List of RAGBRAI overnight stops

Eight "host communities" are selected each year by the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa organizers, except that there were only seven in 1973, the first year. Two of the communities are the beginning and end points, while the other six serve as overnight stops for the bicyclists. From 1973 to 2016, the distance between consecutive host communities averaged about 67 miles (ǂ). The average length of the overall RAGBRAI course has been 467 miles (ǂ). 1985 was the longest at 540 miles (ǂ) and 1977 the shortest at 400 miles (ǂ).

ǂ Note: Excluding the "century loop".

At the beginning of the ride, riders traditionally dip the rear wheel of their bikes in either the Missouri River or the Big Sioux River (depending on the starting point of the ride), and at the end, the riders dip the front wheels in the Mississippi River. As of 2020, 14 communities have served as the starting point, 12 have hosted the finish, and 105 other communities have been overnight hosts. Two new communities are being planned as overnight hosts on the 2021 ride (Sac City and DeWitt). In 2019, Burlington became the first community to be both a finish as well as an overnight host which was not a finish.

1978 was the first year with recurring host cities (Sioux City and Storm Lake). 1981 was the last year with all "first-time" host cities. 1999 was the first year with no "first-time" host city (all were repeats from prior years), with 2001–3, 2007, 2010, 2012–3, 2015–6 and 2018-9 having similar distinction. 2017 was the most recent year previously with new "first-time" host cities (Orange City and Waukon).

Iowa City has the distinction of "city with longest time between hosting" at 42 years (1976 and 2018), with Lansing next-longest at 40 years (1977 and 2017), and Centerville and Leon tied for the third-longest at 35 years (both hosted in 1981 and 2016). Williamsburg has the distinction of being the "city with longest time without a repeat" (1973 to present) and Camp Dodge is a close second (1974 to present).