My family got season passes for Cascade Falls last summer. These passes were worth every penny,…read morebecause this place is an all-day activity that my kids never got tired of. The entire facility is kept very clean, and all of the lifeguards are super friendly. My girls both took Red Cross swimming lessons here, which added to our level of comfort with all the staff. My eldest daughter got dubbed "Junior Life Guard" on account of her tendency to literally shadow the lifeguards around the park. Every single one of the guards were so nice and patient with her, and never made her feel like she was bothering them. There is ample space to spread out, with plenty of tables, chairs, lawn area, etc. so that even when there are tons of people, there is still room to move around have plenty of personal space. The snack bar is well-stocked and fills in the gaps when picnic lunch isn't enough. All of the water slides are a good time! You can go bare, with a single or a double tube. The boogie board wave maker is super fun to hang by and watch, but not so fun to actually do if you aren't coordinated or familiar with that kind of force. Despite growing up on the beach, this thing kicked.my.butt, and more than a handful of people got to see MY butt when I totally wiped out on it. If you feel cool, try this thing out...you may just need to be taken down a notch or ten. The kids play area is laid out in such a way that parents have a clear view of the entire space, which is SO nice when you've got multiple kids to keep an eye on! I love this place and will definitely be back again this summer!

The waterpark itself is a good place but the staff there suck. The staff there suck because this…read moreone life guard decided to have a problem with me and management placed a boundary on that specific life guard even though she started the accusation of me staring at her when I was in a line full of other people on the flow rider. When I asked one of the managers if I could explain my side of the story she rudely said "no" and so I said "ok, have a good day." And complained to a different manager of the park about that life guard. The rules they have there are also very dumb like you can't butt bomb off the diving boards you can't flip into a dive or if you accidentally flip in the toilet bowl slide they'll get onto you about it. The same life guard that accused of staring at me she's also grumpy all the time and shows attitude while others even if they're having a bad day they're still polite. Again the managers most of them are rude especially this manager that wears a white head band or a head band in general. As I said this place is good I've been there since I was little and is my child hood waterpark but this year I'm not sure who picked the managers or life guards but they sucked which made the park not fun anymore unless there are people who are a similar age range or you decide to go with other friends.

A lot of fun for whole the family. Water slides are a lot of fun. Very clean. Lots of lifeguards.read more

Awesome aquatic center on the west side that might be overlooked…read more Came Out on a Thursday afternoon 1:00pm and stayed till 4:00 and it was not packed!!! Great size pool for young kids and then transitions to a deeper pool in the middle. I enjoyed this pool as it was not that large as Valley View near Jordan Creek. No lazy River. Three giant slides are the highlight. Diving board and a drop slide. Overall it was a cool pool and highly recommend visiting if you want a smaller setting.

My daughter was here for a swim meet. The pool was super dirty so was the blocks! I would give it a…read morethree just cause of the dirty pool! But everything else was ok! The locker rooms were a little dirty!!

Found a pool this Summa!!!!…read more Review during COVID19: Birdland pool is like a hidden gem for Central Des Moines this summer! Never been here before but we've been here twice now. No FRILLS pool. They have 1 slide and 3 diving boards. A wading pool that goes 2.5'; very large size too. The pool is clean water and the environment is clean. The price is great too! $2.00 for kids; $4.00 for adult. Free for 3 and under. People around us do not wear masks. There are different ethnic families that live near and visit this pool. They play very loud music. A different variety but I think they play most recent rap and hip hop the most. Staff here is great! They also have two local officers inside the pool to keep things safe. The pool is located by North High school so that's probably why they have officers; it's a little rough neighborhood. The two times we visited we have watched the pool capacity website before arriving. This pool stays under the capacity limit every day and have found it to be very compliant to COVID social distancing regulations. The staff wipe surfaces every hour. At the end of the swim session they are cleaning everything immediately. They also wear masks when they are around people. There's a snack bar open but we've never visited. The water slide is the highlight of the visit for the kids. Young jumpers must go through a swim test before allowed on the diving boards. I recommend visiting this pool this summer. I'm not too sure during any other year as they may be a lot more full but I've enjoyed our visits so far. We will be returning more this summer as we feel safe coming here and seeing how the staff and the people around us are abiding to social distancing rules.

Has a nice splash pad, the pool was a good size, lifeguards are really watching all the kids. They…read morehad family bathrooms but as to be expected at a pool not super clean by any means. My kids had a ton of fun they had a large area for kids to swim with zero entry.

This park is awesome and expansive! Trails and fields, playground equipment and build outs…read moreeverywhere, forts and lookouts, and a skate park!!! I took my kids here today and we had a great time! There are plenty of places to sit, nice concrete trails perfect for walking, biking, scootering or skateboarding! The pond was still frozen, but I'm sure it's lovely when it defrosts. I like big parks like this because even if it's a hot sunny day and tons of people are here, there's still plenty of room to spread out and not feel like you're on top of each other.

What a great park! This park has everything: softball/baseball fields, soccer fields, tennis…read morecourts, pond, long walking/ bike paths, kids climber, and lots of slides. There is also a new community shelter that is a tornado safe room. The super lame part of this safe room is that it's locked!! It's only for private rentals and events. So if there is a tornado, make sure to book the shelter in advanced so you can use the safe room. The kids climber and slides are excellent. They are newer, safe plastic without any sharp metal parts protruding. There is even a huge metal slide that is built into the ground. It's like the old school slides we had as kids. It's so fun. The kids love it. I even tried it a few items. Let me tell you, as an adult that weighs more than 2 or 3 kids, you fly down that slide!! It's almost a little scary how fast you go as an adult. The kids are fine but adults who weigh more really take off. At the base of the slide, be ready to dismount because it launches you! I would have given this park 5 stars but the restrooms make it a 4. The restrooms are gross. While there are probably nice, clean restrooms in the shelter, it's only for private rentals or events. Most of the public restrooms are port-a-potties. At the open shelter toward the east next to the police station, there are restrooms with running water, but they are just as gross. Also, there is no soap in these restrooms. Even with the restroom status, this park is definitely a must for all ages.

This park is pretty alright. The playground is a naturescape arrangement, and there's a large…read morewater fountain too. There's a mini suspension bridge, tiny tunnels, a sand pit, rocks to climb, good trails for scooters and skateboards, a covered picnic shelter and relatively clean bathrooms. The only thing I wasn't so stoked about was that in order to get to the swing set, you have to walk a different sidewalk that is parallel to Douglas. That could create a problem if you've got multiple kids and have to keep an eye on all of them.

This park is a perfect spot for a picnic or a day to cool off in the shade or splash pool. There is…read morea free splash park that is really nice, perfect for kids to cool off and plenty of tables with umbrellas around the have lunch or to watch the little ones from. There is a great shelter area that is perfect for get together's. There is plenty of space for tables and a grill. It was a great place for my husband's work picnic! The shade helped to fend off the heat of the day. Other features of the park are a basketball court and disc golf course. There is a nice sized parking lot and plenty of walking trails. This is a great location for enjoying the nice weather and some outdoor fun.

Fun park! Kids 3&6 loved it. Has benches, picnic tables, water fountain. Tennis courts are located…read moreright next to it.

Awesome park. 4 stars due to only porta potty bathroom and little shade. There is a covered area…read morewith 4 picnic tables, trash and a grill. Also a water fountain for humans and pets. There is a small basketball court with 2 hoops at different heights. The play areas are very cool. The pirate ship is an awesome feature. It even has a "kid powered" music feature that I have not seen before AND a plank that bounces. Behind this is an island style playarea. Lots of slides, climbing features and a couple bridges. The ground is the springy kind and there are various fake boulders and other stand alone climbing features. Behind the play area are little hills to run around on and probably good sledding come winter months.