Delaware Crossing Scenic Byway
Delaware Crossing Scenic Byway is a State Scenic Byway in Iowa. Within Iowa it covers roughly 35 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Delaware Crossing Scenic Byway with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
Delaware Crossing Scenic Byway loops 36 miles through Delaware County, Iowa, tracing the Maquoketa River past limestone bluffs and rolling farmland. The route links the small towns of Delaware, Delhi, Hopkinton, and Manchester, each holding its own piece of the region's history. Hopkinton's Lenox College campus, now a museum complex, recalls the pioneer doctors and Civil War volunteers who passed through the abandoned 19th-century college. More than 70 hand-painted barn quilts dot the county's farmsteads, turning the drive into an informal outdoor gallery. In Manchester, the 1897 federal fish hatchery is among the oldest of its kind in the country and still raises trout for regional streams. Paddlers and hikers can break up the drive at Pin Oak Wildlife Area, Retz Wildlife Area, or Turtle Creek Park, all tucked along the byway's river-valley scenery.
- 36-mile loop, Delaware County
- Maquoketa River valley
- Lenox College campus museum, Hopkinton
- 70+ hand-painted barn quilts
- 1897 Manchester Fish Hatchery
- Pin Oak & Retz wildlife areas
Plan a drive on Delaware Crossing Scenic Byway →
What is a State Scenic Byway?
State Scenic Byways are roads a state has formally recognized for their scenic, natural, historic or cultural value — each state's own curated collection of drives worth taking slowly.
Where to Stay along Delaware Crossing Scenic Byway
No campgrounds are listed close to Delaware Crossing Scenic Byway yet, but there are rooms near the route.
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