Amana Colonies

Although the Amana Colonies – one of Iowa's top tourist attractions – are right in the Corridor's backyard, don't take this treasure for granted. If you have only been to a few attractions or haven't been there in a while, it's time to rediscover everything the area has to offer, from shops featuring handcrafted items and restaurants and bakeries filled with homestyle delights to museums and sites highlighting the communal life of early Amana.

MORNING: If you're planning a day in the Amanas, you better come hungry. The Brick Haus Restaurant in Amana has an all-you-can-eat family-style breakfast. Walk off that big breakfast by browsing the many specialty shops in Amana, which feature handcrafted items such as wood

Craftsman David Graesser works on a standard mixed wood dresser at the Amana Furniture Shop in Amana. The shop has been producing handcrafted furniture since 1855. Photo by The Gazette

products, quilts and crafts. The Amana Furniture and Clock Shop has beautiful handcrafted furniture made of solid walnut, oak and cherry wood.

LUNCH: If you're still hungry after breakfast, there are plenty of restaurants that serve family-style lunches or sandwiches off the menu. Ox Yoke Inn and Ronneburg Restaurant serve German family-style lunches, as well as other menu items.

AFTERNOON: To visit the other colonies, head west on 220th Trail past Lily Lake, named for its lily pods. In Middle Amana, visit the Communal Kitchen and Cooper Shop, where the last communal meal in the colony was served in 1932. In West Amana, visit Opa's Tractor Barn Museum, an 1883 barn with agricultural history memorabilia, antique tractors and barnyard items in miniature. South Amana is the home to the Communal Agriculture Museum, where tools, implements and photographs from Amana's communal era are displayed.

EVENING: Along nearby Interstate 80 is Tanger Outlet Center near Williamsburg. The mall has more than 55 brand outlet stores.

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