Des Moines is surrounded by several unique communities. I love to take day trips and explore what every town and community has to offer. Usually, when people think of Altoona, Iowa their first thought is Adventureland or Prairie Meadows. Altoona is filled with a lot of free, outdoor options as well. Take a look at our fun Altoona adventures.
The Iowa State Fairgrounds’ playground is fun to explore year round! When we first moved here, a local mom tipped me off to the cheapest way to check out the Iowa State Fair with young kids: going the night before they open! The animals are all there, the playground is open, and some of the food vendors are happy to serve up some food on a stick. I prefer the fair in all its sweaty, crowded, crazy glory during the week, but it occurred to me that the playground would be great to visit when it wasn’t so busy. We had a great time playing on the wooden train playground and the climbing wall; it would be a great place to take a walk with strollers too. The fairgrounds often host animal shows and the barns are free to walk around in, check their calendar to see what else you might check out after the playground!
Waterworks Park is a lush, huge nature area near downtown Des Moines.
Greenbelt Park in Clive off of 86th St. is a hidden gem during summer; almost the entire playground is well shaded by trees. There is another playground along the greenbelt also named Greenbelt Park in Clive that’s off 100th st., see below for a picture of which is which, and see details about the Greenbelt Park off 100th in this post. There is easy creek splashing access here, you can see more specific details about how to get into the water in this post.
Summerset Trail follows an abandoned rail route, crossing a few bodies of water and connecting Carlisle with Indianola.
