“Discover. Explore. Fall in love”
Explore the history and romance of the famous Bridges of Madison County. Six bridges are scattered across the countryside and five are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Sites of legendary love stories; even before the novelist Robert Waller and Hollywood romanticized them. Tours available by arrangement at Visitor's Center. Madison County is the Covered Bridge Capital of Iowa, with the largest group of covered bridges that exists in one area in the western half of the Mississippi Valley. Six of the original nineteen covered bridges of Madison County remain, five of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Don’t forget your camera! Stop by our Welcome Center at 73 Jefferson Street in Winterset for a map and brochure about visiting the Covered Bridges. Join us as we celebrate our history, our heritage, and our world-famous covered bridges at the 47th Annual Madison County Covered Bridge Festival! Come out to enjoy the beautiful autumn colors, delight in continuous entertainment on two stages, share in the crafts, food, and activities, watch old-fashioned demonstrators teach their trades, browse through the annual car and quilt shows, meet cowboys from the wild west, take in an old-fashioned spelling bee, tour the grand 1876 courthouse, and experience old-fashioned family fun! There’s something for everyone at the Madison County Covered Bridge Festival. Don’t miss it!
Visit John Wayne birthplace- Winterset
216 S 2nd St.
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You must stop in Winterset a beautiful city square. Check out the Northside Café where Clint Eastwood sat in the movie Bridges of Madison County.
Loved the movie and LOVED being able to photograph and view these AXAMING works of art! Hope the will always be preserved for generations to come!
Made famous through Robert James Waller’s novel and the 1995 movie starring Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood, the covered bridges have become one of Iowa’s notable tourist attractions. Personally, my favorite time to visit is in the fall when the leaves are just starting to change colors.
While only five of the original 20 covered bridges remain, I had a great time traveling around Madison County to visit a few of them in their original locations.
You have to see the movie or read the book to appreciate this little side trip unless you are a covered bridge fan. The movie is my all time #1 movie so I was elated to visit this area. Check out the Northside Cafe too!!
Definitely watch the movie or read the book before taking this adventure and you will appreciate the value of the bridges more. It was still pretty cool! It also created an adventure searching for all the bridges!
We enjoyed the last two hours before sunset searching the rolling hills of the countryside to find these hidden treasures!
So beautiful. Worth a trek off the beaten path to see.
These were a lot neater than I thought they would be although they do start looking the same.
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Bridges of Madison County
Hours
- Sun - Sat: 12:00 am - 11:59 pm
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