Enjoy Your Evening In Iowa City With These 8 Awesome Things To Do!

things to do in iowa city at night
Lorrie
Lorrie 
Updated
| 3 min read

Just cause the sun goes down, doesn’t mean your night has to be over. Sure, retiring to your posh accommodation, say, a hotel with a pool, sounds tempting, especially after a long day of sightseeing. After all, Iowa City still has a plethora of attractions to appeal to visitors who are visiting the city. Check out a sports game at Kinnick Stadium or Hawkeye Arena. You can also get in a game of bowling, or if you prefer other types of entertainment, check out a film, get some laughs or enjoy some music. There’s also time to spend enjoying nature’s beauty, in this beautiful place.

Sports

1. Kinnick Stadium

Kinnick Stadium
Source: Photo by Wikimedia Commons user N00bUser used under CC BY-SA 3.0

Kinnick Stadium is the home of the University of Iowa football team, the Hawkeyes. Iowa’s home games are played in this historic stadium, named after 1939 Heisman Trophy winner, Nile Kinnick. With a capacity of over seventy thousand, Kinnick ranks as one of the 20 largest college-owned stadiums in the nation.

New scoreboards, featuring state-of-the-art audio and video, new team locker rooms, increased concessions stands and restrooms, a new press box with indoor and outdoor club seating and private suites, are some of the new additions, here. The creation of the main entrance area and the Krause Family Plaza at the stadium’s south end are some of the other new features at Kinnick. Season tickets are sold for football, baseball and softball seasons as well as individual tickets for games.

Kinnick Stadium

Address: The University of Iowa, 825 Stadium Dr, Iowa City, IA 52240

Website: Kinnick Staduim

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2. Colonial Bowling Lanes


Colonial Bowling Lanes offers visitors food and drinks at the bar, a pro shop, adult lounge with drinks, flat screen TVs, arcade games, darts, and more. They have 24 wood lanes and an automatic scoring system.

Colonial Bowling Lanes

Address: 2253 Old Hwy 218 S, Iowa City, IA 52246

Opening Hours 1 pm to midnight, daily

Facebook: Colonial Bowling Lanes

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3. Cedar Rapids Kernels Baseball

Posted by Cedar Rapids Kernels on Monday, 10 April 2017

The Kernels play minor league baseball in New Veteran’s Memorial Stadium, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They are a class A Midwest affiliate of the Minnesota Twins and provide family fun entertainment that includes affordable food, drinks, and souvenirs. They have around 70 games in their season, half of them being home games.

The team originated in 1890 and has played more than 110 seasons. They previously have been known as the Braves, Raiders, Indians and Rockets before becoming the Kernels. There are four sections of seating for fans: lawn, plaza, club and premier.

Cedar Rapids Baseball

Address: 950 Rockford Rd SW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52404

Price: 8 - 12 USD for tickets

Season Open: April - September

Website: Cedar Rapids Baseball

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Entertainment

4. Gabe's

Posted by Gabe's Iowa City on Wednesday, 22 February 2017

This pub opened in the 1970s and has had several different names, before going back to Gabe’s. They bring national and local bands to Iowa City, in a wide range of music genres, such as hip-hop, metal, pop and rock. The shows in the downstairs bar area are donation based and they also have a beer garden, on the premises.

Gabe's

Address: 330 E Washington St, Iowa City, IA 52240

Opening Hours: 4 pm - 2 am, daily.

Website: Gabe’s

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5. Film Scene

Editor's Note: Photo taken from the establishment's official social account

Best Valentine's Day gift ever - book a private Movie Party in Theater 3 this Sunday! icfilmscene.org/movie-party

Posted by FilmScene on Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Film Scene is a nonprofit organization that brings films to the Iowa City area to discuss and enjoy as an art form. Open since 2011, it seeks to connect the community through film and hosts special events in music and film, throughout the year. In 2013, they opened Scene 1 Cinema, which is a full-time movie theater. There are 200 movies shown per year. In the summer they open the rooftop for moviegoers to enjoy drinks, before the movie.

Film Scene

Address: 118 E College St, Iowa City, IA 52240

Box Office Opens: Monday to Friday at 10 am & Saturday and Sunday 1 hour before first showtime. Rooftop is open 11 am to 5:30 pm

Website: Film Scene

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6. Penguin's Comedy Club


Penguin’s Comedy Club helps new comedians by offering open-mic nights, as well as headliner comedy. Tickets are available through their website and you need to be 21 or older to get in the club. They are closed Mondays and Tuesdays, for private parties.

Penguin's Comedy Club

Address: 208 2nd Ave. S.E, Cedar Rapids, IA 52404

Opening Hours Open-mic night Wednesdays; Headliners Thursday to Friday. Showtime at 8 pm.

Website: Penguin’s Comedy Club

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Recreation & Education

7. Terry Trueblood Recreation Area


The Terry Trueblood Recreation Area was created in 2006 and encompasses 152 acres (61.5 hectares) that offer hiking, ice staking, walk-run trails, fishing, bird watching, picnic shelters and canoe and kayak rentals.

Terry Trueblood Recreation Area

Address: 579 McCollister Blvd, Iowa City, IA 52240

Website: Terry Trueblood Recreation Area

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8. Natural History Museum


The University of Iowa Museum of Natural History seeks to inspire visitors and offer a sense of respect for our natural world, through its exhibits and collections. The museum is located on the campus of the University of Iowa, in the MacBride Hall.

They feature the following exhibits: the Hall of Birds, the Biosphere Discovery Hub, Laysan Island Cyclorama, the Mammal Hall, Iowa Hall and the Diversity of Life exhibit. They have collections of birds, mammals, insects, archaeology and photography.

Museum of Natural History

Address: 17 North Clinton Street, Macbride Hall, Iowa City, IA 52240

Opening Hours: Tours are available Tuesday to Saturday, with reservation. Free admission

Website: Museum Natural History

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Enjoy your evenings in Iowa City

No matter what you decide to do, whether it’s sports, movies, music or enjoying nature, you will have fun while in this amazing city. The sports teams are spectacular and the views are amazing. The venues are top notch and offer the best in entertainment, in the area.

Any must-sees we missed? Tell us about them in the comments section or write a post here to help out fellow travelers!
Disclosure: Trip101 selects the listings in our articles independently. Some of the listings in this article contain affiliate links.

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