I Love Everthing About Rolling Hills Stables!!! - the owner, her horses & her property!!! If you…read moreare wanting to learn about horses & want to start riding or go for trail rides, I highly recommend Rolling Hills Stables!

High prices, average marina experience. Nice people there. Will be nicer once the construction is…read morecomplete.

This park was created when the Corps of Engineers dammed up the Des Moines River and created a…read moreflood control system. It's a man-made lake fed by a large river, so you need to be careful boating, especially after hard rains or storms. With the above in mind, it is an awesome place to rent a pontoon boat, go swimming, fishing or camping. The campground is really well maintained and has concrete pads with nice fire pits. Latitude 41 is a nice bar / grill atmosphere, and has almost anything you would want. If you want to take your kids fishing, I suggest driving all the way to the back of the marina on the SW side and fishing off of the docks. You will almost always find croppy and other small lake fish that are easy to catch with minnows or worms with a bobber. There are so many recreation opportunities here - our favorite is biking and the nature center.

Nice view and it's time for the fish to bite. Small mouth bass! Caught three today. Good spot for…read morefamily and friends

Absolutely gorgeous, well maintained ,clean and safe. Could use a few more water stationsread more

Fun local place for exercise and fun! I'd been a few years previous but forgot how fun and…read morechallenging it was! The staff is young so not overly friendly but we got the information we needed and then went to the refresher on belay. There were a lot of unsupervised children while we were there, which is annoying. It's not the staff's fault but it would be nice to be able to use the equipment without kids running into you or cutting you off. A kid also kicked a water bottle from the top floor and almost hit a mother walking with her baby below. It seemed chaotic but it was still fun. I'd love going for an adult only time if that was a thing.

Get Sendy Great…read moreGym, Great Staff, Great Problems. I can't say enough good things about these guys!

Really nice little zoo! It was very busy because of nice weather and had a long line but it…read morehonestly moved quickly and the staff was so organized getting everyone checked in fast and directly traffic. There's a lot of construction going on right now (March 2026) so lots of empty areas but hopefully these will be more lively in the summer. But we did see a lot of animals out and about and we were able to loop around the whole zoo in about 90 minutes.

One of the best overlooked small town zoos in the United States...! While the Des Moines metro…read moreisn't exactly a "small town" we're not a huge city either. https://www.blankparkzoo.com/ I held season tickets to Blank Park Zoo for quite a few years when my kids were younger. Now it's an annual photo walk outing for me. Maybe twice a year. The zoo boasts a diverse collection of nearly 1,500 animals representing over 100 species, including African lions, Amur tigers, giraffes, Eastern black rhinoceros, red pandas, sea lions, Magellanic penguins, an okapi, and many more including aquarium and touch exhibits... Don't skip the Outback and children's zoo area! The zoo's 22 acres of developed exhibits make it easy to navigate, allowing visitors to see everything in a few hours without feeling overwhelmed. Very manageable for all ages... Blank Park Zoo always has something in the works whether it's expansion, a special event, or a special display. No outside drink or food is allowed inside the zoo, and the food on the grounds can be a little on the pricey side if you are feeding an entire family. I like to plan my visits between meals and eat outside the park. I'm not saying to not support the zoo... Not at all! I'm just saying I'd rather spend my money on a t-shirt or a momento of the trip in the gift shop than on something that I will literally flush down the drain later on... You know what I'm saying. Open daily from 900 AM - 500 PM. $20 for an adult and $15 per child. Check out their membership packages (with reciprocity to nearly 200 zoos and aquariums) and their calendar! You may be able to buy an annual Family or Family Plus membership for less than a single visit... And then be able to enjoy the zoo all year long...! https://www.blankparkzoo.com/membership

This place is real spacious and ample easy parking for a quick stop. I have come here multiple…read moretimes with my family while traveling so the littles can get out, eat and run off some energy. It has always been very clean with places to throw trash as well as a mobile "potty". i have only been in i think half of this park so i do not know if there is a built in bathroom or not. Its an easy spot to get off the highway and decompress before getting back on the road. Thank you Des Moines!

This is a fun park on the NW side of town. The park is fun because it has a ropes area to climb…read morein. The park also has a play area for kids that attaches to the ropes area. The park features two tennis courts, a picnic area with bbq pits, and a sports field that is set up for baseball or softball. This park connects to the High Trestle bike trail. There is a bridge that connects the park to the trail and a pond on the opposite side of the trail that is good for walking around.

This is one of the smaller parks in Ankeny. It is set back in from the roads and you have to walk…read moredown some paths to get to it. This park has a play area but it is a smaller play area geared mostly for small kids. The park also has a picnic area. There are trails that run through the park and connect to the NW side.