Fun day trips, not too far from the comfort of your hotel

Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum

The Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum is the oldest and most comprehensive museum in the United States devoted to a single immigrant ethnic group.
www.vesterheim.org

The Seedsaver’s Exchange

Seed Savers Exchange is a non-profit organization dedicated to saving and sharing heirloom seeds.
www.seedsavers.org

Dunning’s Springs

Located just minutes from downtown, Dunning’s Springs is the location of a spectacular 200-foot waterfall—it is an ideal location for picnics, taking photos, and hiking.

Decorah Eagle’s Nest

Decorah’s famous eagles are located near the Decorah Fish Hatchery. People from around the World have become fans of the eagle couple since their debut via the eagle cam productions by local raptor expert, Bob Anderson. Children can enjoy watching and feeding the trout at the nearby hatchery. As you might imagine the area is great for fishing. Walking trails and picnic facilities are available.
www.raptorresource.org

Porter House Museum

Just a few blocks from Hotel Winneshiek, visitors from everywhere enjoy touring this beautiful Italianate villa and grounds. It is one among many lovely historically significant homes on Broadway St.
401 W. Broadway, Decorah, IA
www.porterhousemuseum.org

SURROUNDING AREA DAY TRIPS

The Bily Clock Museum

The Bily Clocks Museum & Antonin Dvorak Exhibit has been a favorite attraction of young and old for many years. Visitors return year after year to the enchanting town of Spillville, Iowa, (located thirteen miles southwest of the town of Decorah), to marvel at the unique clocks that two brothers, Frank and Joseph Bily (bee-lee) hand-carved. The clocks depict history, art, religion and culture and are covered with hundreds of expertly carved figures. Some stand over nine feet tall.
Spillville,Iowa
www.bilyclocks.org

Laura Ingalls Wilder Park & Museum

This museum is housed in one of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s childhood homes. Wilder wrote a series of beloved children’s books, beginning with “The Little House on the Prairie,” based on her childhood experiences of pioneer life. It was published in 1935. The books inspired the television series by the same title that aired from 1974 to 1982.
Burr Oak, Iowa
www.lauraingallswilder.us

Effigy Mounds National Monument

This wooded natural landscape is the site of prehistoric earthworks (mounds shaped as bears and other animals) by a native American mound builder culture. The great bear mound measures 42 meters from head to toe and rises over a meter above the original ground level. Effigy Mounds is adjacent to the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, the Driftless Area National Wildlife Refuge, the Yellow River State Forest, and a small distance farther south, Pikes Peak State Park.
Clayton County, Iowa
www.nps.gov/efmo

St Wenceslaus Catholic Church

The oldest Czech Catholic Church in the United States, the church was completed in 1860. The original pipe organ was installed in 1876 and was played by Antonin Dvorak during his stay in Spillville.
Spillville, Iowa
www.spillville.org

World’s Smallest Church

Built in 1885, the quaint little church seats eight people and measures 14’ by 20’.
Festina, Iowa
PH: 563-532-9366

For more information about Decorah attractions, please visit: www.visitdecorah.com