Decorah offers an outdoorsy, historic vibe in Iowa’s Driftless Area
The historic, outdoorsy city of Decorah is famous for its Norwegian heritage and Driftless Area scenery. An annual Nordic Fest and a museum downtown pay homage to the community’s comparatively modern history: Norwegians settling here in the 1850s.Traveling continental glaciers bypassed the Winneshiek County seat in the Paleozoic Era, flattening much of Iowa, but leaving Decorah’s hills, rivers and limestone bluffs untouched. “We really are a unique part of Iowa as far as the scenery,” says Realtor Michael Kelly of Kelly Real Estate, a longtime local with over 40 years of realty experience. “We’ve got some beautiful hills and streams, with excellent hiking and fishing and things like that.”
Eclectic mix of 19th, 20th and 21st housing styles
Decorah has a mix of late 1800s Victorians, early 1900s Colonial Revivals and 1920s Craftsmans, along with midcentury ranch-styles, 1970s split-levels and 21st-century New Traditionals. Most homes sit on wide streets with sidewalks, and overlook broad front lawns shaded with oaks, maples and hackberry trees. While prices start under $100,000 and rise to about $950,000, the median hovers close to $295,000. “We’ve always had a very strong market,” Kelly says. “We’re constantly trying to expand our building stock. It’s challenging, though, because it’s difficult to build in the hills.”
The Upper Iowa River is flood-prone, and Winneshiek County is vulnerable to tornadoes. Summers are warm and humid, with average highs around 80 degrees; winters are cold and snowy, with average lows dropping below freezing.
Decorah’s annual Nordic Fest
The city celebrates its Scandinavian heritage every July with Nordic Fest, a three-day event that typically attracts over a million visitors. Festivities include live music, crafts, sporting events, the Gnomes in the Park scavenger hunt and traditional Scandinavian food, like wienerpølse, which is like a hot dog. Kelly says the big parade and lutefisk-eating contest are also highlights of the event. Lutefisk is a whitefish, usually cod, that’s been dried, soaked in lye, then rehydrated and cooked. “It’s a quirky fish dish that the Norwegians used to eat. It’s got a unique flavor – you might see some sour faces during the contest.”
Shopping, dining and things to do in downtown Decorah
Historic brick buildings on Water Street and Main Street in downtown Decorah are filled with banks, boutiques, small businesses and eateries. “Downtown is anchored by the Hotel Winneshiek, which was built in the early 1900s and refurbished a few years ago – it’s a very popular place to stay,” Kelly says. “We get a lot of tourists downtown, especially in the summer. It’s a busy, vibrant area on weekends as well.”
Double Windsor and Modish are clothing boutiques near Heavenly Made Gifts & the Gnome Store, a décor and gifts shop. Restaurants scattered throughout downtown include T Bock’s Sports Bar & Grill, Mabe’s Pizza and the Hotel Winn Bar, which does drinks and small plates. Viking 3 is a family-owned movie theater close to Vesterheim, the National Norwegian-American Museum & Folk Art School. For groceries, there’s the Oneota Community Food Cooperative and a Fareway a few blocks away.
Highly rated Decorah Community School District, Luther College
Decorah Community School District, which earns an A from Niche, serves over 1,600 students across five schools with a 14-to-1 student-teacher ratio. Controlled open enrollment is available. John Cline Elementary earns a B; Carrie Lee Elementary earns a B-plus; Decorah Middle gets an A; Decorah High scores an A-minus. West Side Early Childhood Center is not rated. High schoolers can take dual credit classes at Northeast Community College. Dual enrollment classes are also available at Luther College, a private liberal arts school. The college offers more than 60 majors, minors and pre-professional programs. Luther hosts the annual Dorian Choral Invitational Festival, a high school choir showcase, as well as the Luther College Nordic Choir Tour.
Decorah’s ice cave, extensive trail system and more outdoor recreation
The Barbara Barnhart Van Peenan Memorial Park, known locally as “Van Peenan,” has miles of hiking, biking and cross-country skiing trails through prairies, pines and rocky ravines. Trails connect to the waterfall and scenic overlooks in Dunning’s Spring Park and Palisades Park. Trails also run to the Decorah Ice Cave State Preserve, home to one of the largest ice caves in the Midwest. “It’s a great, cool place to stand in the entrance on a hot summer day,” Kelly says. Trout Run Trail is an 11-mile, paved loop popular for hiking, fishing and snowshoeing. Playgrounds, such as those in Mary Christopher Park, Miller Park, Nordheim Park and Phelps Park, are scattered all over town. The Decorah Municipal Swimming Pool, an outdoor pool with a curly slide and diving boards, is on the north side of town close to Carlson Stadium and other Luther College athletics facilities.
Healthcare facilities close by; longer commutes to airports
Healthcare facilities, including Gundersen Decorah Clinic and the Mayo Clinic Health System’s Winneshiek Medical Center, are within about 6 miles of most homes. U.S. Route 52 connects north toward Minnesota and the closest international airport, Minneapolis-Saint Paul, about 150 miles away. Wisconsin’s La Crosse Regional Airport is just under 60 miles away.
