We love this rest area and could likely write a book from our stops here over the years. Great…read moreplace to stop with the dogs on the way south or coming home heading northbound. The Northwood Rest Area, aka Top of Iowa Rest Area, is located just off I-35 at mile marker 214. It's just south of the Minnesota border and the exits off i-35 allow traffic from both north and south to stop here. It's a large rest area with lots of parking for cars and tractor-trailers. The rest celebrates Iowa's farming heritage and the main building looks like a big red barn. Clear Lake and Mason City are south of here. If you're a fan of The Music Man by Meredith Wilson, or Frank Lloyd Wright inspired architecture, Mason City would be a fun stop. Also in the area is Clear Lake where Buddy Holly played his last concert at the Surf Ballroom (still there) and flew out of the airport for his final flight. The crash site is walkable depending on weather. The area is ADA compliant and has rest room facilities. It also has phone, TDD, a weather monitor, vending, Wi-Fi, an RV dump station. This is the rest stop I pulled into when a tornado was hot on my tail. The storm shelter is in the men's bathroom. There is a welcome center that is staffed during business hours. They used to serve coffee and had amazing cookies, but Covid messed that up. The upper level also has a gift shop - we usually buy post cards if it's during business hours. This is a great place to stop. stretch your legs and take a quick break before heading back onto the interstate.

This was a convenient redt stop off the interstate. Lots of space to walk your pet or have kids…read moreburn up energy in a safe manner. Bathrooms are clean, and there are plenty of parking spots. Vending machines should be available, but I suggest going to Kum & Go, located several 100 yards away, and getting fresh food or snacks there.

We generally try to use Love's Travel Stops on our road trips as we find the gas prices lower than…read moremost, clean bathrooms, and good selection of snacks and foods for on the go, with many having a Subway or similar food place onsite as well. The cashiers are always friendly and have helped us use their app or gone back out the pump to explain the process.

I almost got away but I'm a nice person lol!!! I came to this truck stop to just grab a few snacks…read moreso I went to the self pay since I was in a rush to hit the road. I never carry my wallet so I had my phone for Apple Pay but little did I know after ringing up everything the tap doesn't work on the self pay machines. I had to go to the associate who was unaware the tap pay wasn't working but a regular customer said that they haven't worked in a while. I would suggest putting a sign up because most people use tap to pay nowadays. I get to the register and my cashier didn't ring everything in the bag up I could've gotten away with $17 worth of items. I'm an honest person so I told him there was more in the bag. I would visit this store again but please fix the tap to pay on the self service registers.

Another in a great line of Minnesota rest areas. If you've traveled through other states you know…read moreMn is among the cleanest and best. To divert a little. Somewhere in the middle section of Missouri the rest areas take a filthier turn with people who don't look like road travelers hanging in the parking lot and staring. In the Jackson Mi area on an overnight drive there were men running into a wooded area. I decided to shave and entered the lobby as a man was standing there with three women as they all smiled and said hello. Ok, that'll be ok. Soon as I got to the sink and taking out my shaving things the man comes up to the sink next to me...."here we go", I thought. He says.."..say you see those mighty fine ladies with me.. I could let you have a party with any that you want". This stop has a playground, a place for the dogs, spotless restroom, even in late afternoon, a wall of vending machines and just a scenic respite area. PB4UGO.

When you've got to go, you've go to go, and especially if the next rest stop after this one is many…read moremiles way. I stopped in to the Heath Creek Rest Area yesterday on the way to the Twin Cities. This place has what you need: - Easy access from and back to I-35. - Clean Rest Rooms - Drinking Water and Vending Machines - Nice Park-Like Atmosphere with Picnic Tables and Pet Walking Space. I did have one interesting experience inside of my 10-15 minutes here. Another car pulled up and one of the passengers was just behind me on the walk to the facilities. All of a sudden, he started asking me what I thought of Biden and how he was a big Trump supporter. As this was no place or time for such a discussion, I waved him off (twice) by saying that I don't talk politics in public. This just goes to show you that you never know who you'll run into at a rest stop, and it's best to always be situationally aware.

This rest stop is located southbound on I-35, south of Owatonna. I used to stop here when I…read moretravelled from Minneapolis and took the long way to get to Rochester when I was a resident. The rest stop looks the same. There's a place for your pets to stretch. Kids can play at a small playground. It's nice. The building has vending machines. Sometimes, I'd get cookies. The women's washroom has been upgraded. The stalls are roomy. It's impeccably clean. It's a decent rest stop. You can also learn about Minnesota canneries and the importance of corn in this community. (6)

I am a truck driver and decided to stop here for a break. Black man sitting on bench was told I had…read moreto leave I was making people feel uncomfortable. One star because the restroom worked.

What a nice rest stop!…read more Along the highway that was part of an old Native American trail, it's in a pretty spot. It appears newer and has what the sign describes as an eco-conscious feel. I guess it does. The building has a green roof, partially covered in what looked like grass, the other part is a synthetic rubber roof, which seems a little counterintuitive, but supposedly has a long life, lower maintenance costs and, given winters here, is probably a good choice. There's a nice walkway along the trees, which block the view and noise from the highway. Stay long enough and keep the bug spray handy and you might see some cute little forest animals. The children's play area is huge! It also doesn't have the typical playground equipment. It almost looks like a skateboard park and until I saw the sign, I thought it was. What I liked were the gorgeous pictures that you couldn't help but see as you walked past the restrooms. It was a nice touch that brightened up what would otherwise be an ordinary modern-look building. I don't know that I would camp out at this stop, but I would spend a few minutes enjoying the surroundings.

Knowledgeable and friendly driver. Got here when they we're scheduled. Excellent experience.read more

It's unfortunate that this hotel is so conveniently located to the interstate, coffee, food, etc…read more in this sweet town. While it was easy to get a reservation and the staff was friendly enough upon check in, we were in for an unpleasant surprise. The room smelled like urine to the point of making one ill. We were offered another room but upon entering, was overcome with the stench of mold. Ownership really needs to address this issue!!! If the room were $10/night, it's still not ok! As we walked to our vehicle in the morning, another departing guest asked us if our room stank. It wasn't just us! We only got through the night by opening the window as far as we could.

It does have a great location: off of 169, by a bike trail, near Mankato Brewery. It wasn't…read moreexpensive ($130.10 including tax per night). It is in Mankato (we wanted to stay the weekend of the bicycling Mankato River Ramble-everything else was full). It does offer a breakfast nook including a waffle maker. However, there was an odor in our room which was not pleasant. They do allow pets-so maybe a cat that had sprayed in the corner by the door? Pure conjecture on my behalf...but our friends stayed in another room that did not have that smell. I wanted to leave a day early (the odor was not relaxing) but since we had booked through a 3rd party vendor (Orbitz) we couldn't get our money back for the last night.

THE FRONT DESK MAN IS ABSOLUTELY AWFUL AND VERY HARD TO UNDERSTAND. THE BAD REVIEWS YOU SEE ARE…read moreCOMPLETELY TRYE AS WE EXPERIENCED THE SAME ISSUES WITH HIM. My daughter and booked online and stayed here last weekend (2night) for her 16/18U Softball State Tournemnt, which is 4 hrs away . Another mother and daughter on our team had a reservation there made by her husband for 2 nights as well. I met her in the parking lot when they showed up. She went to check in and realized she didn't have the right card. He wanted her husband to sign a form sent by email (fine). He also wanted a Pic of the front and back of his credit card and ID. (Why the credit card). Her husband refused and did not want to send a pic of his credit card. She finally told him to just change the reservation and put it in her name instead and pay for it. He did. The next morning before we had to go she realized he only put her down for 1 night. I told put her stuff in my room and we will figure it out. We got back from the tournament around 930pm and have to check out by 730am to be back to the fields. So I told them to stay in our room. The mom went and requested 2 towels for my room as we never got new towels while being there. He requested to talk to me. I walked down there. He stated to berate me telling me Im sneaking people in (we all walked threw the front door past him when we got back) I told him no I was not. I expressed he messed up and only put her down for 1 night when our tournament is Fri to Sun. They originally had 2 nights. Which left them with nowhere to go. We have a 2 queen bed which occupies 4 people and together thats 4 people. This went on for 20 min. How I messed up and cant have people with us. We only reserved the room for 2 people. He pulled out his phone was showing me screenshots of me walking up on stairwell while the 2 teens and mom walked the other way. (I told the them one way was quicker and they didn't believe me.) He told me I was lieing, and sneaking them in, thats why we walked up 2 diff ways. I tried to explain and he kept saying I was lieing. He showed me other screenshots of other guests, falling in the pool area. From a month ago. Moral of all this. He berated me for 20 min. I apologized atleast 20 times, I repeatedly asked what he wants me to do. I also asked 2 times do you want us to leave. The 2nd time he said if you want to. I told him no. We hot, tired, need to shower and go to bed to check out at 730 to go to the girls state tournament. He had me in tears, He then finally gave me 2 towels. There were also 4 people sitting in the lobby at this time as well. 10 min later I had to go outside and passed him in the hallway, 10 min later I came back in, I seen him at someone's door 4 down from us, yelling at another guest. This man is unhinged, watches and takes pictures of people from his cameras. We have traveled for years for softball, never encountered anything like this and will NEVER EVER GO HERE AGAIN. I would rather stay in my truck. BEWARE. LISTEN TO THE BAD REVIEWS

Needing gas on the way home from Clear Lake, we needed to stop here, and did. We were able to get…read moregas at a decent price, but the pumps were older and I had initial concerns. I was told by a fellow customer that their breakfast offering is quite good, but it was late afternoon on a miserable driving day. Their interior had some age on it, and the restroom was mediocre at best.

We were making the perilous descent from Clear Lake to Ames. Before our journey could barely begin,…read morewe encountered a daunting predicament. A fiasco, some would say. We were running out of gas. And then, to our absolute delight, we saw a glimmering beam of hope appear over the horizon. As we approached, we discovered that it was called "Dudley's Corner". With no other options and in dire need of resources, we had no choice but to brave this unknown establishment. While they did not have the protein shakes we desired, they had fuel sufficient for the remaining length of our journey. And so, that concluded our experience with the once mysterious to us "Dudley's Corner".

We are Choice members and this was one of the best properties we have stayed at. The staff was the…read morefriendliest and most helpful (Amy). The room was comfortable, quiet and clean. Breakfast area well stocked and the best was not having to go elsewhere for coffee. I would definitely recommend staying here .

The best, nicest, cleanest Quality Inn I have stayed at. Nicer than many other higher-tier hotels…read more Bedding/towels were clearly clean/new. The hotel wasn't grimy like some other budget hotels are. Very nice staff, although they weren't able to redeem my free night because they were new and weren't sure how, or even how to add this stay to my rewards account. Comforters were new because Quality Inn just bought it from Comfort Inn. I slept great on the beds, but my dad (who had another room) thought the beds were uncomfortable. Pool area looked good (I didn't use it). I will say the coffee was TERRIBLE. Worst coffee of any hotel I've stayed at, and that's saying something. They offered a nice hot breakfast though. I would stay here again in the future.

I had an absolutely awful experience at this location. Around midnight, while driving back to MN…read morefrom SD, I called to book a room for my friend and myself. The employee on the phone informed me they only had one queen bed left but promised a rollaway bed would be provided at no additional charge. I explicitly had him confirm and guarantee this before booking. When we arrived exhausted at 2:30 AM, the front desk employee was clueless about the rollaway. Unbelievably, she asked me to help her carry the bed down from upstairs myself, which I did, only to be handed a single sheet and a blanket to make it myself. The entire hotel was extremely dirty, and the room itself was damp, stinky, and the whole place smelled strongly of curry. We checked out just a few hours later at 7:30 AM, and things got worse. The woman at the desk claimed she was the owner, told me they "don't do rollaway beds anymore," and insisted on charging a $15 fee. She blamed her employee, stating he shouldn't have promised it because he wasn't the owner. Her husband then came out, claimed they had no recording of my call, and literally pretended not to recognize their own phone number on my call log. When I told them how unacceptable this was and that I would be leaving a bad review, the owner completely dismissed me and told me to go ahead and leave it. They showed zero accountability, went back on their word, made a paying guest do heavy lifting at 2:30 AM, and then nickel-and-dimed us for a filthy room. Completely unprofessional. Do yourself a favor and stay somewhere else.

Came down to Iowa to visit my wife's family and my wife's cousin booked 1 night for all of us and…read morefigured it was worth the price.....NOT the case at all... The rooms were somewhat clean....expect for the beds themselves......stains on the bed....wash rags had stains...bathrooms had hair In tubs....couldn't open the dresser doors....they were stuck.....my wife's grand parents used to stay here all the time many moons ago and always loved it! Our cousin said this isn't the same at all... Not worth $78 a night....... Not a whole lot to say...it was one night...but from what I impressed at all..... Sorry Super 8....