---
title: "Ames – what to see, and every way to get there | Mixroutes"
description: "How to get to Ames from Des Moines, Omaha and Kansas City: every way compared, with today's quickest and its fare. Ames is a city in Story County, Iowa…"
url: "https://www.mixroutes.com/places/ames"
markdown: "https://www.mixroutes.com/places/ames.md"
image: "https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/Reiman_Gardens_33.jpg/3840px-Reiman_Gardens_33.jpg"
---

![Ames](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/Reiman_Gardens_33.jpg/3840px-Reiman_Gardens_33.jpg)

# Ames

Ames is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately 30 miles (48 km) north of Des Moines in central Iowa.

[Plan a trip to Ames](https://www.mixroutes.com/?to=Ames) [From Des Moines](https://www.mixroutes.com/results?from=Des+Moines&to=Ames)

## Every way there

- 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)

Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.

The field note

What is in and around Ames, ranked by how widely it is written about, how you reach it, and the nearest places where we have researched how people move.

[Read the note on Ames](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/ames)

What Ames has

- Y Scheduled flights Des Moines (DSM), 54 km
- Y Trains and coaches Transitous carries 5 timetable feeds for this country, 2 with real-time
- N Ferries no crossing within 25 km
- Y Driving and taxi OpenStreetMap roads; cab fare from the country band
- N Bike and scooter share no share feed known
- N Cruises no open itinerary source anywhere

Y routable now · F found, not yet implemented · N no source known.

42.018°, -93.620°

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.

How locals move

## Getting around Ames the local way

- 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. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ames%2C_Iowa), CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.


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