Iowa State Fair 2026: dates, tickets, parking, and everything you need to know

The Iowa State Fair is the biggest thing that happens in Des Moines all year - eleven days, more than a million visitors, and enough fried food to end a small feud. This year it runs August 13 to 23, 2026, at the fairgrounds on the east side of Des Moines. Whether it's your first time or your fortieth, here's everything you need to plan the day.

When it runs

• Dates: Wednesday, August 13 through Sunday, August 23, 2026.
• Hours: 8 a.m. to midnight, August 13-22. On the final day, Sunday August 23, the grounds close early at 9 p.m.

Tickets and admission

Buy admission in advance and you'll save real money over the gate price:

• Advance admission (on sale through 11:59 p.m. Aug 12): $11 adult (ages 12+), $7 child (ages 6-11). Kids 5 and under are always free.
• At the gate: $16 adult, $10 child.
• Weeknight deal: Monday-Thursday from 5-10 p.m., admission drops to $12 adult / $8 child - a great way to do an evening at the fair on the cheap.

Admission gets you the grounds and all the free entertainment. Grandstand concerts are ticketed separately (more below). Buy everything through the official iowastatefair.org - not a resale site.

Parking and getting there

You've got options, and a couple of them are free:

• Fairgrounds lots (A, B, C off University Avenue): $10 to park. Once you're in, the Blue Line Parking Shuttle runs free from the lots to the gates.
• NEW for 2026 - free Southridge park-and-ride: the fair added a free shuttle from Southridge Mall on the south side. Park for free, ride for free. This is the sleeper move if you hate fairgrounds traffic.
• DART park-and-ride from downtown: catch a bus from the 7th & Center Street parking garage or the State Capitol east lot. Round trip is $3 (ages 10+), $1 for kids 6-10 and for riders 65+/Medicare, and free for kids 5 and under.

If you're driving in, go early or go in the evening - the midday University Avenue crawl is the part everyone complains about.

Concerts: Grandstand and the free stages

The Grandstand is the marquee ticketed concert series - eleven nights of headliners from Rod Stewart and Alabama to Lainey Wilson, TLC & Salt-N-Pepa, Riley Green and AJR. We broke down every show, showtime and price in our full 2026 Grandstand guide - worth reading before shows sell out.

But you don't need a concert ticket to hear great live music. Over half a million dollars of free entertainment plays across the grounds all eleven days, included with admission:

• Susan Knapp Amphitheater - nightly headliners around 7-8 p.m., including Montgomery Gentry featuring Eddie Montgomery (Aug 14), Moon Taxi (Aug 15), tribute favorites Hairball (Aug 17-18) and the Eli Young Band (Aug 21).
• Anne and Bill Riley Stage - two shows most nights at 7 and 9 p.m.
• Fun Forest Stage - comedy and variety acts all fair long.

Food: the real reason you're here

There are more than 80 new foods this year across nearly 200 stands, plus the classics you already have a route memorized for. We sorted the three Best New Food finalists you get to vote on, and the new items actually worth the walk, in our 2026 fair food guide. Read it hungry.

Free things to do

Beyond the stages, a huge amount of the fair costs nothing beyond admission:

• Chainsaw carvers at Expo Hill turning logs into art in real time.
• Hot Glass Academy live glassblowing demonstrations.
• The ShenaniGuns! Comedy Wild West Show near Gate 15 - stunts and comedy, very family-friendly.
• Roaming acts like Bandaloni the one-man band and HillBilly Bob.
• And the fair standards: the Butter Cow, the giant boar and biggest bull, the Avenue of Breeds, and the sky glider for the best view of the grounds.

First-timer tips

• Buy admission in advance (by Aug 12) and consider the Mon-Thu evening deal.
• Take a park-and-ride - the free Southridge shuttle or DART - and skip the parking stress entirely.
• Wear real shoes. You'll walk more than you think.
• Bring some cash and hydrate - it's August in Iowa.
• Go early or go late. Midday is the most crowded and the hottest; mornings and evenings are the sweet spots.

Plan the rest of your August

The fair is the headliner, but there's a full month of things to do around the metro. See what else is worth leaving the house for on our Des Moines events calendar.