, let it take you where it wants to take you.

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[Steve Lawless] We're open to anyone. In fact, that's very much a part of our mission is to make kayaking accessible for anyone that has any inclination of trying.

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Just follow me, we're going to duck into this little backwater here.

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[Steve Lawless] There's this thought that in wilderness, civilization is saved. But I think thanks to many people who have had the foresight to preserve these areas, to keep them wild, to keep them green, to keep out development, we have this chance to be in these sanctuaries, to be in these cathedrals of nature, to have these experiences of peace, to find ourselves.

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[Kohlsdorf] Follow the byway to New Albin, and be sure to bring your appetite. This well-seasoned smokehouse has been drawing road trippers to the northeast corner of Iowa for more than a century.

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[Josh Dreps] We've been here and in the family since 1882. So, we've been -- I'm sixth generation. My cousin Cliff, he'll be seventh generation. My dad was before that and then my grandma and grandpa before that.

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[Kohlsdorf] City Meat Market is a small-town grocery store that gives hungry customers a lot to savor.

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[Josh Dreps] We're known for our homemade sausages, everything from ring bologna, summer sausage, jerky and then bacon obviously is a mainstay anymore. We make everything homemade, fresh, everything from brats, cheddarwurst, different sausages. We still make the old stuff, liver sausage, blood sausage, things like that.

[Kohlsdorf] The timeless appeal of old-fashioned flavors continues to thrive here. And this shop keeps up with demand by processing and selling 2,000 pounds of product each week.

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[Kohlsdorf] At a place like this, the smoke is the star of the show. Only locally cut hickory is used inside the nearly 120-year-old smoker.

[Josh Dreps] Any time you have our product, if you taste the smoke, it's the real deal smoke. It takes longer. Right now, we've got summer sausage in. That will be probably four and a half, five hours to get it to temp. The color and everything like that, it's all from natural smoke. We don't have pre-colored casings or anything like that. Everything is as natural as you can get it.

[Kohlsdorf] It's not just the taste drawing shoppers back to the market year after year. It has become a tradition for generations of visitors.

[Josh Dreps] It's a dad that brings a son in and then his son comes back with his dad in a wheelchair and he's bringing his grandson along too. And the grandpa and the dad both say that everything still smells the same and everything reminds them exactly of how it used to be. There's not too many places like this anymore really. We still do it the old-fashioned hard way.

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[Kohlsdorf] One of the most iconic stops along the Driftless Area Scenic Byway can be found at Dunnings Spring Park where a short hike leads visitors to a scene unlike any other in Iowa.

 

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[Kohlsdorf] Tumbling from limestone bluffs, a 200-foot waterfall is the centerpiece of this park just beyond Decorah's city center.

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[Kohlsdorf] The cool and clear water gushing from Dunnings Spring makes for an especially refreshing spot on a warm summer day.

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[Kohlsdorf] Follow the trail up the hill to view the source of the spring, or traverse the paths weaving through the rest of the park's 115 acres.

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[Kohlsdorf] Whether you're an adventurer looking to explore or simply seeking a peaceful escape, Dunnings Spring is a must-see destination off the Driftless Byway.

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[Kohlsdorf] Many travelers come to the Driftless to take it all in and explore everything the region has to offer. But, for some, the journey is all about one thing. The beer.

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[Ashley Shockey] I consider a destination brewery because here in Decorah, Iowa, it is an absolute destination. It's gorgeous here. The fact that we have this wonderful brewery kind of tucked away in here, it's a little bit off the beaten path, but the number of people that we have that make it a destination on their way somewhere or coming and going, it's fantastic.

[Kohlsdorf] Toppling Goliath Brewing Company is a craft beer landmark known for making award-winning stouts. The original taproom opened in 2009. Now Toppling is pouring drinks from a state-of-the-art facility, producing more than 30 varieties of beer and distributing its products nationally.

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[Kohlsdorf] On Saturdays, the team at Toppling opens the door to the brewery and gives behind-the-scenes tours of the operation. Let's go find out how these famous brews are made.

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[Loran Storts] Welcome to Toppling Goliath Brewing Company in lovely Decorah, Iowa. We are now in our cellar, which is where we ferment our beer. Let's start our tour.

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[Loran Storts] There are four main ingredients in beer. Number one is water. So, if we don't start with good water, you don't make good beer. Our reverse osmosis machine takes all of our water and strips it down to nothing but H2O. This is our brew system. We introduce water with grain. When the grains come together, they start producing enzymes. And what this system does here, it pulls the sugar out of the water and out of the grain to create what is called wort. We had our wort that came from our brewhouse. It comes into the cellar and we add yeast to it. Every beer ages differently. Anywhere from seven to 28 days the beer will sit in the fermentation tanks. We'll add some hops in. Every beer will sit here for a period of time. It will be tested. When it's ready to go and be moved, we transfer it on.

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[Loran Storts] This is our canning line. When it's fully operational, we can produce about 14,000 cans an hour. Welcome to our barrel room. Here sits on full room about 600 barrels. In these barrels are some stouts that have been aged for one year, two years, up to five years. The beer actually takes on the flavor of the cask. And we have bourbon casks in here, we have whiskey casks in here, we have maple syrup barrels. So, the beer actually takes on the taste of the liquid that is in that barrel. We also have one of the best recognized beers in the world that was ranked number one the last six years. It's sitting in here someplace in a barrel just waiting to be released.

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[Loran Storts] We release that beer one week in a year and you have to put your name in a lottery to even be selected to get a bottle of that. You must be present to get that bottle of beer. And that beer sells for $100 for a twelve-ounce bottle.

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[Kohlsdorf] Toppling serves beer with local flavor and a world-renowned reputation. The brewery is open seven days a week, ready to welcome visitors from near and far.

[Ashley Shockey] The fact that we get people from all over to come to us, it's amazing. There's a great chance that on a random Wednesday you'll find somebody, a family who is road tripping across the country or making it from A to Z and following all of their breweries in between.

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[Kohlsdorf] Decorah is not shy about its Norwegian roots. From the annual summertime Nordic Fest to the Luther College Norse, the rich history and tradition of Decorah's settlers is still celebrated today.

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[Kohlsdorf] Pull over at Vesterheim to learn more about the city's strong cultural heritage.

[Chris Johnson] Vesterheim is located here in Decorah, Iowa. It is the National Norwegian American Museum and Folk Art School. It is certainly the largest collection you're going to find anywhere in the country of objects related to a specific immigrant group, in this case Norwegians who immigrated to the United States. We have over 33,000 objects in our collection. We also have a very active folk art school.

[Kohlsdorf] Norwegian Americans settling in the hills of northeast Iowa wanted to preserve and document their experience. In 1877, they started what would become the museum's extensive collection.

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[Kohlsdorf] Vesterheim's permanent and rotating displays provide a window into the lives of these Scandinavian pioneers.

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[Chris Johnson] We have core exhibitions, like many people remember going into the Norwegian house in the first floor of the museum, or seeing the ship in the ship gallery. But we also have typically two or three temporary exhibits that are on display within the museum and they change quite frequently. And then also out in Heritage Park we have a number of outbuildings where you can check out the story of the Norwegian immigrants though the buildings that they lived in.

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[Chris Johnson] Vesterheim likes to be a welcoming place. Having Norwegian ancestry is not a requirement to enter the door. We encourage everybody to come and check us out. We think there's here for everybody to see.

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[Kohlsdorf] I'm here at Luna Valley Farm where it's pizza night. And the ingredients are as fresh as they come. People travel from far and wide for a locally sourced meal and the ambiance of outdoor dining in the Driftless. Let's take a look at their operation.

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[Kohlsdorf] Maren --

[Maren] Hi, welcome.

[Kohlsdorf] -- and Tom Beard were so inspired by their visits to three Midwestern pizza farms that they decided to create their own farm to table pizza experience at their property outside Decorah.

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[Kohlsdorf] The couple dove right in, transforming their barn's milking parlor into a commercial kitchen and installing an Italian wood-fired oven. Luna Valley Farm opened for business in 2017.

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[Kohlsdorf] For people who don't understand what this is, or have never been to one, explain kind of that pizza farm concept.

[Maren Beard] Yeah, so many pizza farms serve pizza that use ingredients grown on that farm or are sourced from other small farms. We take great pride in spending a lot of dollars locally with small farms that are growing ingredients for our pizza. A pizza farm is a place where people come outside, eat a meal outside picnic style.

[Kohlsdorf] And I love that you have this shelter here so you can enjoy it rain or shine. We've got rain today.

[Maren Beard] We do.

[Kohlsdorf] But a lot of days you have shine too, which is nice. I'm kind of interested in this story. You live on a working farm, but it's a pizza place. So, was it a farm originally? And is it still a farm?

[Maren Beard] I like to say we're primarily a farm and secondarily a pizza farm. Tom works with the livestock and grows crops and cooks every single pizza that comes out of our oven. And I love hosting people and so I am primarily responsible for pizza nights and managing staff and sourcing ingredients. We're very much a working farm. We love that and I think that a lot of the people that come out to eat pizza here love that we're a working farm and that their children and out of town guests can experience what it is like to be on a working farm.

[Kohlsdorf] How many do you serve on a weekend?

[Maren Beard] How many people?

[Kohlsdorf] Or pizzas.

[Maren Beard] We average just shy of 200 per pizza night, so it's pretty busy. And it depends how much pizza people eat. Our pizzas are big. They're 16 inches.

[Maren] Holy Pep beetza and an GF beetza.

[Guest] Thank you.

[Maren Beard] In terms of numbers of people that come out, it's usually probably anywhere from 300 to 500 on a given night that we're open.

[Kohlsdorf] Wow, that's a lot of people enjoying this place.

[Maren Beard] It's a lot of people.

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[Kohlsdorf] Crafted with seasonal, locally-sourced ingredients, Luna Valley's pizzas deliver delicious flavors with every bite.

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[Kohlsdorf] Let's head into the kitchen and see how it all comes together.

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[Heidi Eger] Any good pizza starts with dough. So, this dough gets mixed by Maren on Tuesday, rolled into balls on Wednesday and then it sits in the cooler to slowly ferment. And we take it out a little bit early so it's warm and easy to work with. And now we're going to start smooshing it basically. And we're aiming for a pizza that is 18 inches.

[Kohlsdorf] So, you're not doing the throwing of the dough like they do in the old pizzerias?

[Heidi Eger] No, I would love to learn that.

[Kohlsdorf] So, is this good? Is this a good dough, you think?

[Heidi Eger] That looks beautiful, yeah. So, we'll go ahead and I'm going to grab this peel and then we'll move to the next step.

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[Bee Lutz] We're going to make a beetza.

[Kohlsdorf] Beetza.

[Bee Lutz] It's one of our seasonal pizzas. So, Maren changes up the pizza menu fairly often to kind of keep with the seasonality of things. We start with this garlic olive oil.

[Kohlsdorf] And the you add the ricotta, is that what this is?

[Bee Lutz] Yep. Now you can go ahead and take the beets.

[Kohlsdorf] Okay. Do you cook these beets beforehand? They're not raw, right?

[Bee Lutz] We do. So, then some fresh basil.

[Kohlsdorf] And mozzarella. Is that how this works?

[Bee Lutz] Yep, we've got some shaved mozzarella that you can sprinkle on and then some shaved parmesan after that.

[Kohlsdorf] Is there such a thing as too much cheese?

[Bee Lutz] There is.

[Kohlsdorf] There is?

[Bee Lutz] On these kinds of pizzas, yeah. Just because of the style of cooking, we tend to go a little lighter on ingredients. You're really going for it.

[Kohlsdorf] I am. Okay, I guess so.

[Bee Lutz] And then you can finish things off with the strawberry balsamic.

[Kohlsdorf] Okay, so just kind of circle it around.

[Bee Lutz] Yep, just a nice, beautiful spiral.

[Kohlsdorf] This is an interesting combination of flavors. It's local. It's different. And I can't wait to try it. Tada!

[Bee Lutz] Beautiful. Well done.

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[Tom Beard] Okay, Brooke, let's cook this pizza. So, what you want to do is slide the peel smoothly in the oven along the bottom and stop short and the pizza will slide off.

[Kohlsdorf] Okay, we are playing with fire here. I'm going to give it a try. Okay.

 

[Tom Beard] There you go. Looks good.

[Kohlsdorf] All right, tada!

[Tom Beard] Looks great.

 

[Maren Beard] So, we had a few people early on say, who's going to drive on two miles of gravel to come eat pizza? And it turns out people do. And we are so glad that they do. People who live in the Midwest and live in Iowa and even live across the country are up for adventures. And I think this feels like an adventure, it's off the beaten path. I've heard this experience described by many a person as magical. And we live here and this place still feels magical to us and even more magical when it's shared.

[Kohlsdorf] Roadtrippers craving a slice can reserve spots at Luna Valley for Fridays and Saturdays May through October.

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[Kohlsdorf] The Driftless Area Scenic Byway is unlike any other in Iowa with its unmatched natural beauty and vibrant towns at every turn.

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[Kohlsdorf] We experienced the unique beauty of the Driftless Region at Yellow River State Forest.

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[Kohlsdorf] Kayaked in the Mississippi River backwaters.

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[Kohlsdorf] Explored Dunnings Spring Park and saw the brewing process for some of the best tasting beer in the world at Toppling Goliath Brewing Company.

 

[Kohlsdorf] If you've never been to the Driftless, or you're just due for a return, pull up a map and plan your own unforgettable experience today. For more on the history, culture and landscapes along Iowa's Scenic Byways, join us next time on Road Trip Iowa.

 

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Kwik Star is proud to be a part of Iowa communities across the state. Family owned for over 50 years, we're dedicated to treating our guests, employees and communities as we would like to be treated.

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Musco Lighting is an Iowa company that travels across the U.S. and to more than 125 countries to light community recreation fields, stadiums, airports, monuments and more. While our reach is global, we're committed to our local communities.

The Gilchrist Foundation, founded by Jocelyn Gilchrist, furthering the philanthropic interests of the Gilchrist family in wildlife and conservation, the arts and public broadcasting and disaster relief.