tours of des moines capitol building

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How Do I Visit the Iowa State Capitol?

The Iowa State Capitol and its golden dome have stood as a shining symbol of Iowa government and politics since its completion in 1886. The Capitol welcomed nearly 78,000 visitors from across the state, nation, and world last year. Formal and self-guided tours are available at no charge.  

The Iowa State Capitol is open Monday through Saturday for self guided tours or guided tours for groups of 10 or more.

Tours of the Capital

8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (building locks at 4:45 p.m.)

Saturday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

If you have ten or more people in your group you can call us, or complete a  Tour Request , for a guided tour. Smaller groups should call 515.281.5591. Tours can be scheduled Monday through Saturday.

Location - Address: 1007 East Grand Avenue Des Moines, Iowa 50319

Video and pictorial tours of the capitol and capitol grounds.

You can visit the Capital virtually by looking at our video and pictorial tours of the Capital and Capital grounds.

Related Agency - Iowa Legislature

Address:  State Capitol, 1007 E Grand Ave., Des Moines, IA 50319

Phone:  (515) 281-5129

Related Links

Iowa state capitol visitor guide, capitol tours and resources, capitol complex events, parking map, driving directions, iowa legislature.

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Information on Iowa State Capitol Tours in Des Moines

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The Iowa State Capitol tour takes you right into the heart of political grandeur in Des Moines, Iowa. The capitol building itself was built from 1871-1886. It is absolutely stunning with its world famous dome gilded with 23-karat gold leaf as well as its magnificent 19th century architecture.

Below is all of the information on Iowa State capitol tours that you will need to schedule your visit.

How to Sign up for an Iowa State Capitol Tour:

If you would like a tour of the Iowa State Capitol building and have less than 10 people in your group , you can call 515-281-5591 to schedule a free tour . For groups of 10 or more you’ll need to register online for a capitol tour here . Here you can request both building tours and dome tours. 

Guide Tour Times:

Tours are only available Monday through Saturday and last approximately 75 to 90 minutes.

Monday through Friday – Tour Times Vary Saturday – Every hour starting at 9:30 am and ending at 2:30 pm.

**NOTE – Dome tours are restricted to 4th grade students and above. One adult chaperone is required for every 10 children touring.

Self-Guided Tour Times: 

Self-guided tours of the Capitol and Capitol grounds are available anytime during normal business hours.

Get a closer look inside the Iowa State Capitol building here. 

What do you see on the Iowa State Capitol Tour?:

Ground floor:, first floor:.

• Ground Stairway Statues
• Inner Dome / Glass Floor / Flag Display Case
• Capitol History Display Case
• USS Iowa Model
• Secretary of State’s Office
• Capitol Supreme Court Chamber / Judicial Display Case
• Original Railroad Commissioner’s Office
• Treasurer of State’s Office
• Governor’s Office / Governor’s Reception Room
• 168th Infantry Photo / Inaugural Gown Doll Display Case
• Auditor of State’s Office

Second Floor:

• Westward Mural
• Lunettes / Statues
• State Law Library
• West Capitol Terrace

Third Floor:

• House of Representatives

Iowa State Capitol Building Hours:

8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday – Friday 

9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Saturday 

• New Year’s Day
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• Memorial Day
• Fourth of July
• Veterans Day
• Thanksgiving (and day after)
• Christmas Day

Where to park for your Iowa State Capitol Tour:

Iowa state capitol address:.

1007 East Grand Avenue Des Moines, Iowa 50319

Bus parking is on the west side of the Capitol (along East Ninth Street). Buses may load and unload from the circle drive located directly in front of the west Capitol ground-floor handicap-accessible entrance. For a bus parking map visit here .

Visitors / Public Parking:

Visitor parking can be found on E. 12th St and also on Court St. surrounding the capitol building. Additional accessible parking can also be found in employee and visitor lots. This complex parking map shows you exactly where the various parking areas are. 

*To view and print a map of the Iowa Capitol Complex visit here .

Where to Enter the Iowa State Capitol Building:

Although tours meet on the ground floor in the rotunda area, there are multiple entry points open to the public. Public entrances are located on the ground floor of the Iowa State Capitol on the south and west sides of the building. You must walk through a security scan upon entrance.

Iowa Capitol Gift Shop: 

The Iowa Capitol Gift Shop is located on the ground floor of the rotunda in the Iowa State Capitol. It’s small but has great souvenir options featuring both Iowa and the Iowa State Capitol and includes a small historical display.

Capitol Gift Shop Hours:

 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Capitol Gift Shop Phone Number:

 515-281-5591

More information about the State Capitol Dome Tours:

If you would like to include a tour of the Iowa State Capitol building dome you will simply add that on to your tour reservations. If you have less than 10 people in your group , you can call 515-281-5591 to schedule a free tour . For groups of 10 or more you’ll need to register online for a capitol tour here and make sure that you request both a building tour and a dome tour. 

Iowa State Capitol Monuments and Memorials:

Below is a list of monuments and memorials at the Capitol Complex. You can find a map of locations here as well as QR Codes for a Cell Phone Audio tour.

• Parrot Rifle
• Spanish-American War Cannon
• Cornerstone
• Lincoln and Tad Statue
• G.A.R. Sundial
• V.F.W. Monument
• Daniel Cooper Memorial Tree
• Great Seal of Iowa
• Bicentennial Fountain
• Pioneer Statuary Group | Buffalo Fountain
• West Capitol Terrace Memorial Benches
• Holocaust Memorial 
• Bryant Boulder
• Teacher Boulder
• Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument 
• Bicentennial Time Capsule 
• Centennial Time Capsule
• G.A.R. Memorial Tree
• Iowa Peace Officer Memorial 
• Revolutionary War Memorial 
• Allison Monument
• Sesquicentennial Tree
• Christopher Columbus Monument 
• Submarine Memorial 
• Vietnam War Memorial
• Purple Heart Combat Veterans Memorial
• Martin Luther King Jr. Tree
• Korean War Memorial 
• Crocker Memorial 
• Five Stones — One Tree Sculpture
• Scott’s Grave 
• G.A.R. Flagpole
• G.A.R. Memorial Bench 
• Japanese Bell | Bell House 
• Memorial Bench 
• Shattering Silence Monument 
• Oley Nelson Tree 
• Spanish-American War Monument 
• Statue of Liberty 
• Liberty Bell
• Memorial Plaza (World War II) 
• The Pinnacle Monument 
• Iowa: A Place to Grow Symbol
• Spanish Howitzer
• Workers’ Monument
• Cosmic Seed Sculpture

Other places to visit in or near Des Moines: 

• State Historical Museum of Iowa – If you would like a self-guided tour you must register at least two weeks in advance using this online visit request form .
• Adventureland
• Big Creek State Park
• Blank Park Zoo
• Boone Scenic Railway
• Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden
• Heritage Carousel
• Ledges State Park
• Pappajohn Sculpture Park
• Science Center of Iowa  

Can’t Make it to the Iowa State Capitol? Check out these Videos:

Secretary of state’s office:.

Iowa Governor’s Office:

Iowa Senate Chamber:

Iowa House of Representatives Chamber:

Inner Dome:

Iowa State Law Library:

Inaugural Gown Doll Display Case:

Iowa State Capitol Building Mosaics:

View more videos of the Iowa State Capitol Building here.

About Crystal

I'm the product of a family who never travelled and now I can't get enough! Please leave a comment or send me a message with some of your favorite lesser known places to visit - my bucket list in the USA is always expanding! My passion for travel motivated me to drag along my husband and 3 kids until now they are as eager as I am to hit the road! What should we visit near you?

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January 15, 2024 at 6:06 pm

Your photos of the Iowa State Capitol are fabulous. It’s an outrageously impressive structure, and I’m so glad it still stands and welcomes visitors. Your decision to spend a day exploring it was very wise!

Many thanks for your incredible pictures and work on this entry.

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Have you been thinking about taking an Iowa State Capitol tour? It was on my list of things to do for quite some time! Now that I’ve done it, I can tell you it’s definitely worth your time to tour the Iowa Capitol building.

While I’ve known for a while (I’m talking years here) that we could tour the Iowa State Capitol building, we hadn’t made the time to do it. While we were at the Capitol for the march this weekend, I made a comment about how some weekend we need to make time to take a tour of the Capitol.

“Why not now?” my husband suggested.

Iowa State Capitol Tour with Kids

I wasn’t sure we’d be able to get a tour by just walking in last minute. I was surprised to learn that tours run regularly Monday through Saturday, and while they recommend scheduling a tour, they can often accommodate walk-ins. 

We went through security and were able to quickly join a guided tour that had started a few minutes prior. The front desk was incredibly helpful and let us join an in-progress tour as we didn’t want to wait a half hour for the next one (waiting and kids don’t always mix well). 

Our guide was friendly, knowledgeable, and adept at entertaining the mix of adults and kids in our group. I wasn’t sure how interested my kids would be in the tour, but they LOVED it! 

We all learned a lot about the Des Moines Capitol, from its history to the interior decor to funny stories about our state senators.

The one thing I enjoyed about doing this tour on a Saturday was that we had access to several rooms we wouldn’t have been allowed in during the weekdays. The library, for example, was my favorite room. 

If the House and/or the Senate were in session, our guide wouldn’t have been able to speak while we were in those rooms. That’s where we got all of the good stories – another benefit of a Saturday tour! 

However, I would like to go back during the week sometime so we could see the building while it’s bustling.

The Iowa Statehouse was built from 1871-1886 and displays magnificent 19th-century architecture. The gorgeous dome is gilded with 23-karat gold leaf. The highlight of our tour came at the very end when we had the option to go up into that amazing dome! 

Unfortunately, children need to be ages 6+ to climb up into the dome. Our youngest is 5 1/2  and our oldest is afraid of heights. There was nowhere for them to wait by themselves, so Hubs had to miss out while our middle child and I went. 

We loved looking down and being so close to the top, but the walk up the winding narrow staircase was a tad dizzying for me and a few others in our group.

Tips for Touring the Des Moines Capitol Building

Where is the Iowa State Capitol building? The Iowa Capitol building is located at 1007 E. Grand Avenue in Des Moines . 

Where do you park at the Iowa State Capitol? Complimentary parking is available in the Capitol Complex Parking Garage located at the corner of East Grand Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue. Metered parking is also available on the street surrounding the building.

What time are Iowa State Capitol tours? Tours are available Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm, and Saturday 8 am to 4 pm. Tours last approximately 75 to 90 minutes.

What is the cost to tour the Des Moines Capitol? Tours are free. You can book a tour by calling 515-281-5591. The tour guides and gift shop are located on the ground floor of the rotunda. For more info, visit: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/resources/tourCapitol  

I’m still shocked at how well the kids did with this tour and how much they learned. There’s also an option to do a self-tour of the building, but I highly recommend doing a guided tour because you get good, inside info.

Whether you live nearby or are planning to visit Iowa, I highly recommend making a plan to tour the Iowa State Capitol today!

About the Author

Ashlen Sheaffer is a proud Des Moines resident who was born and raised here. Ashlen wears many hats: mom, wife, daycare provider at her in-home daycare, blogger and co-owner at The Kidsperts, children’s book author, and co-director and producer for the upcoming play Expressing Motherhood play. In her free time Ashlen enjoys exploring all Des Moines has to offer, road trips, and adventuring all with the kids in tow. Ashlen is super excited to be able to share some of her family’s adventuring with other Iowans and get other families out into the community.

Follow her:

Website:  www.thek i dsperts.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ashlen.kidspert

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/AshlenSheaffer

Instagram:  https://instagram.com/ashlen_at_the_kidsperts/

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One thought on “ Top Tips for an Iowa State Capitol Tour ”

Will capital tours on September 28 be occurring?

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Our Des Moines: Iowa Capitol tour gives even the most familiar visitors new insights

When I first started working at the Iowa Capitol as a brand-new baby Statehouse reporter in 2015, I worked really hard to make it look like I knew exactly what I was doing and where I was going.

I tried not to look as excited as I felt while snapping a picture from my seat on press row during the first day of floor action, angling my phone so I could capture the glimmering chandeliers and rows of dark wooden desks. Better not look too earnest, I thought, lest someone think they could take advantage of my naiveté.

Soon enough, I was spending my days hustling from committee meeting to committee meeting, losing sight of everything but the deadlines that loomed in front of me. There was rarely time to stop and marvel at my surroundings as I raced through the days.

But at night, after the chaotic buzz of energy had subsided and nearly everyone had gone home, I’d remind myself to stop and look up. Exhausted and reveling in the quiet, I’d try to take in the flowing marble, the towering dome and the ornate details that adorn every hall.

Iowa has a beautiful Capitol. Yet for all the time I’ve spent inside its halls, it’s always bothered me that I knew so little about the art, the architecture and the history that surrounds me while I’m at work.

So, on a recent Friday afternoon, I confirmed a 9:30 a.m. public tour for myself and a couple of my Des Moines Register colleagues.

We met in the basement by the tour desk. Becky Thompson, who has been giving these tours for the last two years since retiring from the VA, eagerly rounded us up and got us moving.

For a full 90 minutes, Becky led us through the halls of the Capitol. We got to stop and gawk and ask question after question.

I learned that there’s a fire-safe vault in the secretary of state’s office where they keep hard copies of every bill ever generated by the Iowa Legislature and a ledger containing Abraham Lincoln’s signature.

I learned that a beautiful mural depicting the branches of government is actually a series of mosaics designed using thousands of Venetian glass tiles the size of my fingernail.

I climbed up 99 steps from the second floor into the “whispering gallery,” which encircles the base of the central golden dome.

And I finally heard the entire story of how the House of Representatives was engulfed in flames during the building’s switch from gas to electric power. I had heard only snippets of the tale as tours moved through the House chamber as I worked. To save the building from burning, a quick-thinking engineer crawled on his hands and knees into the attic to shut every vent and door to smother the fire.

I’m lucky that my job gives me such a special peek behind the curtain at the Iowa Capitol. But the beauty of the building is that it belongs to all of us. If you’re new to Des Moines, do yourself a favor: Don’t wait six years to take the tour.

Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Register. When she's not at the Capitol, she's running around the East Village with her dog, Lois. What's your favorite Iowa Capitol fact? Send it to her at [email protected] or on Twitter at @brianneDMR .

To schedule a Capitol tour

There's an online form to fill out for groups of 10 or more:  www.legis.iowa.gov/resources/tourCapitol/request

For smaller groups, call 515-281-5591.

Tours are offered Monday through Saturday. Allow 90 minutes. A virtual tour option is also available.

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Our Des Moines is a weekly feature on an interesting person, place or happening in the Des Moines metro, the kind of gems that make central Iowa a special place. Have an idea for this series? Contact [email protected].

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5 Things You Need To Know

Building hours.

The Iowa Capitol Building Des Moines is open to visitors during the following hours:

Monday through Friday: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Please note the building locks at 4:45 p.m.)

Saturday: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

If you're interested in taking a guided tour of the Iowa Capitol Building in Des Moines, here's what you need to know:

Booking Tours: You can book tours by calling 515-281-5591. This is the contact number to schedule your visit.

Tour Schedule: Tours are available from Monday to Saturday. To find out the specific tour times, you will need to call the provided number to inquire and make a reservation.

Tour Starting Point: The tours typically start at the ground floor of the rotunda, which is the central and impressive space within the Capitol Building.

The Iowa Capitol Building features a gift shop where you can find a variety of Iowa-related and Iowa State Capitol-related gifts. 

Gift Shop Hours: The gift shop is open on weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. 

Entering the Building

When entering the Iowa State Capitol Building:

Entrances : Visitors can access the building through entrances located on the ground floor, specifically on the south and west sides of the building.

Security Scan : For security purposes, visitors will typically go through a security scan when entering the Capitol Building. Be prepared to have your bags checked and pass through a security screening.

Parking options near Capitol Building include:

Large Visitor Lot: There is a spacious visitor lot located just a block east of the building. This lot likely provides convenient parking for visitors.

Assorted Smaller Lots: In addition to the large visitor lot, there are smaller parking lots nearby. These may offer alternative parking options depending on availability.

Street Parking: Visitors also have the option of street parking in the vicinity of the Capitol Building. Be sure to follow any parking regulations and restrictions in place.

Other Nearby Attractions