Take the Long Way: Jackson County by Country Road

There’s a moment on a good country drive when you stop thinking about how many miles are left.

For me it came on a hill that opened up into a long view. A field followed the curve of the land. The road dropped into trees, then climbed toward another farmstead. Somewhere in there I turned off the podcast.

Jackson County is great country for that kind of drive.

The route

Pick up the Grant Wood Scenic Byway

The Grant Wood Scenic Byway crosses Jones and Jackson counties, connecting the Stone City area to the Mississippi River. For a Jackson County trip, use the eastern stretch to explore the country between its towns.

Download the route before you go, pick a few places to stop, and give yourself more time than the mileage suggests. I didn’t, and I regretted it by the second town.

Look closer

Give the fields a second look

In spring, the rows show you the shape of the ground. As the crops grow, the landscape gains height and texture. After harvest it opens up again, revealing contours the summer growth had been hiding.

Corn and soybeans do most of the changing, but so do the wooded slopes, pastures, creeks and farm buildings in between. Watch how the pieces fit together. A photo captures one view; a drive lets you watch one landscape turn into another.

It also gives you a reason to come back. A road you remember from June looks completely different in October.

Make stops

Stop wherever something catches your eye

Let a small town interrupt the drive. Take a walk, get lunch or spend a few minutes looking at the buildings on its main street.

Near Maquoketa, the Hurstville Lime Kilns connect the scenery to the area’s working history. Elsewhere, a trail or an overlook might be your reason to get out of the car. You don’t need to see everything in one trip. Pick two or three stops and leave room for the drive itself.

One rule of the road: when you stop for photos, pull all the way off in a safe, legal spot. Fields and farm lanes are working property, and the machinery needs room. You can enjoy the view without stepping into it.

If you want the Mississippi as your finish line, end toward Bellevue. After a day of fields, hills and farmsteads, the river gives you one big final view.