Hello East Coast Railfans!
Look through our brochure to learn more about Fort Madison, Iowa and why you should come visit us!
60-80 trains pass through Fort Madison daily.
We are located along the banks of the legendary Mississippi River.
Amtrak’s Southwest Chief makes 2 stops here daily on it’s route between Chicago, IL and Los Angeles, CA.
The Historic 1910 Santa Fe Depot and 1898 CB&Q Depots are open to visitors.
Our friendly community of 10,000 people loves to greet railfans from around the world!
Get a taste of the Midwest while railfanning! Explore our area farms including Hinterland Dairy that has multiple Iowa State Fair awarded cheeses, Harvestville Farm includes 2 flower festivals, a fall 12 acre corn maze & 35 acres of pumpkins, squash & gourds and Appleberry Orchard is Iowa’s oldest working orchard dating back to 1852 and includes a petting zoo, bakery and play area.
Southeast Iowa is also known as the “Wild West of the Midwest” with our unique Quarry Creek Elk & Bison Farm near the award winning Tri-State Rodeo that began in 1948 and is now the best rodeo in PRCA Great Lake Circuit.
SE Iowa Regional Airport - 17 miles / 21 minutes
Quad Cities International Airport - 91 miles / 2 hours
Eastern iowa Airport - 103 miles / 2 hours
Peoria INternational Airport - 117 miles / 2 hours
Des Moines Interational Airport - 166 miles / 3 hours
Find a variety of tours during your Fort Madison visit! From river tours to wagon rides, depot visits to tasting tours, the Fort Madison area has so much to offer, so stay a few days longer!
Optional Unique Tours
Lake Cooper Loop - Travel a 50 mile loop around our section of the Mississippi River called, “Lake Cooper”. Visit 6 small communities in 2 states along with their unique sites including Fort Madison’s bridge which is the world’s largest double deck swing span bridge, the largest rise on the Mississippi River at 38’ at the Keokuk Lock & Dam, and the Nauvoo Mormon Temple perched high on Nauvoo, Illinois’ bluff.
Southeast Iowa Depot Tour - Visit 11 rural depots from the past including Keokuk’s newly renovated Union Depot along it’s riverfront. It’s breathtaking! The link will take you to our fall event page, but you can still visit these depots on your own!
Tasting Tour - Who doesn’t want to regional food and drink while vacationing? Southeast Iowa has some great watering holes and unique dining options! Try locally raised elk & bison, the best sweet corn, mouthwatering barbecue, traditional flavors honoring Fort Madison’s Mexican heritage, fresh local items at our farmers market and everyone’s Iowan favorite… breaded tenderloins that are the size of the plate!
Sipping Tour - Try our local beer brewed trackside with great views of the riverfront. Visit 3 regional wineries featuring country style lemon wine, 4th generation vintners and also Illinois’s oldest winery dating back to 1857. Finally, sample delicious Iowa corn whiskey in many flavors including caramel and coffee, made from a still named “Too Purdy”. Cheers!
Tri-State Railfan Experience - You have made it all the way to Iowa, why not keep exploring? Make Fort Madison your hub and visit 2 other popular railfanning locations!
Fort Madison, Iowa FMD- Your railfanning dream destination! 60-80 trains a day, view boats traveling along the Mississippi River, a lively new marina & bar by the Santa Fe Bridge and a busy riverfront!
LaPlata, Missouri LAP - Small town, fast trains. LaPlata is on the SF (BNSF) Transcon so traffic is good and they also have a viewing platform!
Galesburg, Illinois GBB - BNSF lines running seven different directions, a major terminal and hump yard right in the middle of things, there's always something happening somewhere!
Our 3 communities are on Amtrak’s Southwest Chief Route in consecutive order, making it very easy to travel to.
Farm Tours - Welcome to the heartland! We are very proud of our agricultural heritage and it shows. We have an award winning farm that began as a high school FFA project and now is a huge destination in late summer and fall that offers wagon rides, outdoor playground, unique farm to table dinners, gift shop and so much more! We also have an Iowa State Fair award winning dairy offering cheese curds, hard cheese, quark and now ice cream! Our other destination farm is deemed as Iowa’s oldest working apple orchard that also has a bakery, outdoor playground, pig races, pumpkin’ chunkin’ and more!
