Photograph: The Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines by Thesavagenorwegian, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Des Moines is the capital and most populous city of Iowa, built where the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers meet in the middle of the state. It is a city of two hard seasons: summers that run humid and into the nineties Fahrenheit with afternoon thunderstorms, and winters cold enough that the temperature drops below zero Fahrenheit quite often. Pack for whichever of the two you are walking into, and in spring and autumn pack for a little of both.
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The photograph at the top of this page shows the Iowa State Capitol on a clear day at the end of winter, and it shows only that. The gold dome, the four smaller domes around it, bare trees, a brown lawn, one person walking and a parked car: it is an accurate picture of the building. What it cannot show you is most of what a visit is made of. The downtown skywalk, the riverfront, the East Village, the Pappajohn Sculpture Park, Gray's Lake and the Iowa State Fair are all outside the frame, and so are the two conditions that decide the packing list: a snowstorm, and a humid August afternoon with a thunderstorm building.
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What Is Here
The rivers came first. People have been drawn to the junction of the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers for at least 7,000 years. In May 1843 Captain James Allen supervised the building of a fort on the spot; he wanted to call it Fort Raccoon, and the War Department preferred Fort Des Moines, after the river, whose name probably comes from the French for River of the Monks. The town was incorporated in 1851, dropped the "Fort" in 1857, and in the same year took the state capital from Iowa City.
Today it is a centre of the American insurance industry, and in each presidential election cycle it becomes briefly famous as the site of the first caucuses of the primary season. For a visitor that means a walkable downtown west of the river, the state government on its hill to the east, and the river in between.
The Iowa State Capitol is the building in the photograph and the one landmark worth planning a morning around. It sits on a hill at East 9th Street and Grand Avenue with a view back across downtown. The central dome rises 275 feet and is covered in 23-karat gold leaf, with four smaller domes around it, five in all. It was completed in 1886, and every October since 1987 its House chamber has hosted the World Food Prize ceremony. Guided tours are available.
Between the Capitol and the river is the East Village, which starts at the riverbank and runs about five blocks east to the Capitol: older buildings, independent shops, galleries and places to eat. Across the river, the Court District is where the bars, breweries and live music are, and on Saturdays from May to October Court Avenue holds a large downtown farmers' market.
The Pappajohn Sculpture Park is the free thing to do downtown. It opened in 2009 on 4.4 acres of the Western Gateway Park with 24 sculptures given to the city by John and Mary Pappajohn, and four more have been added since. The Des Moines Art Center runs it, and the collection includes work by Louise Bourgeois, Jaume Plensa, Ai Weiwei and Barry Flanagan. It is an open lawn with no shelter.
The Skywalk: How Des Moines Handles Winter
Downtown Des Moines has more than four miles of enclosed skywalk, about 6.4 kilometres, linking buildings above street level. On a January day it is how office workers get to lunch without going outside, and for a visitor staying downtown it changes the packing problem: you can cover a good part of the centre in indoor clothes and only need the full winter outfit for the walks between the skywalk and everything it does not reach.
Two Climates in One Year
The 1991 to 2020 climate normals recorded at Des Moines International Airport show how far apart the two seasons sit. January averages a high of 30.9 degrees Fahrenheit, about minus 1 Celsius, and a low of 13.8 Fahrenheit, about minus 10 Celsius. July averages a high of 85.6 Fahrenheit, about 30 Celsius, and a low of 66.4, about 19 Celsius. Wikipedia's article on the city describes winters that run from moderately cold to bitterly cold, with lows below zero Fahrenheit, minus 18 Celsius, quite often, and summers that can often climb into the nineties and occasionally reach 100 Fahrenheit, about 38 Celsius. It also places Des Moines winters as slightly colder than Chicago's but warmer than Minneapolis's.
Summer is a humidity problem rather than a temperature one. Wikivoyage puts the average summer heat index at around 91 Fahrenheit by day, about 33 Celsius, and 68 at night, and says heat waves can push it to around 105, about 41 Celsius, or higher. Humid air also means afternoon thunderstorms through spring and summer, occasionally severe, and tornadoes are sometimes a possibility. Dress for a sticky afternoon and carry a rain shell for the storm that arrives at four o'clock.
Snow averages 36.5 inches a season, about 93 centimetres. On the monthly averages, February is the snowiest month at 10.2 inches, ahead of January at 9.4 and December at 7.9, with 4.4 inches still falling in March. Spring and autumn are the shoulder seasons: April averages a high of 62 Fahrenheit and a low of 40.6, and October 63.4 and 42.9, so a day that starts near 5 Celsius can finish near 17. Autumn is the gentlest season, pleasantly cool, usually drier, and with fall colour.
That spread is the case for wool next to the skin. A merino wool base layer for women keeps you warm under a coat in February and does not cling and smell after a humid day at the fair in August, which no single synthetic layer manages at both ends.
The Winter Bag, November to March
Treat a winter trip here as a cold-weather trip, not a city break with a scarf. Over the base layer, an insulated hooded jacket is the main piece, with a hood for the wind that comes across open prairie and down the long downtown streets. Add a merino wool beanie that covers your ears and insulated touchscreen winter gloves, so you can use a phone map at a bus stop without taking them off.
For your feet, a pair of waterproof insulated snow boots handles slush at kerbs, ploughed snow piled at crossings and icy pavements outside the skywalk. Merino socks belong in them; they are in our registry and unlinked here only because the six-link cap is full.
If you are driving, Wikivoyage notes that road closures for snow or ice are not unusual and that a car parked against snow emergency rules can be towed at your expense; keep a brush and an ice scraper in the car. The UK Foreign Office adds that snowstorms can cause power cuts and delays and cancellations at transport hubs, and says to contact your airline before you travel.
The Summer Bag, June to August
In summer you are packing for heat, humidity and a thunderstorm most afternoons. Light, loose, breathable layers do the work, with the merino base layer as a tee rather than a thermal. A packable rain jacket lives in your bag for the storm and is also the windproof layer for a cooler spring or autumn evening. Carry water everywhere: an insulated water bottle keeps it cold through a long afternoon on the fairgrounds.
A sun hat is in our registry and unlinked only because the cap is full. Sunscreen and sunglasses are unlinked because our registry holds no sunscreen and no eyewear of any kind.
The Iowa State Fair
The Iowa State Fair runs for eleven days every August on the Iowa State Fairgrounds, where it has been held since 1886, and with over a million visitors it is the largest event in the state. It is known for its food on a stick and for the Butter Cow, a sculpture in butter that has been a fair fixture since 1911, alongside livestock shows, agricultural contests and grandstand concerts.
For packing, the fair is an August day on your feet in the heat. Wear shoes you can walk in all day, and carry the water bottle and the rain shell.
Weather Hazards: What the Advice Says
Thunderstorms are the hazard you are most likely to meet. Wikivoyage describes them as common in spring and summer and occasionally severe, with tornadoes sometimes possible. The UK Foreign Office says tornadoes can happen at any time depending on weather conditions and points to the US Federal Emergency Management Agency for what to do before, during and after one. For flash floods it says to check warnings from the National Weather Service before you travel and to follow local authorities. We print no tornado season and no siren schedule, because no source we read gives one; the National Weather Service office for Des Moines, linked further down, publishes current watches and warnings, and checking it on a stormy afternoon is the single most useful habit here.
The rivers are part of that picture. During the Great Flood of 1993 the city's water works was submerged on 11 July, leaving an estimated 250,000 people without running water for twelve days, and Des Moines flooded badly again in June 2008. If authorities close a riverside trail or road after heavy rain, the closure is the advice.
Getting There and Getting Around
Des Moines International Airport is on Fleur Drive on the south side of the city and offers nonstop flights within the United States. Wikivoyage notes that most hotels run a free airport shuttle, and rental cars are at the airport. In town, DART runs the public transport, which is entirely buses. Downtown and the East Village are walkable; for the fairgrounds and the rest of Iowa, a car is far easier.
When to Go
Autumn is the comfortable season. August is fair month, hot and humid, and winter suits anyone staying downtown near the skywalk.
Is Des Moines Safe for Women Travelers
Des Moines is an easy city to visit alone. Wikivoyage's contributors describe it as very safe at all times of day and say the pickpocket and scam operations of larger cities are not common here, while noting that like any city it has a few neighbourhoods a visitor has no reason to be in. The UK Foreign Office names no advised-against areas anywhere in the United States, says violent crime and gun crime rarely affect tourists, and advises taking care in unfamiliar areas and not walking through quieter areas alone at night. It also says not to leave passports in a rental car, especially in the boot, and to carry a passport showing your permission to be in the US. The legal age for buying and drinking alcohol is 21 nationally, so carry ID in the Court District. The realistic risks here are weather: ice, heat and storms.
The Des Moines Packing List
- A merino base layer, the one piece that works in both seasons.
- November to March: an insulated hooded jacket, a beanie, insulated gloves and insulated snow boots.
- June to August: light breathable layers, a packable rain jacket and an insulated water bottle.
- Spring and autumn: the rain jacket plus a warm mid layer for evenings.
- Walking shoes for the fair, the sculpture park and Gray's Lake.
- Merino socks and a sun hat. Both in our registry, unlinked only because the six-link cap was full.
- Sunscreen and sunglasses. Unlinked, because our registry holds no sunscreen and no eyewear.
- Your passport and a phone that can receive weather alerts.
Our merino base layers are 100% Australian merino at 17.5 micron, and a city that swings from a humid August afternoon to a sub-zero January night is the case the fibre was chosen for.
Recommended Tours and Experiences
Essential Resources for Women in Des Moines
Emergency numbers: 911 for police, ambulance and fire, free from any phone including a locked mobile. Calls are answered locally and dispatchers will stay on the line. For non-urgent police matters many cities also run a 311 information line.
Main hospital or clinic: MercyOne and UnityPoint Health are the large health systems in the city. Wikivoyage notes that all hospitals, unlike clinics, run 24-hour emergency departments. We print no facility address or trauma designation because no source we read gives one. For a sprain, a cut or a bad cold, urgent care is the right and much cheaper door; for anything serious, call 911.
This is the single biggest practical difference for a visitor: there is no public health system, an emergency room visit without insurance can run into thousands of dollars, and an ambulance is billed separately and is not free. Comprehensive travel insurance with a high medical limit is not optional in the United States, and you should carry your policy number and the insurer's 24 hour number somewhere you can reach them. Urgent care clinics handle anything short of an emergency far more cheaply and quickly than an emergency room, and are the right choice for a sprain, an infection or stitches.
Tourist police: the United States has no tourist police. The Des Moines Police Department covers the city, the suburbs have their own departments, and 911 reaches all of them.
US State Department travel advisory: there is none, and this is not an omission. The State Department issues travel advisories for other countries, not for the United States itself, so no US advisory for this destination exists to link. In its place, the Government of Canada advice for the United States gives an equivalent third-country assessment.
UK FCDO travel advice: gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/usa, and read the safety and security page rather than only the landing page, because that is where the substance sits. The FCDO names no advised-against areas anywhere in the United States. The same advice also covers Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands.
Official health authority: the CDC travellers' health pages, the US federal health authority for visitors, and the state health department is Iowa Health and Human Services.
Embassy contact: the United States is the host country, so there is no US embassy to contact. Your own country's embassy is in Washington DC, with consulates in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, San Francisco, Miami and Boston. Find yours before you travel and save the number.
Official tourism authority: Brand USA, the national tourism marketing body, covers the country; for Iowa the state tourism site is Travel Iowa, the Iowa State Fair publishes its own dates and rules, the National Weather Service office in Des Moines issues storm, tornado and winter weather warnings, and Iowa 511 publishes road conditions and closures.
Solo women travellers. Des Moines is a comfortable city to visit alone. Check the forecast on a summer afternoon, take care on ice in winter, and take a taxi or rideshare back late at night rather than walking through quiet streets.
Takeaways
Des Moines has two hard seasons: humid summer heat with afternoon storms, and winter lows below zero Fahrenheit with snow from December to March. A merino base layer covers both, the skywalk softens a downtown winter, and sunscreen and sunglasses must come from elsewhere.
Reading On
Chicago, to the east, has slightly milder winters than Des Moines by Wikipedia's comparison, and Minneapolis, to the north, has colder ones. Kansas City lies to the south, and Milwaukee and Indianapolis are the other Midwestern cities in this library. Omaha and Iowa City have no guide here yet, and there is no Iowa state guide, so the United States travel guide is the parent for now. Our guide to merino base layers for women has the fibre reasoning, and the travel packing guide indexes the library.
If the outer journey is calling you, the inner one usually is too. Explore SoulMap at romantrail.com/blogs/soulmap.
