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While full hotel rooms, busy restaurants and bustling shops have been good for the city of Pella during the Knoxville Nationals, in-town tourism isn’t the only facet of the local economy that benefits from the presence of thousands of race fans. Jill Vandevoort, Director of the Pella Convention and Visitors Bureau, says there are a host of great vacation and recreational opportunities that lies directly between Knoxville and Pella.

“A lot of people come to our community for a specific reason, and maybe don’t realize everything else in the area that we have to offer – especially in the lake [Red Rock] area,” says Vandevoort. “With hiking, biking, boating, fishing – all of those activities – that they can bring some extra equipment along or bring their boats and make it a week-long event.”

That’s not to say that the area isn’t being utilized by race fans. Typically the Park Rangers at Lake Red Rock and with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources report camp sites being completely booked with reservations well before the Knoxville Nationals get started.