Fort Dodge, IA Road Trips

Fort Dodge is locally referred to as "Little Chicago" because architects modeled downtown buildings to resemble Chicago in the mid-1900s.

1 Fort Dodge Museum and Frontier Village, 1 Museum Rd (by South Kenyon on the southwest edge of Fort Dodge), ☏ +1 515 573-4231. F Sa 10AM–5PM, Su 11AM–5PM; closed in colder months. It is a full-scale recreation of a military outpost on the prairie from the 19th century. It also features a reconstructed village from the same time period. It has a replica of the Cardiff Giant, an archaeological hoax sculpted from gypsum mined at Fort Dodge. A "Frontier Days" event is held annually on the Fort Museum grounds. It features a parade, beauty pageant, historical re-enactments, a buckskinner camp, and live entertainment. $10 adults, $8 seniors, students, veterans, $5 children (age 5–17), free for children 4 and under. (updated Jan 2023) 2 Blanden Memorial Art Museum, 920 3rd Ave S, ☏ +1 515 573-2316. Tu-Sa 11AM-5PM. The first public museum of art in the state of Iowa is in the historic Oak Hill district of Fort Dodge. The permanent collection on display includes European and American artists prints, sculptures and paintings. Free. (updated Mar 2025)

Fort Dodge is a top tubing destination in the state, offering the swift and clear waters of Lizard Creek, solitude on the Des Moines River from Fort Dodge to the Dolliver Memorial State Park, and the nearby lake at Brushy Creek. The Fort Dodge Country Club par 71 golf course is one of Iowa's top courses. 1 Woodman Hollow State Preserve, Woodman's Hollow Road, 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Otho (roughly 7 miles southeast of Fort Dodge). The preserve features several deep, forested ravines, which combine into a larger ravine with a small creek that empties into the Des Moines River. (updated Mar 2025) Fort Frenzy, east of town, features family-friendly activities such as an arcade, bumper boats, bumper cars, mini golf, go karts, laser tag, skating, and bowling. Hawkeye Community Theatre puts on six full-length productions a year of varied genre. Comedia Musica Players is a civic musical theater troupe that produces an annual musical each fall. Stage Door Productions provides theater training and performance opportunities for middle school, high school, and college-aged students during the summer. It produces one small-cast (10 or fewer) play per year.

John F. Kennedy Park is the nearest camping facility to Fort Dodge. It has a large campground, a lake with a swimming beach, a playground, and hiking trails. Lakeside Municipal Golf Course, an 18-hole course, is located here.

U.S. Route 20 bypasses Fort Dodge to the south, and U.S. 169 skirts the west side of the city; both highways have business routes through town. Iowa Highway 7 has its terminus at the northwest edge of the city. DART (Dodger Area Rapid Transit) maintains six local bus routes that connect to most commercial, medical, and educational locations on weekdays only. Jefferson Bus lines serves Fort Dodge with a link to Williams, where travelers can connect to the expanded Jefferson line. 1 Fort Dodge Regional Airport (FOD IATA). Nonstop service on United Express to Chicago-O’Hare. (updated Mar 2021)