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.

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.

A small park and splash pad for this Waukee neighborhood…read more First day of June and it was packed! It can be overwhelming when there's a lot of people. Great way to meet new friends tho. Splash pads open up earlier than pools so this place was a hit. I would say the splash pad is aimed for ages 1-5. Any age older might get really bored. The water is a spray ground with two sprinkling trees. The park was kind of hidden between houses. You can definitely miss it to the drive way in. Google maps has the entry marked incorrectly. There is a building you can rent for parties and two covered picnic table areas to seat outdoor parties. No mature trees yet. Tree shade was very few. The play ground is very spacious and open. I would say the playground is aimed for ages 5-10. Overall I think this park is a cool addition for the neighborhood. Bring little kids out here....but be mindful: BIG kids might get bored. 3 stars for esthetically pretty and function. Lost a couple stars because it didn't hit all the fun for my older kids and the water pad wasn't a full splash of fun.

What can $5 get you? The oak grove beach are is nicely maintained and a lot of beach for…read moreactivities and getting together with friends. Day trips cost $5 for the permit. The are hundreds of parking spots. Tons of big grain sand, not Pensacola sand bit you could imagine it's coquina if you close your eyes. The water at saylorville in July is clear and a little green. Perfect temps for cooling off as you watch all the boat people go by. The dedicated swim area is the size of a football field. So even busy there is room to spread out. The bottom is the heavy sand and comfortable to walk in if you're grossed out by weeds and mud. Overall this is nice spot and only 5 miles outside of Ankeny. The views is nice of the Saylorville lake which is a core of engineers lake along the Des Moines River Basin. There is no lifeguard on duty but also no rip tides. Come enjoy a little 'surf' action as the little waves sweep in and give you that faux beach experience!

This is a nice small rec area. When you first enter the area you can either go straight or left…read more If you go left it takes you to the picnic area. The picnic area has two shelter areas and a small play area. The play area consists of just a rope structure that kids can climb on. Shelter 2 is a neat shelter that is down a trail and tucked back in to the woods. If you go straight when you first enter it takes you down to the beach. The beach area is very large and has a very large parking lot and there is a bike trail that connects to it. The beach is a great place to take the family.

This is a great park, situated around a small lake. There is a playground on the premises and a…read moreshelter. There are also modern toilet facilities. Clean. Well kept. Family friendly. Plenty of parking. Great walk around the lake. Good for dog walking. Marcydiner tantrum scale of 5/5-no screaming kids. We have also seen people fishing here, although we haven't tried it yet. We used to come here frequently, not so much now that the kids are older.

This is a fun park to take my 3 kiddos to, they have several swings and although it looks like a…read moresmaller playground, there's lots to do on it! We also walk/ bike around the lake. Shady areas and picnic tables are around as well.

Nice park - newer quality equipment, very spacious. There's a nice walking path around a pond of…read moresorts. Tennis courts and ball field nearby so lots of activities usually taking place promoting health. Great area, right across the street from the fire station - added bonus for those young and old who admire their service.

This is one of the best parks in Ankeny. It has 3 softball fields. 2 for grown ups and 1 separate…read morefor youngsters. The grown up softball fields has a concession area open during games. It has 6 tennis courts and 4 sand volleyball courts. Parks and Rec also does their bags league at the park too. The park has two different kids areas an older one and a newer one. The newer one has the soft base and lots of different types of things to climb on and through. The older one has a sand base a slide and a couple things to climb on. The park also features a pond with ducks. The ducks are fun to feed and the pond is good for fishing.

This park is one of my wife's favorites because of the ponds and the trails. The park has two…read morepretty good sized ponds which are good for those looking to fish. The park has a basketball court with adjustable hoops so it is good for kids both big and small. There is also a shelter area right next to one of the ponds for parties. The kids play area is very large and spread out. It has multiple slides and plenty of things to keep the kids busy. It also has swings for little and big kids.

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.