--- title: "Ames – what is there, and how you get there | Mixroutes" description: "Ames, United States: Ames is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately 30 miles (48 km) north of Des Moines in central Iowa.…" url: "https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/ames" markdown: "https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/ames.md" image: "https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/Reiman_Gardens_33.jpg/3840px-Reiman_Gardens_33.jpg" --- City in Iowa, US · United States # Ames Ames is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately 30 miles (48 km) north of Des Moines in central Iowa. ![Ames](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/Reiman_Gardens_33.jpg/3840px-Reiman_Gardens_33.jpg) Ames · Wikimedia Commons The place Ames is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately 30 miles (48 km) north of Des Moines in central Iowa. It is the home of Iowa State University (ISU). According to the 2020 census, Ames had a population of 66,427, making it the state's ninth-most populous city. Iowa State University was home to 30,177 students as of fall 2023, which make up approximately one half of the city's population. Adapted from [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ames%2C_Iowa), CC BY-SA 4.0. What is there ## Worth seeing in and around Ames 10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name. 1. Iowa State University The Iowa State University of Science and Technology, also referred to as Iowa State University, is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the nation's first designated land-grant institutions when the Iowa Legislature accepted the provisions of the 1862 Morrill Act on September 11, 1862. 2.5 km · public research university in Ames, Iowa, United States · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa_State_University) 2. Hilton Coliseum James H. Hilton Coliseum is a 14,267-seat multi-purpose arena located in Ames, Iowa, United States. The arena opened in 1971. 1.3 km · 14,057-seat multi-purpose arena in Ames, Iowa; part of the Iowa State Center at Iowa State University · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilton_Coliseum) 3. Jack Trice Stadium Jack Trice Stadium is a stadium located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Primarily used for college football, it is the home field of the Iowa State Cyclones. 1.4 km · football stadium of Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Trice_Stadium) 4. Reiman Gardens Reiman Gardens is a 17-acre university-owned public garden located immediately south of Jack Trice Stadium on the Iowa State University campus in Ames, Iowa. Reiman Gardens is a year-round garden with events, programs, lectures, and tours that has consistently been one of the top visited attractions in Central Iowa. 1.8 km · public garden at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, United States · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reiman_Gardens) 5. Clyde Williams Field Clyde Williams Field was an outdoor stadium on the campus of Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. It was the home of the Iowa State Cyclones football and track and field teams. 2.8 km · Outdoor stadium at Iowa State University · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clyde_Williams_Field) 6. Bandshell Park Bandshell Park, also known as City Park and Music Pavilion, is located in Ames, Iowa, United States. It is a nationally recognized historic district that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. 1.3 km · historic park and open-air concert pavilion · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandshell_Park_(Ames,_Iowa%29) 7. Food Sciences Building The Food Sciences Building, formerly known as Dairy Industry Building, is a historic building on the campus of Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, United States. The two-story, Bedford stone structure was designed by the Des Moines architectural firm of Proudfoot, Rawson & Souers. 2.1 km · historic building on the campus of Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, United States · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_Sciences_Building) 8. Beardshear Hall Beardshear Hall is an administration building at Iowa State University located on Morrill Road. The building was designed by Proudfoot & Bird Architects and constructed in 1906. 2.5 km · building at Iowa State University · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beardshear_Hall) 9. Roosevelt School Roosevelt School, also known as Second Ward School, is a historic building located in Ames, Iowa, United States. It is significant as an example of a Progressive Era school building that served as a neighborhood elementary school from its construction in 1924 until it was controversially closed in 2005. 1.4 km · historic school building in Ames, Iowa, USA · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roosevelt_School_(Ames,_Iowa%29) 10. Catt Hall Carrie Chapman Catt Hall is an administrative building completed in 1892, at Iowa State University which currently houses the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, and the Carrie Chapman Center for Women and Politics. The building is named for Carrie Chapman Catt, an American women's rights activist and founder of the League of Women Voters. 2.4 km · building on Iowa State University's campus, U.S. · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catt_Hall) Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0. Go there ## Getting to Ames **Airports:** Des Moines (DSM), 54 km · Eppley Airfield (OMA), 205 km\ **Stations:** Ames Municipal Airport, 2.9 km\ - Des Moines → Ames 48 km · quickest by road, 48 min · $4.5–6 [Guide](https://www.mixroutes.com/routes/des-moines-to-ames) [Today](https://www.mixroutes.com/results?from=Des+Moines&to=Ames) - Omaha → Ames 211 km · quickest by road, 3h 20m · $22–30 [Guide](https://www.mixroutes.com/routes/omaha-to-ames) [Today](https://www.mixroutes.com/results?from=Omaha&to=Ames) - Kansas City → Ames 336 km · quickest by road, 4h 25m · $29–40 [Guide](https://www.mixroutes.com/routes/kansas-city-to-ames) [Today](https://www.mixroutes.com/results?from=Kansas+City&to=Ames) - From anywhere The planner compares every way there from wherever you are. [Plan a trip](https://www.mixroutes.com/?to=Ames) Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds. Not yet researched ## No local-transport research exists yet for Ames Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Ames. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more. What Wikivoyage says about moving around - Get in If flying via charter or general aviation, one can use the on the southern edge of town, south of Airport Rd; from there automobile is the best bet into town – a Hertz rental car location is available at the airport. From [Wikivoyage: Ames](https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Ames), CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-09. The nearest places where the work is done 1. [Fire Island](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/fire-island) US 10 ways of moving, 19 sources 1,712 km 2. [Vinalhaven and the Fox Islands](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/vinalhaven) US 9 ways of moving, 13 sources 2,020 km 3. [Port Townsend and the Olympic Peninsula](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/port-townsend) US 9 ways of moving, 17 sources 2,371 km 4. [Salt Spring Island and the Southern Gulf Islands](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/salt-spring-island) CA 10 ways of moving, 15 sources 2,433 km 5. [Gibsons and the Sunshine Coast](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/gibsons) CA 10 ways of moving, 21 sources 2,442 km If you know how people move in Ames – the stand, the rule, the fare – [tell us](https://www.mixroutes.com/report?key=blog%7Cames&title=Ames&sub=Field+notes&back=%2Fnotes%2Fames), and the note gets an entry. Around it ## Next door to Ames - [Kelley](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/kelley) city in Iowa, USA 8.3 km - [Ontario, Iowa](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/ontario-iowa) community in the city of Ames, Iowa 5.5 km [The place page for Ames](https://www.mixroutes.com/places/ames) [All the notes](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes) [Every note on United States](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes#c-US) --- This is the markdown version of https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/ames, for search crawlers and AI assistants. The HTML page is the canonical copy. Mixroutes is made by Lascade LLC, Sharjah Media City, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Index of every page: https://www.mixroutes.com/llms.txt