Wowwww This is the park of all parks!…read more Worth the drive from Des Moines to Madrid, Iowa. Great "tree museum" if that's what you want to call it but it was very educational and well worth the time and money. Visited on a Friday morning with our homeschool community and it was a busy morning. Reserved a guided tour months prior for our large group and paid extra for the tree house playground experience. The guided tour was absolutely fascinating and our group learned so much about how to identify different types of trees and plants. The gardens are awesome even in the fall. Worth a second or third trip for the different seasons we have here in Iowa. The playground was MASSIVE and newly built. All wooded and just a walk away from the arboretum. My kids and the other students really enjoyed this playground. Safe and fun. Found lots of accessibility for all to play Highly

A lovely spot in the middle of Iowa. Offering classes, initiating preservation of monarch butterfly…read morehabitat, building pollinator gardens, and quiet places for a walk. Entry fee for non-members is $10 per person with reduced rates for children. Open year-round to the public, this sanctuary has facilities for meetings, parties, weddings, etc. A number of trails allow you to walk through the different gardens and enjoy and ever changing display throughout the year. We were so pleasantly surprised at this little slice of paradise so far off the beaten path. Established in the early 1980s by an Iowa family that owned a nursery in the region. Bird watchers, gardeners, and anyone that just enjoys beautiful flowers should check out the Iowa Arboretum.

The Octagon Center of the Arts has since moved down the block a few spots. I recently wandered into…read morethe shop and the adjacent gallery that was featuring a sign history of Ames. Great Stuff.

I really love this place! Cool art store/gallery/space to rent!…read more I have enjoyed concerts, classes, and art shows here! The rooms are beautiful and big enough for a nice crew to be in, but not huge enough to make things not feel intimate! The store is full of hand made, art stuff! Like Prints, one of a kind things, local art, jewelry, kitchen items, books, dvd's, cd's you name it! If it's art they probably have it! Perfect store for gift shopping for the unique someone who has everything...

My first visit was a good one, as Stephens Auditorium was a positive experience, combining…read moreoutstanding customer service with a terrific music venue that hit all the notes. Parking is easy and organized. A handicapped friend raved about their parking situation. The interior is immaculate, with great acoustics. The balcony and side balcony seating are superb options. There are some beverages and nibbles, but I would show up fed! Some social causes were highlighted in the main lobby. I appreciated the kindness and professionalism of the staff and security personnel. The Barenaked Ladies and Toad The Wet Sprocket were fantastic, and the 2600-seat venue performed well!

Covid brought AmesCommunityTheater and Stephens together and we had our first play here since the…read morepandemic began. They did an awesome job with masking and social distancing! The place is very clean. See pics. The play was very good. Marcy'sDinerTantrumScale 5/5-NoScreamingKids.

Farmhouse Catering did two events for us a couple weeks ago. They did our rehearsal dinner and our…read moreson's wedding reception. They were so easy to work with. Very flexible and they have a great selection to pick from. Overall the food was amazing, and their staff worked so hard to make sure the meals were perfect. Everything was on time and all the food choices stayed full. Not once did I see their staff standing still, they were always making sure things were clean and full. If you have any events coming up, up you should give them a call!

Farmhouse Catering catered for my daughter's wedding and they did an amazing job. Communication was…read moreperfect, their team is knowledgeable, available for questions, and they are organized. The food was amazing as well and some of my guests who are more particular even loved the food. I was so thankful we found them for catering! I would recommend them to anyone.

5/5 experience. I attended a 4 course (5 if you include the wedge salad) Italian style menu/demo…read more This reminded me of a supper club I attended years ago in south Florida. This concept was slightly different as the pasta portion was hands on. I really enjoyed that because I learned a good bit about pasta & Ive made it in the past but it was so dense. Food was delicious throughout. They also have a bar & have some seasonable cocktails so that was a nice touch. I enjoyed that it was interactive & open. The space itself is designed well & the kitchen is what I dream of having in my own home one day! Haha. They offer so many different events all with different price points.

you really can't go wrong with the entry level class where you are serve, ask questions, taste…read moretest, and bring home a recipe. it's a curated but chill environment with no such thing as a stupid question.

We recently had our reception here, they delivered exactly what I envisioned. The set up was…read moreabsolutely stunning, the food was off the charts (we got so many compliments) from the rehearsal dinner to the food for the day of, it was all delicious. We had a math error for our cupcake count and their baker made herself available as to provide additional cupcakes the day before our wedding (which we also got a ton of compliments for). Gatherings also provided us a small cake to cut for the reception, not only was it stunning, but it tasted as good as it looked. I don't think I have a single thing to complain about, seriously, I couldn't have asked for it to be more perfect. I highly recommend them.

We went on one of the winery tours and it became a really memorable date. The trolley, the driver,…read moreand the wineries were all wonderful!

I didn't think I'd ever be reviewing a rest stop, but this has to be the cleanest one I have ever…read morestopped at. The whole building is almost like an atrium with lots of wood and windows, letting tons of natural light in. The floor is all tile with inlays of maps and highways in Iowa. I thought that was super neat when they just could have slapped down normal plain tiles. There's also a lot of greenery outside of the rest stop that's well maintained too, with benches for resting out in nature if you prefer that. Outside there are also a few pieces of public art that show scenes from the history of transportation as far as I could ascertain (a steam locomotive, a horse drawn carriage, a steam ship). The Skunk River trail is right outside the rest stop if you need to stretch your legs for a bit, and there's a designated pet relief area as well. One last thing I'll note that I found amazing: There are signs in the bathroom stalls that give information about human trafficking and ways to get help. If you weren't aware, a lot of trafficking happens along the interstate lines, so this is super important to have. I know you'll only be at this rest stop if you're passing by and need to stop, but I thought it deserved a review because of how clean it's kept, how well the grounds are maintained, and the brightness and warmth of the building!

Nice, clean rest stop! The restrooms were well maintained, everything felt sanitary, and the…read moreoverall area was tidy. Definitely a good place to stop, stretch your legs, and take a quick break while traveling.