618 miles, about 9 hr 16 min of driving. Here are the real towns worth stopping in between Memphis, TN and Des Moines, IA, and why each one earned it.
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| Day | Miles | Driving | Night in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 581 | 8 hr 37 min | Pella, IA |
| 2 | 37 | 0 hr 40 min | — |
Every stop is a real town on your actual route — not a chain billboard. We score towns on what a driver needs at that point in the drive: fuel and food for a stretch break, parks and grass when a pet is along, hotels and restaurants when it's an overnight. Detour distance counts against a town, so nothing here costs you a long side trip.
This page is planned for a 9-hour driving day leaving at 8:00 AM. Change any of that — your hours, your MPG, pets, small children, an EV's charging range — and the stops change with it. Plan Memphis to Des Moines your way →
How far is Memphis, TN to Des Moines, IA?
About 618 miles, roughly 9 hr 16 min of driving before stops.
Can you drive Memphis to Des Moines in one day?
Not comfortably. At a 9-hour driving day it splits into 2 days, with a night in Pella, IA.
Where is a good place to stop between Memphis and Des Moines?
Sikeston, MO is the first one on this route.