North America > United States > Iowa > Sioux City
Sioux City sits on a bend of the Missouri River at the far western edge of Iowa, where the state runs into Nebraska, South Dakota, and the start of the Loess Hills. It is a real regional city, not a postcard town, but it has a stronger sense of place than many Midwestern river stops: bluffs, frontier history, old theatres, and a downtown that still looks toward the water.
The city's best story is tied to Lewis and Clark. Sergeant Charles Floyd, the only member of the Corps of Discovery to die on the expedition, was buried here, and the Sergeant Floyd Monument stands high above the Missouri. The Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center fills in the expedition's Siouxland chapter without asking for much time or money.
For landscape, go north to Stone State Park, where wooded ravines and loess bluffs give a better feel for western Iowa than the interstate ever will. Sioux City is not a place to cross the country for, but if you are already in western Iowa, it clears the spare-day test.