Madison County Covered Bridge Festival

Winterset, IA · Festival

When: October 10–11, 2026
Where: Winterset Town Square · Winterset · IA
Cost: Not confirmed
Status: Confirmed from the organizer's published schedule

Winterset's town square hosts the Madison County Covered Bridge Festival every October, drawing more than 150 food, art and craft vendors alongside old time demonstrations and a Sunday parade. The county's historic covered bridges, made famous by the novel and film The Bridges of Madison County, are the festival's namesake.

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The history within reach

John Wayne0.3 mi
Born Marion Morrison in a four-room house in the town that also gave the world the covered bridges of Madison County.
The bridges of Madison County0.4 mi
Six covered bridges survive of nineteen, roofed because covering a bridge was cheaper than replacing the deck.
The Dean Scream24 mi
Howard Dean, having just lost the Iowa caucus, shouting a list of states he would still win.
The Des Moines Art Center24 mi
Three wings by Eliel Saarinen, I.
Fort Des Moines and the first Black officers25 mi
The army trained 639 Black officers here in 1917, the first commissioned in any number, after a campaign by students and the NAACP.