Discover Amana

When looking for a hotel in Amana, it helps to consider what you want to focus on during your stay. For trip planning, you can choose from the history of the original village, a self-guided walking tour, the Colonies Trail and its scenic views, and a wine tasting. You can start by considering whether cultural history, an outdoor trail, or a culinary activity is most important to you. These different themes offer concrete ways to shape your stay.

Village History and Historic Tours

Construction of the first village, called Amana, began in 1855. The original village brings to mind a German town, with a main street and side streets. The comparison refers to the layout of the original village. The Amana Colonies app includes a self-guided historic tour of Amana. This lets you plan a historic tour as a separate activity, in addition to exploring the street layout.

The Amana Heritage Society has four historic sites. Its main grounds are in Amana, where visitors can walk around the grounds and through the buildings and view artifacts from the period of communal living. A visit to these main grounds begins with a 20-minute video about the history. Since the visitor program may change, check the schedule before your visit. This lets you choose between a self-guided tour of Amana and a visit that includes exploring buildings and viewing artifacts.

The Colonies Trail and the Landscape

The Colonies Trail is 3.1 miles long and connects Amana and Middle Amana. Along the trail, you can enjoy views of Lily Lake, the millrace, pastures, farmland, and the surrounding landscape. The connection between the two places distinguishes the trail from a historic tour of Amana; at the same time, the focus here is on the landscape.

The Amana Depot serves as the starting point for the Colonies Trail. It has parking and seasonal restrooms. Factor the seasonal availability of the restrooms into your plans, especially if you’re using the depot as your starting point. The Colonies Trail and the historic tours have different focuses: the trail is a route between two places, while the tours are about the history of the village and its buildings.

Tasting and Regional Event

At Fireside Winery’s Amana location, you can taste wine and hard cider. This stop adds a culinary activity to the historic attractions and the Colonies Trail. If a tasting fits your travel interests, you can plan for it separately from the tour and the trail.

At the Wurst Festival in the Amana Colonies, German summer tradition, hearty sausage specialties, live music, and a dachshund race come together. Specific dates and the program may change. If you want to plan your trip around this event, check the event details in advance.

For planning your day, distance and activity duration are different measures: the Colonies Trail is 3.1 miles long, while a visit to the main grounds begins with a 20-minute video. This lets you compare these activities by type rather than treating the two figures as equivalent time estimates.

For the broader travel overview: Iowa County.