Ames, IA

Discover Ames

Ames is a pleasant college town in Central Iowa, sitting astride the Skunk River roughly 30 miles north of Des Moines. Life in Ames follows the ebb and flow of the academic year at Iowa State University, which is the city's primary draw. Named after Massachusetts congressman and transcontinental railroad supporter Oakes Ames, the city was founded as a stop along one of the primary rail links to the first transcontinental railroad. The railroad is still a daily part of life in Ames, with nearly 70 Union Pacific long-haul freight trains passing through town each day.