- Begin the day at Madison County Chamber of Commerce’s Welcome Center, located at 73 Jefferson Street in Winterset’s town square, where you will meet your step-on tour guide. Your two-hour guided tour is $10.00/per person. While at the Welcome Center, catch snippets of the movie The Bridges of Madison County and view photographs from the movie set. The Welcome Center is also where you’ll find public restrooms, souvenirs and locally-made products, including bottles of wine from all three of Madison County’s wineries.
- Start your tour out at the Roseman Covered Bridge, which figured prominently in the book and movie. Examine the many initials and names carved or written on the walls (thousands of love stories have been documented here).
- Next stop is the Cedar Covered Bridge, which is illustrated on the cover of the book. This is also the site where Oprah filmed her show about the novel The Bridges of Madison County in 1993.
- Your third stop on the tour is at Winterset’s City Park, home of the Cutler-Donahue Covered Bridge, and the stone bridge Robert and Francesca cross to have a picnic. The park is also home to an English Hedge Maze, among many other attractions.
- Return to Winterset’s town square, noting movie sites like “The Blue Note Lounge” and the intersection by Frostee’s where the “truck scene” was filmed. There are wonderful boutique stores all around the square, if your group has time to shop.
- Enjoy lunch at the Northside Café, site of Robert’s lunch in town.Group options and seating are available (please ask us for more information).
- Drive up Cumming Highway to drive past the site of Francesca’s House, the 1870 Victorian home used as the Johnson’s farmhouse in the movie.
*Based on the results of a community-wide tourism survey conducted in May 2016 by the Madison County Chamber of Commerce.