Riverside Community Garage Sales 2026: Map, Dates & Shopper's Guide

Once a year, households all across Riverside hold garage sales on the same weekend. The Riverside Community Garage Sales turn this small Washington County town in southeast Iowa into one big, scattered sale: residents get on the community's list, and for two days you can shop the whole town in a morning. In 2026 it runs Friday, August 14 and Saturday, August 15, from 8 AM to 4 PM, though hours vary from house to house.

Riverside sits about 20 minutes south of Iowa City, and if the name rings a bell, it's the self-declared future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk — the town leans into its Star Trek claim every summer. What that means for a shopper is a settled, tight-knit small town where family homes clear out decades of accumulation all at once.

Unlike a highway yard sale strung along one road, a community sale is a grid, not a line. This year's list has 13 participating addresses spread across Riverside, from the residential streets in town to a rural place or two on the edges. That's the opportunity and the challenge: there's plenty to hit, but it's everywhere at once. The trick is reading the map and building a loop, not driving back and forth across town all morning.

How the community garage sales work

Residents who want to be found get their address on the community's list along with a note on what they'll have out, and shoppers use that list to plan where to go. That list is the real product of the weekend — it's how you know which streets are worth the drive. The catch is that a plain list of addresses is hard to plan from, house number by house number. That's exactly what the map below solves: every participating address pinned, with what each seller says they'll have, so you can build a sensible loop instead of criss-crossing Riverside all morning. Browse the full list free, then map the smartest driving order and drive it.

Strategy — read the list, then build one loop

A community sale rewards a different plan than a highway event. There's no single route everyone follows; instead you're choosing which streets to work and in what order. Two simple rules carry most of the morning.

• Cluster the close ones. Several of this year's sales sit within a few blocks of each other — the Ella Street and Galileo Drive stops especially. Hit a cluster completely before you move on. A handful of sales within walking distance is a far better fifteen minutes than one stop across town.
• Match the day and hours. This is a Friday-and-Saturday weekend, but individual sellers set their own hours inside the 8-to-4 window — some may be one day only. Route around the stops that fit when you're actually out.

Go early. In a small town the best of it is on the tables first thing Friday. Start with the densest streets, work the clusters, and hit the multi-family sale early before the good kids' items and tools thin out.

What you'll find

Kids' and baby gear is the backbone of this one. Multiple sales list children's clothing by size — newborn through kids', boys and girls — plus toys, games, and a large multi-family sale loaded with kids' items. If you're shopping for a growing family, this is a strong weekend.

Furniture, tools, and household goods come out of the established homes: small furniture, kitchenware, home decor, tools, and one sale even lists a lawn tractor and a poker table. The rural property on the edge of town adds baked goods and home decor to the mix.

And there's a vein of collectibles and hobby gear for the diggers — one sale lists antiques, video games, and DVDs, and another calls out vintage vinyl records, cookware, jewelry, and dolls. Fishing, camping, and gardening gear round it out. It's the usual small-town mix, frequently underpriced because the seller is clearing a house, not running a booth.

Pro tips

• Work the clusters first. The Ella Street and Galileo Drive stops are close together — clear a cluster before driving on.
• Chase the multi-family sale. The big multi-family listing usually has the most volume, especially kids' items — worth prioritizing early.
• Bring small bills. These are front-yard sellers, not shops — cash, and plenty of singles and fives, keeps things moving. A couple of sales note Venmo, but don't count on it everywhere.
• Keep the map on your phone. The live map here keeps the full participating-address list in your pocket as you drive the loop.

FAQ

When are the Riverside Community Garage Sales 2026?

Friday, August 14 and Saturday, August 15, 2026, from 8 AM to 4 PM, though hours vary from sale to sale. It's a town-wide community garage sale in Riverside, Iowa (ZIP 52327).

Where is the map of participating addresses?

The community publishes the list of participating addresses, and that full list is mapped on the MapMySales live event map — every address pinned across town, with what each seller says they'll have out, so you can plan a route around the sales nearest you.

Where is Riverside, Iowa?

Riverside is a small town in Washington County, southeast Iowa, ZIP 52327, about 20 minutes south of Iowa City. It's known as the self-declared future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk of Star Trek.

Are these multi-family sales?

Several are. At least one address on this year's list is a large multi-family sale, which tend to have the most to dig through. More than a dozen households across town take part.

When do next year's Riverside Community Garage Sales happen?

Riverside holds the community sale each summer. The 2027 dates will be confirmed closer to the event, and we'll update this page once they're posted.

Happy hunting, Riverside.