We enjoyed our recent visit to a beautiful, lush trail and playground at the Greenbelt Park in Clive, Iowa! If you live in the Western suburbs, this is a great spot to pop in for a quick shot of nature.
You can see more specific details on the Greenbelt Park page below or check out its location on the interactive map.
I don’t think you’d ever notice the park sign when you’re driving by; you have to turn in like you’re going to the 7 Flags Event Center and then turn again quickly. Once you’ve hit the sign, you feel like you’re amidst the trees almost immediately!
Just driving down the road instantly feels peaceful (don’t worry, I stopped the car to snap all of the “on the road” shots!).
There are a few off-street parking spots as you wind back, but keep driving and you’ll hit the playground. It’s a nice one – there are swings off to the left and a playground with toddler-sized equipment that is also attached to taller playground equipment.
There is a nice, covered shelter with a bathroom.
We have only followed the trail back towards the road where we drove in (North?) and it’s a good one! In the past, we have had to spend a lot of time dodging bicycles. This day was pretty rainy, so we had it mostly to ourselves. There is a shallow stream passing alongside, with several nice areas to stop and play in the sand or dig up rocks.
I had never noticed this waterfall before, but it was beautiful! The burbling caught my ear; it wasn’t too far from the playground.
We love our coveralls for dirty and damp days, you can find them linked on this page.
My kids really like the bridges, there are a couple along the trail. They like dropping sticks over the side, trying to spot fish or turtles, and stomping across them.
It was a great morning! We packed some sand toys for the playground, and the kids enjoyed lots of digging after our hike. It can get buggy in this area during the warmest months, but it was no problem in late October.