Your Complete Guide to the Bridges of Madison County, IA (PHOTOS)

Last Monday, following the final day of Hinterland 2025 in St. Charles, IA, Catherine and I decided to take a jaunt and explore the famous covered bridges of Madison County. We spent the night in Winterset, IA, a cozy enclave that's home to the birthplace of Western actor John Wayne, and a deceptive wealth of history.

Six extant covered bridges remain in Madison County, with five in Winterset and one in St. Charles (the Imes Bridge). These bridges were built between the 1870s and 1880s, and were designed by Harvey P. Jones and George K. Foster (Eli Cox built the Cutler-Donahoe Bridge and J. P. Clark built the Imes Bridge).

The rationale for building these "covered" bridges was a logical one. In lieu of damage brought on by travel, storms, or tornadic activity, it was cheaper for the county to repair the plywood that encases the bridges versus the metal and other materials needed to assemble the bridge itself. While these bridges do not permit vehicular traffic, they are hotspots for people to visit.

One thing that stuck out to me was the graffiti that litters each bridge. I'm not talking about typical, vulgar graffiti that exists on railcars and abandoned factories across America. I'm talking about sweet, sincere messages written in Sharpie marker. This includes a lot of romantic "John + Jane" style markings; little messages that authors use to say "we were here."

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The following are the six covered bridges in Madison County, IA:

• Cedar Bridge (built in 1883; destroyed in 2002; rebuilt in 2004; destroyed/rebuilt in 2017)
• Cutler-Donahoe Bridge (built in 1870)
• Hogback Covered Bridge (built in 1884)
• Holliwell Bridge (built in 1880)
• Imes Bridge (built in 1870)
• Roseman Covered Bridge (built in 1883)

Of all the bridges, my favorite was probably the Roseman Covered Bridge. It exists in an idyllic little spot in western Winterset, and spans the Middle River. It's a beautiful spot for a gathering, with a gift-shop adjacent to the bridge itself. Also, the fact that it's existed for so long (unbothered by arsonists unlike the poor Cedar Bridge), it has some writings from folks who visited it as far back as the late-1990s. Some of the writings from pre-9/11 really stuck with me, including one that was noted 7/11/01. If those who wrote that only knew how the world would significantly change in just two months time.

If you're planning to travel to Madison County, IA, my advice is this: give yourself roughly two-and-a-half to three hours to travel to/see all six bridges. The maps of the bridges you can find at any rest stop or eatery in Winterset, IA do not appropriately scale just how far apart these bridges are from one another.

For example, the distance to the westernmost bridge (the Roseman Covered Bridge) to the easternmost (Imes Bridge) is about 35 minutes. Three of the six bridges are only accessible via gravel roads too. If you want to allow yourself at least ten minutes at each, I'd plan for no less than a two hour excursion.

Take a look at some of the photos of the bridges of Madison County that Catherine and I captured during our stay in Winterset, IA!