Clear Lake, IA Road Trips
Plan drives from Clear Lake, IA with practical route pages for distance, drive time, fuel cost, road character, and places to stop along the way.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Trip Routes
3
Longest Drive
226.4 mi
Davenport, IA
Quickest Drive
18m
Swaledale, IA
Plan Around Clear Lake, IA
Continue From Clear Lake, IA
Good next legs if this city is only one stop in a longer road trip.
Trips from Clear Lake, IA
Clear Lake, IA by the Numbers
Recent demographic snapshot from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey.
Population
7,603
Median Income
$70,278
Median Home Value
$235,100
Median Age
49.2
Source: US Census Bureau ACS 5-year (public domain). See our methodology for details.
Notable People from Clear Lake, IA
A sampling of people born in Clear Lake, IA.
Robert Allan Phillips
1906–1976
American scientist (1906-1976)
Landmarks & Historic Sites
Attractions and heritage-registered places located in Clear Lake, IA.
Surf Ballroom
American ballroom noted for being the place of the final performances of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper on February 2, 1959
City data from Wikidata (Q957089), available under CC0. Photos from Wikimedia Commons under their respective licenses. See our methodology for details.
Traveler Guide to Clear Lake, IA
Clear Lake is a city in North Central Iowa.
It is most famous as the place "the music died" because shortly after leaving a concert at the Surf Ballroom in 1959, a small plane carrying rock artists Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson crashed in a corn field just outside town.
Surf Ballroom, 460 North Shore Dr. The historical theater and final venue for Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly, and the Big Bopper before that fateful night in 1959. 1 Buddy Holly Crash Site (you have to walk about a mile in from the closest farm road). open 24 hours. The site where the Beechcraft chartered plane carrying the three music stars went down in a snowstorm on Feb 3, 1959. Buddy Holly had chartered the plane in lieu of taking the bus to the next concert tour location, but the pilot was inexperienced and weather foul, and the flight only lasted 6 minutes before ending in this cornfield and indelibly changing the face of rock n roll in America. Central Gardens of North Iowa, 800 2nd Ave N, ☏ +1 641-357-0700. Daily 7AM-8PM. The only public botanical garden for miles around. Kinney Pioneer Museum, 9184 265th St, Ste G, ☏ +1 641-423-1258. Tu-Su 1PM-5PM. perpetuating history of North Central Iowa.
Clear Lake State Park, 6490 S Shore Dr, ☏ +1 641-357-4212. Clear Lake recreation with beach/picnic area. City Beach Park, S Lakeview Dr, ☏ +1 641-357-7010. Daily 5AM-11PM. another Clear Lake beach, this one with the distinction of holding a wintertime kite festival over the ice.
Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham Clear Lake, 1305 N 25th St. Utilitarian. +1 641-357-0966
Located at the junction of Interstate 35 and U.S. Highway 18.
Travel tips adapted from Clear Lake (Iowa) on Wikivoyage, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Content summarized; visit the source for the full article. See our methodology for how we use it.
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