Accessibility

Living History Farms is constantly working to improve accessibility while maintaining historical accuracy. If you have concerns about mobility, please speak with our staff when you arrive or call us in advance at 515-278-5286. We strongly recommend that anyone with concerns about accessibility have one or more adults to assist them while visiting.

MUSEUM LAYOUT

The map above will help you understand the layout of the museum grounds. (Find a more detailed, downloadable map here.) Once you enter the museum through the Kemin Cultivation Center, paths are boardwalk or dirt/gravel. None are paved.

Access from the town to the farm sites is by tractor-drawn cart only. These open-air carts are equipped with  ramps or lifts for wheelchair/scooter boarding.

FARMS AND CONNECTING TRAILS

The farm sites are in a wooded area with connecting trails. The distance from the 1700 Farm, where the tractor will drop you off, to the 1850 Farm is 1/10 mile of downhill dirt/gravel trail. The distance from the 1850 Farm to the 1900 Farm is 3/10 mile of up-and-down woodland trail. Benches are provided for resting along the trails.

To shorten the trail distance, you have several options:

• “Step Saver Tour”: From the1850 Farm, travel back up the hill to the 1700 Farm. There, you can catch a tractor cart to the 1900 Farm.

• 1700 and 1900 only: Instead of traveling down the hill, remain at the 1700 Farm, where the tractor will pick you up and take you to the 1900 Farm. This option does not include a visit to the 1850 Pioneer Farm.

• 1900 only: Ask the tractor driver to take you directly to the 1900 Farm. You will not visit the 1700 Ioway Farm or the 1850 Pioneer Farm.

TOWN PATHS AND BUILDINGS

The path all the way around the 1876 town of Walnut Hill is about ¾ mile of boardwalks and dirt/gravel trail. However, you can choose exactly which buildings to visit. You might want to put the Schoolhouse, Cabinetmaker, Vet Clinic, and Broom Works low on your list as they are the farthest from the main entrance. The Print Shop, Bank, Millinery, and Law Office, on the other hand, are right on the path from the entrance to the tractor cart pick-up. Please be cautious: Boardwalks are sometimes uneven and can be slippery when wet or frost-covered.

Most town buildings are wheelchair-accessible with ramps, wide doorways, and low thresholds. The front door is not always the accessible entrance. For instance, wheelchair access to the Flynn Mansion is through the east side kitchen door. Please ask our staff to point out the accessible entrance if needed.

The one spot that is not accessible without climbing stairs is the second floor of the Flynn Mansion, which is on the National Historic Register and therefore does not meet ADA guidelines. A video tour of the second floor and a book of photos and descriptions are available from the historic interpreters at the Flynn Mansion.

RESTROOMS

Accessible modern restrooms are located at the Kemin Cultivation Center, including a family restroom, a mother’s room, and an adult changing table. There are also accessible modern restrooms in Walnut Hill in the red building west of the gazebo and inside the Flynn Mansion (ask staff to point the way).

FOOD AND DRINK

Feel free to bring your own food and drink. You can picnic in the MidAmerican Energy Foundation Pavilion or at tables around Walnut Hill. You may also leave the grounds for lunch or a break and return later in the day—just keep your admission sticker. Limited snacks and drinks are for sale in the Kemin Cultivation Center.