Southeast Iowa

Southeast Iowa covers the southeastern corner of the state, the Mississippi-river country between Burlington and the Missouri line. The terrain is gently rolling — agricultural ridge country between deeper river valleys cut by the Skunk, the Des Moines, and the Mississippi — with the Mississippi running the entire eastern border. Six counties cover the region: Des Moines, Henry, Jefferson, Lee, Louisa, and Van Buren. Des Moines County holds Burlington (with the famously crooked Snake Alley, often called the world’s most crooked street); Lee County holds Keokuk and Fort Madison; Henry holds Mount Pleasant; Jefferson holds Fairfield (home of Maharishi University of Management). The Old Threshers Reunion at Mount Pleasant and the Villages of Van Buren (a string of preserved 19th-century river towns including Bonaparte, Bentonsport, and Keosauqua) anchor the cultural circuit. Most trips here run small-town historical and Mississippi-river focused. Burlington handles the riverboat-era and Snake Alley itinerary; the Villages of Van Buren run a long weekend of preserved town walks and antiques; Mount Pleasant’s Old Threshers Reunion every Labor Day weekend draws steam-engine and farm-equipment enthusiasts. The Mississippi Flyway brings significant migratory bird traffic spring and fall.