Iowa is Home to One of the Best Hippy Towns in America

I'll do my best not harsh your mellow, but I feel it's my duty to inform you that Iowa, located smack in the middle of the continental 48 U.S. states, has a West Coast-level hippy town on its map. And it's far out!

If you're not into the hippy culture and, honestly I'm not, what makes a town a hippy town may escape your peripheral vision. The hippy, um, movement, began in the 1960s. It's essentially a counterculture that sprung up because of the injustices occurring at the time. Think Vietnam War, for example. Though, the word hipster comes from "hip" and dates back to at least the 1950s.

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When you fast forward to the 2020s, it's still something that's very much alive and well - as newer generations have embraced the vision, at least in large part, their parents and grandparents helped create.

Well, good old Iowa can say it's officially home to one of the top hipster towns, and as someone who's lived in this town, I can indeed confirm: it's a hipster's paradise!

The city of Decorah was selected as one of the top 30 hipster towns in the United States by the website A Lot. They give a pretty faltering and accurate write-up on the town, known for being the home of Luther College and Toppling Goliath.

The website notes the residents enjoy bees and nature in their report,

Because the area tends to have unusually high pollen counts, many locals took to beekeeping to try to keep the problem under control—what's more hippie than organic, home-grown honey as far as the eye can see?

And there's the college, too.

When you factor in the food co-op and private liberal arts college into the equation as well, Decorah seems like a thriving hippie hub!

Seems accurate to me. Not to mention they have an amazing coop that has really good granola...

I spent over 3 amazing years in my early 20s in Decorah, and have been back several times, including this past summer. If you've never been, you should visit. Even if you're not a hippy.