Ft Dodge, IA
"Find Your Adventure "
Best places in America.
Starting as a military establishment in 1850, Fort Dodge was built near the Des Moines River Valley and has been blessed with the natural resources to fuel growing industries.
Currently, our community is a regional hub for American and internationally owned corporations. American owned corporations produce wild bird seed, wet corn milling, gypsum wallboard, radiators, ethanol, aluminum food containers, fishing/pontoon boats and agricultural chemicals. While internationally owned companies from France, United Kingdom, South Korea, Germany and New Zealand produce gypsum products, pet foods, animal feed, and animal health products.
The rich soil keeps agriculture a major industry for the region with the county’s farming community selling more than $353 million in agricultural products each year.
Choose from a tea room, bakeries, sports bar, steakhouse, winery, brewery, DIY art, vintage or home décor shops & boutiques.
Enjoy our memorable festivals, markets, vintage car shows, outdoor concerts, softball tournaments and rodeos.
Whether shopping at the Crossroads Mall, or at gift & antique shops downtown our community is a retail center for NW Iowa.
An active art community whose theatre productions, musical and vocal concerts, art shows & festivals keep folks entertained.
When visiting Fort Dodge stay at comfortable hotels. Area growth has encouraged the building of three new hotels since 2014.
Outdoor recreation abounds in Fort Dodge where Iowa’s largest off-highway vehicle park, Gypsum City, is located with of 55+ miles of trails, 2 state designated water trails flow 65 miles, 25 miles of connected multi-use paved trails, snowmobile trails, mountain bike trails, fishing lakes and ponds, aquatic center, sports complex and an equestrian park with 45 miles of multi-use trails.
In addition, the arts strive in Fort Dodge with an art museum, 6+ community theatre groups, symphony performances, numerous vocal performance groups and an active DIY art studio. Other attractions include a frontier museum with 20+ buildings of collections, family-owned orchard, a winery and brewery.