A tucked away playground that isn't so secret…read more.. Found this playground through a friend who lives in the neighborhood. It's tucked away in suburbia and a collection of baseball diamonds. You wouldn't know it was here unless you live close by. Wonderful place to play! Must be new to the baseball diamonds. During COVID19 review: A playground that isn't so secret...Many visitors were here while we came out during the middle of a work day. There were a lot of kids running around including my own and a friend's. Kids were not social distant. Two kids wore masks while their mom had one on as well. The rest of the kids were not masked. The playground is super fun! Slides, slides, and more slides. Rubber playground surfacing and updated equipment make it phenomenal. The mini zip line seat is the highlight! Rolling slide and horizontal rolling slide. Plenty of swings as well. The playground is an all inclusive one: accessible pieces of equipment that were created and designed that allows all children to play of different abilities, skills, and conditions. We love these playgrounds! Highly recommend visiting! Will be coming back if there are smaller crowds.

I live right by this park and raised 50 dollars to help fund it, unfortunately my brother stole and…read morespent it, but its the thought that counts. Its a great park for all ages, adults too. Its got a zipline and a seesaw and a huge play set. I recommend visiting. Its a miracle park for handicapped people. And there is a bathroom nearby but its usually locked unless the miracle field is being used. I love going here at least weekly if not more. If you stand from the park side of the (well kept) trail, and go right down the trail. After a five minute walk there is another fun park with a little library. You have to cross the street once though (if you have little runners). I recommend the miracle park no question it is an amazing resource for disabled children and is wheelchair accessible. If you want to know about more good parks in the area, walker johnston park, terra park, and if you are willing to go for a 35 minute ride from the north view park area (urbandale), big creek park. I will leave reviews on these three parks for more information. - local helper, Via w.

We stayed here on an RV trip across the country. It was a great site. A load of trails and…read morefriendly people everywhere. Also, as you're in the middle of des moines you can get delivery from the town. The tree coverage is very nice and keeps the place cool during the day and the prices are super reasonable. We really enjoyed our stay here and I would suggest it for anyone looking for an RV campsite in or around Des Moines.

It's a wonderful park that has lots of accessible areas and point of picnic, parking areas…read more They have river access, there's a shelter available for rent, end the camping area that accommodates some r v's. I enjoy the park for the birding opportunities that provides. It has an accessible bird viewing area with easy access for wheelchairs. I've seen red headed woodpeckers there , downey , woodpeckers , flycatchers , wobblers , finches , lots of variety. I also enjoy hiking the trail that's next to the bird area.For a wonderful walk into a burr oak forest with many of the trees looking like they're a several hundred plus years old. It's quiet and cool.Because the trail shaded. The other thing of note is that cut the trail wide enough that you can reasonably avoid ticks. I wish they would create a loop on that trail that would end up , so you would know that you've walked a mile or two. Maybe some volunteers could create it

Buxton Park is a gem of a park in the heart of Indianola…read more Just footsteps away from the Simpson College campus, this is more than your typical city park; it's 5+ acres of well-maintained gardens, tall trees, lush grass and walking paths throughout. The park has many benches throughout, perfect for studying or simply reading. There's a gazebo, a fountain, and much more. Perhaps best of all, photographers would have a field day with a shoot here; I'd recommend this place for wedding, senior, portrait or family photos. If you have even just an hour in Indianola, escape to Buxton Park.

Really nice playground for kids to play on. They really need to treat their grassburrs and grass…read morestickers especially around the playground. Other than that, great place for the entire family.

We like dropping the boat into Big Creek. We don't have the best fishing luck, but it's been nice…read moreevery time. I've been to the beech a couple of times over the years. I've walked some trails too. Lots more to offer than I'm typing, but it's always a nice quick trip for us.

This park was a stop on a road trip for a leg stretch break. It's awesome, there is everything you…read morecan think of for a park. They have plenty for little kids and big kids. There's also a trail. An hour passed before we blinked! We will be back and highly recommend putting this on your list if you chase parks like our family!

Can I be a kid again??? Even as the parent, this park is 10x better than I imagined it to be. It is…read moreimportant to note that Triumph Park is not only a playground but also a recplex of sorts with multiple ball fields, small lake with a fishing dock, and walking trails. But I am am here to talk about the playground portion because I was blow away! Everyone else must be as pleased and excited as I am because on a Friday evening the place was packed. Pulling up I was fearful I made the wrong choice seeing all of the cars and kiddos running around but there is so much to do on the playground and it is a large enough space that it still was enjoyable for my step daughter. I also want to note that my stepdaughter is upper elementary school age and parks are hit and miss given her size/age. Triumph Park playground is a HIT and reminds me of those expensive indoor obstacle parks you pay to go to - Did I mention this is a public park so it is FREE!? There is also ample parking since it is adjacent to the ball diamonds. One of my favorite parts is that the base (floor) of the playground is solid with a rubber mat or faux grass materials with padding underneath for a little cushion to protect your littles. Also no mess! - Who ever allowed sandbox/woodchip playgrounds anyways, yuck! I am not sure I can describe this next feature well but most of the structure is sort of built into the ground. The main portion is dug into a "hole" so the landscape itself is fun for the kids to run up and down, it is also lined with faux grass and cushion. (I told you I wouldn't describe that well, you will just have to go see it for yourself!). There is plenty of play spaces for little kids but the tall, tall slides for the big kids and towers to get to them are INSANE. I have never seen anything like it in a public, outdoor park. They also have really fun spins (literally) on a merry-go-round and teeter-totter, the kids really seemed loved these. I not sure how else to describe it other than I was extremely impressed. We will be visiting many times this summer and telling all of our friends!

Clean campgrounds. Decent bathrooms and showers (could use updating). Plenty of space between camp…read moresites.

Ok just got back from this lake and after 2 years of so called updates I can say as a tax payer I…read moream really upset at.the overall condition. The camp ground got all electric sites set up for those with campers, so if you tent camp there is room for you but very little, the lake is literally full of moss and tall grass all around the banks dead trees all-over the place just waiting to fall the fishing house is in shambles with broken boards and rotting wood basi ally any where you look., no windows and railings are broken,just waiting for someone to get hurt, if I was to rate.this lakes condition after.being closed for 2 years for updates out of 10 it gets a 2 and that being generous.

This bridge was a nice stop while we were in the area and is probably one of the more recognizable…read morebridges if you're familiar with the "The Bridges of Madison County". I actually hadn't seen the movie before I knew we were going to be heading through this area and when I mentioned that to my closest friend, she was annoyed that I had never watched it and said it's probably one of the greatest movies ever made. I did watch it before coming and thought it was okay but maybe I was underwhelmed due to her over hyping it. Either way, it did seem to make seeing the bridge in person more meaningful. We arrived just before sunset. The bridge was really lovely and simple and classic. Built in 1880, is the longest covered bridge in Madison County. It sits in a really peaceful setting out in a rural area and it's surrounded by open fields and trees. There was still a bit of water underneath it when we were there. I can definitely tell why they chose this as one of the filming locations and I made sure to walk across and check out the different angles and spots they used in the film. We probably spent about 20 minutes here, walking around with our pup, taking photos and enjoying the scenery. If you're already visiting the other covered bridges or you're a fan of the movie, this is worth seeing.

Gayle and I recently took my Dad out on a road trip from Ames to Winterset. He'd been here before,…read morebut we took him along anyway as he enjoys the ride. Our 3rd (and last stop) along the Covered Bridges Scenic Byway was the Holliwell Covered Bridge, which you can walk through and access both sides via auto. Holliwell Bridge is located two miles southeast of Winterset over Middle River. It was built in 1880 for a cost of $1,180 and is the longest of the six remaining covered bridges in Madison County, spanning 110 feet. It is also the longest remaining timber bridge in the state of Iowa. It was named after an adjacent landowner, sometimes spelled Halliwell. The Holliwell Bridge carried traffic for over a century, until it was bypassed in 1986. It was one of two Madison County bridges featured in the movie, The Bridges of Madison County, the other being Roseman Bridge. It was said to be director Clint Eastwood's favorite. At this point, we ran out of time and headed back to Des Moines for Lunch and then back to Ames. The Roseman Bridge and the other 2 will need to wait for another road trip.

What a great park! There are several playgrounds, gazebos, and leisure areas so you never feel…read morecrowded. It's kept very clean and well maintained. The local flower beds throughout the park are a nice touch too. Fishing in the Ioway Creek is quite fun as well. Even the wildlife says hello every now and then

Lovely park! I like to drive to this place when I feel down or have had a long day. Love to walk…read morearound, absorb in the park's beauty and have some quiet time to myself. Sometimes, I don't even get down from my car, just sit inside and look at the sunset in an amber sky and the park getting dark all of a sudden. I'll come back during summer and post better pics :)

Photo taken 4/24/26…read more This is such a lovely place! We have been here several times, and we love it each time we visit. We've been here twice on field trips with my child's class, and several other times outside of that. There is an information center and plenty of outdoor activities. It's very well maintained, and the staff here are all wonderful. It's definitely a fun place for fishing or just simply walking around and enjoying nature. For those that enjoy birdwatching, this is also a great location to do so. The information center has quite a few activities for anyone interested in learning about any type of nature. You can ask for kits to inspect tadpoles or water creatures as well as binoculars for birdwatching. There's also a natural play structure for kids to explore. It's so peaceful and serene; this also makes it perfect for a picnic! There is a path that goes around the water, and there are also a few gazebos and benches for you to stop at to take a break or just enjoy the day.

This is a really neat park north east of Ames. It's the home of the Story County Conservation…read moreCenter and a lot of classes and programming. There are some deceptively long hiking trails here that will let you traverse the various biomes of the state of Iowa. There are wooded, riparian and native prarire areas along trails immediately adjacent to the park and it also serves as a great launching point and connector for the Skunk River Greenbelt system of trails that continue to the north. There are primitive campsites and mutli-use hiking and biking trails. There is actually a lot to do outside in Story County, it's just not obvious & McFarland Park is a great place to get acquainted.