Painterly illustration of a Dutch windmill and tulip beds

Things to do

Pella Windmill, Museums, and Lake Red Rock

Downtown Pella combines settlement history, a museum village, later Dutch-inspired landmarks, tulip gardens, and food shops. Lake Red Rock is a separate outdoor outing beyond town.

Three periods to recognize

Pella’s visitor landmarks do not all come from the same century.

The 1847 colony

Dutch religious dissenters led by Hendrik Pieter Scholte settled here in 1847. Scholte House, Tuttle Cabin, and the Historical Village provide the clearest surviving links to the settlement period.

The festival tradition

Pella held its first Tulip Time in 1935. The annual event now combines tulip displays, parades, street scrubbing, costumes, music, food, and museum programming.

The modern Dutch streetscape

The Vermeer Windmill arrived in 2002, and several downtown features use later Dutch-inspired design. They are visitor landmarks, not untouched buildings from the original colony.

Contextual illustration of a wooded reservoir in central Iowa

Beyond downtown

Lake Red Rock needs its own outing.

The reservoir and federal recreation lands lie beyond Pella’s compact heritage district. Current U.S. Army Corps of Engineers notices determine which trail, overlook, marina, or shoreline area is suitable; access can vary by season and location.

Vermeer Windmill

Tour the working grain mill rather than treating it as a distant photo. The mill was built in the Netherlands, shipped in sections, and reassembled in Pella in 2002.

Pella Historical Village

The museum complex includes historic buildings, demonstrations, the Miniature Dutch Village, the Wyatt Earp Boyhood Home, and the Vermeer Windmill.

Scholte House

Built for Maria Scholte in 1847–1848, the house explains the Dutch colony’s first years and sits north of Central Park.

Central Park and Tulip Avenue

Central Park holds the best-known downtown tulip beds. During Tulip Time, nearby streets become parade routes and pedestrian space.

Molengracht Plaza

The downtown plaza uses Dutch-inspired architecture around a canal, with shops and food close to Franklin and Main streets.

Lake Red Rock

Treat the federal recreation area as a separate outing for trails, overlooks, boating, or shoreline access. Check current U.S. Army Corps of Engineers notices before choosing a specific area.

Painterly illustration of a formal tulip gardenPainterly illustration of a large decorative wooden shoe in a park