Best Things To Do When You Visit Fort Dodge, Iowa

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Discover Fort Dodge, Iowa

Located off of Historic Route 20, Fort Dodge, Iowa, hosts a population of 25,000. With a blend of historical pioneer spirit and modern appeal, you’ll never be at a loss for things to do in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Museums, car shows, wineries and breweries, outdoor recreation, and more are enjoyable for locals and visitors alike.

From the family-friendly arcade Fort Frenzy to the museums in the historic Oak Hill District, there is something for everyone to enjoy. Oleson Park and Kennedy Memorial Park offer places to enjoy the outdoors, or you can partake in water sports at Lizard Creek and the nearby Rosedale Rapids Aquatic Center. Fort Dodge also offers some incredible golfing opportunities at the Fort Dodge Country Club. There are plenty of things to do in Fort Dodge!

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Fort Dodge Cruise-In

As Iowa’s largest “One of a Kind” cruise and car show, the Fort Dodge Cruise-In, also called the Cruise to the Woods, takes place on the first Sunday of October every year. This year, it will be held on Sunday, October 6th, 2024, at Lizard Creek Ranch & Event Center just north of Fort Dodge, 1762 Johnson Ave., Fort Dodge, IA.

The EC Cruisers Car Club is the host of this unusual Fort Dodge cruise-car show, which gathered over 1,200 cars in 2023. With vehicles from 1919 to brand new “Classics of Tomorrow,” cars come from all over the Midwest and from all 50 states including Alaska. In fact, a man from Canada even made this cruise a part of his trip.

How It Started

This year will mark 40 years of the Cruise to the Woods. It started out as a group of friends showing off their classic cars and cruising the countryside around Fort Dodge, Iowa and has grown in the years since, with an expected 1,400-plus vintage vehicles expected to turn out this year.

The very first cruise started in Humboldt, traveled south through Dolliver Memorial State Park, and then east to Briggs Woods Park in Hamilton County. Show sites over the years have also included the Dayton Golf and Country Club, John F. Kennedy Memorial Park, Sunkissed Meadows, the Webster County Fairgrounds, Harlan and Hazel Rogers Sports Complex, and even the Crossroads Mall parking lot due to weather issues at the originally-planned show site.

Fort Dodge Community Orchard

If you’re looking for other things to do in Fort Dodge, the Fort Dodge Community Orchard in Fort Dodge, open in the fall and early winter months (August 1-December 23), has a little something for everyone. The Community Orchard Café serves a variety of foods, including soups, sandwiches, and salads. One popular soup, the Scarecrow Soup, is a cheesy vegetable soup sprinkled with “straw,” otherwise known as chow mein noodles.

The Scarecrow Soup is a Fort Dodge icon from the Community Orchard, but if it isn’t your fancy, the BBQ smoked pork sandwich or the grilled peach salad (when peaches are in season) are mouth-watering, too. You can top it all off with dessert options like apple dumplings ala mode.

The Apple Attic is a great stop to shop for women’s and children’s clothing, gifts, decor, souvenirs, and more. When you’re done shopping, you can go outside to explore the Back 40. While you’re there, you can:

• Dig for corn
• Play in the sand pile
• Race inside a conduit
• Climb the tire mountain
• Pet farm animals
• Explore the sunflower field
• Pick apples and pumpkins in season
• Solve the corn maze
• And more!

If you get the chance, visit the Community Orchard during their annual Apple Fest!

Soldier Creek Winery

When looking to explore Fort Dodge, you can’t forget the Soldier Creek Winery. The Soldier Creek Winery is a family-owned business that boasts 10 acres of vineyards and countless acres of corn and soybean fields.

Wine production is a little unique at Soldier Creek Winery, where the vineyard features cold-climate grape varieties that thrive in the blustery winters in Fort Dodge, Iowa. The vineyard produces six red wines and six white wines, as well as two dessert wines. You can buy them at the Soldier Creek Winery or have them shipped to a specified destination. You can sample all of these wines as well as a wine slushie in the tasting room.

Soldier Creek Winery hosts live music from 6-8 pm on Fridays year-round. During the summer, live music also plays on Sunday afternoons from 3-5 pm. Dinner is served by the Infinity Restaurant Group. You can also find an assortment of available beers, including ones on tap from local Fort Dodge breweries like Shiny Top Brewing.

Shiny Top Brewing

Other things to do in Fort Dodge include visiting a local brewery. Shiny Top Brewing is the most popular, offering a classic combination of beer on tap, crafted cocktails, fresh pizza, and live music. In addition to unique pizza options like a Crab Rangoon pizza, people in the Fort Dodge area can enjoy a variety of sandwiched and crafty macaroni shell dishes.

The brewery offers something fun for regulars: The Investor Club. You can get your own Shiny Top Brewing glass to leave at the brewery for when you visit. They put your name and number on the glass so that you’re the only one who ever uses it. You can get the Legend, a 20 oz glass for $100 that allows you to pay the 16 oz price for the rest of your life, or the Legacy, a 22 oz glass for $250 that allows you to pay the 16 oz price for the rest of your life and you get to pass this glass on to an heir.

The brewery is open Monday through Saturday and every Thursday nigh is live music from 7-10:30 pm. You can check out their upcoming music events on their website.

River Hops Brewing

If you’re looking to visit another brewery in Fort Dodge, Iowa, River Hops Brewing is the place to go. Many of the hops used in the beers are even grown locally. They’re open from Wednesday to Saturday and also host events. With a wide selection of beers, from the Oxbow Orange to the Peanut Butter Milk Chocolate Stout and more, there is sure to be an option that satisfies any beer-lover. They even have a hard cider!

Blanden Art Museum

Located in the Historic Oak Hill District of Fort Dodge, the Blanden Art Museum is hosted inside a new-classical-style building that was funded by the poet Charles Granger Blanden, Fort Dodge’s youngest mayor. He had it built on private land and dedicated it to his wife. It became Iowa’s first municipal art museum and was filled with Blanden’s art collection after his death.

The grounds surrounding the Blanden Art Museum in Fort Dodge are eye-catching, and the interior is filled with a rotating permanent collection for public viewing that changes every few months.

The Blanden Art Museum includes the Ann R. Smeltzer Modernist collection of European and American painting and sculpture, the Harold D. Peterson collection of European and American prints, American photography, contemporary American art, Iowa artists, and Japanese screens and prints.

The Blanden Art Museum also hosts musical events, children’s events, and the Blanden Arts Festival that spotlights local Iowa artists. The Blanden Art Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 am-5 pm.

Fort Frenzy

Fort Frenzy is a fantastic activity for families. As Fort Dodge’s largest family entertainment center, Fort Frenzy is sure to entertain you and your family for hours. From go-karts to bumper cars and plenty of arcade games, there is a lot to enjoy. Don’t miss out on laser tag, air hockey, mini golf, and more.

Fort Frenzy is more than just a family entertainment center. It is also an event center that can host birthday parties, meetings, weddings, and more! Fort Frenzy also doubles as a place to grab a bite to eat or drink with food from the cafe, soft drinks, beer, and Soldier Creek Wine. A list of some of the activities to expect at Fort Frenzy include:

• Arcade Games
• Hologate and ValoJump, a multiplayer virtual reality attraction
• Spin Zone Bumper Cars
• Earth Quest Laser Tag
• The Sweeper, a trampoline attraction with a giant rotating arm to dodge
• Mini Bowling
• Fort Frenzy Skating
• Mini Golf (during the summer months)
• Bumper Boats (during the summer months)
• Go Carts (during the summer months)
• Water Wars (during the summer months)

The Fort Museum and Frontier Village in Fort Dodge

The Fort Museum and Frontier Village is a privately owned non-profit museum that showcases Fort Dodge and its frontier roots throughout the replica 19th-century fort. The Fort Museum and Frontier Village features many preserved original buildings, including a cabin, a church, a one-room schoolhouse, a land office, a general store, a drug store, a livery stable, a blacksmith’s shop, a print shop, and several more artisans’ shops.

The Fort Museum and Frontier Village’s collections include prehistory artifacts, Native American artifacts, Civil War artifacts, a stoneware collection, and more. The Museum also features items from the founding years of Fort Dodge.

Going to the Fort Museum and Frontier Village is like stepping into the past. The original preserved and replica buildings give a pioneering ambiance and each building is furnished with an impressive collection of original fixtures and artifacts.

Frontier Days at the Fort Museum and Frontier Village

During June, you can also participate in Frontier Days at the Fort Museum by joining the “Buckskinners’ in a journey to the past. Watch the parade, listen to live music, explore the events for kids, grab some food, shop the vendors, and more!

Fort Dodge’s Cardiff Giant at the Fort Museum and Frontier Village

One of the Fort Museum's major attractions is the Cardiff Giant. The 10-foot-tall Ford Dodge, Iowa, resident came from a well in Cardiff, New York. Some people call him a hoax, others the real deal. Have some fun with your family at Fort Dodge’s Fort Museum to discover the truth for yourself.

The truth, however, is that an atheist named George Hull got into an argument about Genesis 6:4 at a Methodist revival meeting and decided to create a giant. He did this by having a huge gypsum black shipped from Fort Dodge to Chicago, where he had a sculptor carve a giant man. The artist doused the statue in acid to give it a weathered look, then shipped it back to Hull, who buried it and arranged for well-diggers to come upon it.

The “discovery” was all anyone could talk about and Hull charged 50 cents per person to see it. It became so popular that even famous showman P.T. Barnum tried to buy the Cardiff Giant from Hull. When Hull refused, Barnum created his own Giant and claimed it as the original. Eventually, the hoax was exposed.

Kennedy Memorial Park

If you’re looking for outdoor things to do in Fort Dodge, check out the peace and quiet of Kennedy Memorial Park. Spanning the 53 acres surrounding Badger Lake and located just north of Fort Dodge on Airport Road, there are plenty of activities to participate in at Kennedy Park, including:

• Fishing
• Fishing
• Canoeing
• Kayaking
• Paddle-boarding
• Swimming Beach
• Children’s playground
• Children’s Forest
• Softball Field
• Volleyball Court
• Bird watching and wildlife watching
• Butterfly Garden  
• Hiking trails
• Camping (tents or RVs)
• Picnicking
• 18-hole Lakeside Municipal Golf Course
• Sledding (in the winter months)
• Ice-fishing (in the winter months)
• Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing (in the winter months)

Fort Dodge Ford in Fort Dodge, Iowa

While you’re looking for things to do in Ford Dodge, Iowa, stop by Fort Dodge Ford Lincoln Toyota. Check out our selection of new and pre-owned vehicles and keep your eyes peeled for a vehicle that takes you everywhere you want to go! Explore our website to see our Finance Department, Service Department, and currently available specials!