Viking Lake State Park
Check pricesA 1,000-acre Iowa state park centered on a 136-acre lake, offering trails, fishing, boating, swimming, and lakeshore camping.

Preserved 1912 Iowa farmhouse where eight people were killed in an unsolved axe attack, now offering tours and overnight stays.
Villisca, IA
The Josiah B. Moore House in Villisca, Iowa, is the site of the June 1912 axe murders, which killed eight people, six of them children, as they slept after a church service. Two trials and several suspects did not produce a resolution, and the case remains open. In the 1990s, historians Martha and Gavin Linn restored the home to resemble its condition on the night of the crime, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The house has no plumbing or electricity. Visitors can take daytime tours, book one of three rooms or the whole house for an overnight stay, or take a self-guided cemetery and town tour through a mobile app. Many guests report unexplained experiences there.
The closest stops to Villisca Axe Murder House, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.
A 1,000-acre Iowa state park centered on a 136-acre lake, offering trails, fishing, boating, swimming, and lakeshore camping.
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