Dyersville Field Of Dreams Visit

[MeanDean]

A visitor from New York State is coming for a week in August and has requested to see the Field of Dreams. Other than driving past Dyersville a few times, seeing the movie, and parts of the recent MLB games, I really don't know what there is to see there.

Thus, I'm calling on CFer's ever reliable bottomless font of information for some idea of what there is there to see/experience.

Thinking of making a day of it. Maybe up to Pikes Peak, and lunch or at least a piece of pie at Breitbachs. Website indicates it's only open Thurs-Sunday???

Anything else worth adding to the jaunt?

(One of the party is awaiting hip surgery so not extremely mobile, so nothing involving walking any distance is going to work.)

TIA

 

[clone4life82]

A visitor from New York State is coming for a week in August and has requested to see the Field of Dreams. Other than driving past Dyersville a few times, seeing the movie, and parts of the recent MLB games, I really don't know what there is to see there.

Thus, I'm calling on CFer's ever reliable bottomless font of information for some idea of what there is there to see/experience.

Thinking of making a day of it. Maybe up to Pikes Peak, and lunch or at least a piece of pie at Breitbachs. Website indicates it's only open Thurs-Sunday???

Anything else worth adding to the jaunt?

(One of the party is awaiting hip surgery so not extremely mobile, so nothing involving walking any distance is going to work.)

TIA

Take your gloves and have a catch. They offer tours through the house but we didn’t do that when we went.

Side note, thought breitbachs burned down…. Twice. Did they rebuild it, twice?

 

[madguy30]

I'd guess it's missing some of the 'mystique' with the new stadium built there but last I knew it's free to drive up and see it.

 

[BigTurk]

A visitor from New York State is coming for a week in August and has requested to see the Field of Dreams. Other than driving past Dyersville a few times, seeing the movie, and parts of the recent MLB games, I really don't know what there is to see there.

Thus, I'm calling on CFer's ever reliable bottomless font of information for some idea of what there is there to see/experience.

Thinking of making a day of it. Maybe up to Pikes Peak, and lunch or at least a piece of pie at Breitbachs. Website indicates it's only open Thurs-Sunday???

Anything else worth adding to the jaunt?

(One of the party is awaiting hip surgery so not extremely mobile, so nothing involving walking any distance is going to work.)

TIA

I am from Dyersville area originally and to answer your question…not much else to see in Dyersville. Well, if you want to see pretty churches go to Dyersville’s Basilica. New Vienna has a pretty church, but Petersburg’s church, my home church, is breathtaking. Unbelievable such a building is out in the middle of nowhere, and beats Dyersville hands down.

Textile brewery is a good brewery.

Dubuque has a lot of natural beauty - Eagle Point Park, FenLon elevator.

Take your gloves and have a catch. They offer tours through the house but we didn’t do that when we went.

Side note, thought breitbachs burned down…. Twice. Did they rebuild it, twice?

Yes, it was rebuilt after the second fire.

 

[clone4life82]

I am from Dyersville area originally and to answer your question…not much else to see in Dyersville. Well, if you want to see pretty churches go to Dyersville’s Basilica. New Vienna has a pretty church, but Petersburg’s church, my home church, is breathtaking. Unbelievable such a building is out in the middle of nowhere, and beats Dyersville hands down.

Textile brewery is a good brewery.

Dubuque has a lot of natural beauty - Eagle Point Park, FenLon elevator.


Yes, it was rebuilt after the second fire.

I agree with you that Dubuque would be the better place to go. Good news on breitbachs. When I was younger we spent a lot of time in that area as a good portion of my family was from the epworth/Farley area

 

[Gonzo]

I'm not even sure what's accessible since I think they're building the new big complex out there, which is why they're not doing the MLB game this year.

 

[Clone Head]

My son and I went there this past weekend and had a lot of fun. The new baseball field is quite a distance from original field is barely visible.

 

[Cy4Lifer]

National Mississippi River Museum in Dubuque is worth going to. Also, take a ride on the American Lady, a large yacht that deports from Catfish Charlies restaurant. Two-hour sight-seeing on the Mississippi River with free beer and lite snacks!

 

[Die4Cy]

Maquoketa Caves State Park and a stop at Bluff Lake for supper.

 

[hiltonisheaven]

A visitor from New York State is coming for a week in August and has requested to see the Field of Dreams. Other than driving past Dyersville a few times, seeing the movie, and parts of the recent MLB games, I really don't know what there is to see there.

Thus, I'm calling on CFer's ever reliable bottomless font of information for some idea of what there is there to see/experience.

Thinking of making a day of it. Maybe up to Pikes Peak, and lunch or at least a piece of pie at Breitbachs. Website indicates it's only open Thurs-Sunday???

Anything else worth adding to the jaunt?

(One of the party is awaiting hip surgery so not extremely mobile, so nothing involving walking any distance is going to work.)

TIA

Pikes Peak is my favorite state park. If your group is not wanting/able to hike you can drive to the top and see the best views just steps from the parking lot.
Textile Brewing in Dyersville has good beer and a small food menu.
In Dubuque, there’s a good Italian restaurant, Vinny’s Little Italy down near the river district. The original Vinny’s is in Galena but I’ve not been there yet.

 

[Cy4Lifer]

Two other nice local restaurants include Pepper Sprout and L’May’s, both downtown.

 

[Cycsk]

How far to Mississippi River Distilling? Try some of their experimental products, such as bourbon finished in various beer and wine barrels. Or just introduce your friend to the new Amaretto flavored Iowish Cream.

 

[Cycsk]

Isn't there a diecast toy museum in Dyersville?

 

[bstegs]

Textile Brewing in Dyersville is pretty good and has good pretzels and flatbreads if you need a food option.

Depending on how much of scenic day of driving you are looking for, here are some additional options.

There are a handful of wineries in the area, specifically Park Farm near Bankston and PromiseLand near Guttenberg.

Guttenberg also has some nice scenic overlooks of the Mississippi.

There is an Amish Bakery east of Edgewood with a great pie selection.

In addition to Pike's Peak, there is also Effigy Mounds nearby for even more hiking.

 

[BigTurk]

Isn't there a diecast toy museum in Dyersville?

Yes. National Farm Toy museum

 

[intrepid27]

Take your gloves and have a catch. They offer tours through the house but we didn’t do that when we went.

Side note, thought breitbachs burned down…. Twice. Did they rebuild it, twice?y

Yes it is back open.

 

[cmjh10]

Maquoketa Caves State Park and a stop at Bluff Lake for supper.

I’ve been told Bluff Lake has gone down hill. Owners kid took over and changed everything.

 

[CascadeClone]

Also being from the area (I remember when they filmed the movie!), I agree with BigTurk and would also recommend Dubuque for a full day trip - it really is a nice downtown now. Bit of a drive from Dyersville (30 mins?) to get to the actual downtown. Lots of touristy stuff there, shops, restaurants, breweries, etc.

I would recommend Shot Tower Inn much more than Breitbachs personally. It's nothing special really, but has been there since forever, and its kind of a trip thru the way-back machine if you like that.

Eagle Point Park is a great place to look out over the river, the lock & dam, etc. Beautiful, peaceful. My grandpa helped build it, part of the WPA during the depression. You can usually park fairly close to the look outs so not much walking.

Bluff Lake is a long way to drive and wait to eat greasy mediocre catfish - have been there several times. Catfish Charlies is closer, nicer, better food and service.

 

[Drew0311]

It’s cool for about 5 minutes. Definitely bring a your gloves and a ball to play catch but other than that, it’s like going to a local little league after about 5 minutes

 

[cytor]

Sneak over to Galena... lots of neat things to see there and not too far from Dyersville.