There are state fairs, and then there’s the Iowa State Fair. For 11 days each August, the Des Moines fairgrounds fill with livestock shows, midway lights, live music and enough deep-fried ambition to derail just about any sensible meal plan.
The 2026 fair runs August 13 through 23, with a packed schedule of competitions, concerts, demonstrations and more than 80 new foods joining the classics. Whether it’s your first visit or your fifteenth, these are the stops that belong on the list.
1. Pay Your Respects to the Butter Cow
You haven’t really done the Iowa State Fair until you’ve stood in front of a cow made from roughly 600 pounds of butter.
The tradition dates to 1911, when J.K. Daniels sculpted the fair’s first Butter Cow. Today, the life-size creation stands about 5 1/2 feet tall and 8 feet long inside a 40-degree cooler in the Agriculture Building. Each year, it shares the spotlight with a companion sculpture. For 2026, the theme is “Meet Me at the Pepsi Clock,” celebrating Iowa communities, culture and the country’s 250th anniversary.
2. Eat a Pork Chop on a Stick
Some fair foods require strategy, multiple napkins and possibly a fork. The pork chop on a stick keeps things beautifully simple.
Served by the Iowa Pork Producers Association, this hefty grilled chop is one of the fair’s longstanding staples and proof that food on a stick doesn’t have to be battered, dipped or covered in powdered sugar to earn a following. You’ll find it at several locations around the grounds.
3. Leave Room for Barksdale’s Cookies
There is no dignified way to walk around holding a bucket of warm chocolate chip cookies, and that’s part of the fun.
Barksdale’s State Fair Cookies have been baked at the fair since 1993, using the Barksdale family recipe. They’re sold by the cup and bucket, and the fair itself calls them synonymous with the Iowa State Fair. In 2019, the Barksdale family gifted the cookie business to the fair, ensuring the tradition would continue.
The only real question is whether you’ll share.
4. Fly Down the Giant Slide
The Giant Slide is pure state-fair nostalgia: grab a mat, climb the stairs and take off down the long, rolling lanes.
It remains one of the fair’s official favorite rides, along with Ye Old Mill and the Sky Glider. No loops, no stomach-dropping inversions, no complicated ride system, just a quick downhill rush that works for kids and adults who still remember being kids.
5. Drift Through Ye Old Mill
For a completely different pace, climb aboard Ye Old Mill, the oldest ride at the Iowa State Fair.
The classic attraction trades speed for old-fashioned amusement as riders float through the historic dark ride. It has survived generations of changing midway trends and remains one of those traditions people return to year after year.
Consider it the calm before you head back toward the midway.
6. See How Many Foods You Can Eat on a Stick
The Iowa State Fair has pushed portable dining to an art form.
More than 50 foods on a stick are available around the grounds, part of a food scene that stretches across nearly 200 stands. The lineup goes well beyond corn dogs. Depending on what you’re craving, you can find everything from salad on a stick and fruit skewers to pork chops and plenty of far less sensible creations.
Trying them all in one day is probably a bad idea. Making an attempt is very much in the spirit of the fair.
7. Hunt Down the 2026 Best New Food Finalists
Every fair needs a little culinary chaos, and this year brings more than 80 new foods to the grounds.
The 2026 Best New Food competition has narrowed that enormous field to three finalists. Porky Parm Gnocchi combines potato gnocchi and Graziano sausage in a parmesan cream sauce. Ultimate Minneapple Pie piles vanilla and cinnamon ice cream onto deep-fried apple pie. The All-American Scrambled Egg Roll stuffs bacon, sausage, hash browns, scrambled eggs and cheddar into a crispy egg roll finished with cheesy ranch.
Fairgoers vote during the event, with the winner scheduled to be announced August 21.
8. Wander Through the Livestock Barns
It’s easy to get distracted by neon rides and fried desserts, but agriculture is still the backbone of the Iowa State Fair.
Livestock competitions fill the schedule with cattle, sheep, swine, horses and other animals, while 4-H and FFA exhibitors showcase months of work. On opening day alone, the schedule includes FFA sheep and swine shows, with competitions and demonstrations continuing throughout the fair.
Spend some time in the barns, watch a judging session and see the side of the fair that goes far beyond carnival rides.
9. Catch a Free Show
You could spend extra on a Grandstand ticket, but you don’t need one to find live entertainment.
The 2026 fair includes more than $500,000 worth of free entertainment, all included with gate admission. This year’s lineup includes Montgomery Gentry featuring Eddie Montgomery, Moon Taxi, Asleep at the Wheel, SugarHill Gang, Eli Young Band, Hairball and plenty more. Elsewhere on the grounds, expect comedy, jugglers, chainsaw carving, a lumberjack show and strolling performers.
Check the daily schedule before you arrive, and you can easily build part of your day around a free performance.
10. Ride the Sky Glider After Sunset
Save one classic ride for last.
The Sky Glider carries riders above the fairgrounds, offering a bird’s-eye view of the crowds, buildings and midway below. Once the sun goes down and the rides start glowing, the trip becomes even better. The fair currently operates two Sky Glider routes, and both one-way and round-trip tickets are available.
After a day of butter sculptures, livestock barns, live music and an unreasonable number of snacks, it’s a fitting way to take in the whole scene from above.
