If you travel U.S. 30 across Iowa, you are never very far away from the Lincoln Highway, if not right on top of it. As much as 85% of the original highway is still drivable in the Hawkeye State, although some of it is gravel.

It is best to have a copy of Gregory Franzwa’s book or the Iowa Chapter’s map pack (see For More Information below). Both provide detailed maps for each of Iowa’s thirteen Lincoln Highway counties. The maps specify the original route where accessible, and where the roadway is gone or abandoned, they indicate detours that steer the driver back to the highway's drivable road surface.

In addition, both the book and the map pack offer descriptions of colorful roadside attractions, examples of period advertising for “gas, food, and lodging,” and points of local interest not aways associated with the Lincoln Highway.

Noteworthy Lincoln Highway locales extend across the state, from Clinton to Council Bluffs. Be sure to visit some of the sites detailed in these guides.

For More Information

Web Sites

• Iowa chapter
• Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway in Iowa

Books and Maps

• Lincoln Highway: Iowa
  by Gregory M. Franzwa
  Published by Patrice Press, 1995.
  
• The Lincoln Highway Map Pack
  by the Iowa Chapter of the Lincoln Highway Association

Highlights

Photos by Paul Walker