Our daughter’s family lives in Iowa. A little over an hour away, are the Bridges of Madison County. We were visiting in October 2023 and had Jim’s mom, Grandma Jayne, with us. Even though the bridges are close by, our grandkids had never been to see them, so we load everyone in the car (mom and dad had to work) and headed to Madison County, Iowa.

You have to start a road trip with a snack and Taco Johns was the consensus. You can tell by the smile that Wyatt was happy.

There were several “land rush” events in Iowa resulting in settlers coming from Ohio and Pennsylvania. In those areas, it was common practice, to construct a bridge with walls and a roof to protect the heavy timbers of the floor from the elements. It only makes sense that as people settled in Iowa, that they would bring their building traditions with them. In the 1890s, the state of Iowa had over 100 covered bridges, with 19 of the bridges in Madison County. There are now only 6 bridges remaining in the county.

The Covered Bridges Scenic Byway signs made it very easy to find the bridges.

Our first bridge was Imes Covered Bridge aka the King Bridge. It is 81 feet long and was built in 1870 using wooden pins.  It was moved in 1887 and again in 1977 to it’s present location in St. Charles.

An unknown fan of covered bridges, left letters in the rafters for other bridge enthusiasts to find.

The Holliwell Covered Bridge was built in 1880 and is the longest at 110 feet. It was featured in the 1995 movie, the The Bridges of Madison County, which starred Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep. It spans the Middle River east of Winterset, Iowa.

The Cutler-Donahue Covered Bridge was built in 1881 and is 79 feet long. It is located in the Winterset City Park. The bridge was originally located in Bevington spanning the North River. In 1970 it was moved to it’s current location in Winterset on it’s 100th birthday.

The bridges have a unique fire suppression system, much like a giant fire extinguisher.

In the Winterset City Park, there is a small stone bridge that was featured in the movie, the Bridges of Madison County.

Winterset, Iowa is the hometown of Marion Morrison “the Duke” aka John Wayne. He was Cindy’s childhood hero.

The sidewalk outside the John Wayne Museum is lined with marble diamonds, one for every movie John Wayne was in. Are there any movies as awesome as Big Jake or the Cowboys??

John Wayne’s childhood home. In his youth, he used to ride a stick pony around Winterset.

Nearby, there is a wonderful rock mural honoring the military films that Wayne was in.

The Cedar Covered Bridge was built in 1883 and is 77 feet long. It originally crossed Cedar Creek but was moved to it’s current location in 1920. It is the only covered bridge that you can drive through and true to it’s name, it smells like cedar.

An arsonist burned the bridge in 2002, so this bridge is a replica of the original and was rededicated in 2004. The Cedar Bridge is featured on the cover of the book, The Bridges of Madison County.

The Hogback Covered Bridge is 5 miles northwest of Winterset. It was built in 1884 and is 106 feet long. The bridge has very long approaches on each side.

The other five bridges were named after local families, but the Hogsback Covered Bridge is named for the surrounding hills that resemble the curve of the back of a hog. The bridge has a visitor’s log…we signed in book #75.

Our last bridge is the most famous, The Roseman Covered Bridge. In the movie, Franchesca (Meryl Street) tacks a note to the bridge asking Robert (Clint Eastwood) to come to dinner. We are going to have to watch the movie again to see where the note was placed. :)

The Roseman Covered Bridge was built in 1883 and is 106 feet long and spans the Middle River. The bridge was renovated in 1992.

It was a postcard perfect fall afternoon

Jim said you just have to kiss in a covered bridge. Whitney took the picture, but was taking a very long time. Cindy asked if Whitney had gotten the picture and kind of left Jim “hanging in the wind”. LOL

Near the Roseman Covered Bridge is Pammel State Park. The fall colors were beautiful.

Pammel State Park has the longest drive through tunnel in Iowa, known as the Harmon Tunnel. It is 149.5 feet long and almost 21 feet wide.

In 1858, Willian Harmon and his sons, hand dug a water tunnel for a nearby grist mill. The mill closed in 1904, but in 1925, the tunnel was enlarged to allow traffic to drive through.

The kids loved the way the tunnel echoed

Also located in the park is the Middle River ford, known as the flood road.

During the spring or during periods of heavy rain, the ford is not accessible.

It was absolutely beautiful but at the same time really cool to drive on a cement water road.

We had an amazing day exploring Madison County and Pammel State Park. The nice fall weather was a bonus.