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 is one of the best kept secret areas of Saylorville Lake. When you first pull in there is…read moreparking for easy access to the bike trail. After passing that you come into the park and can either go left or straight. If you go left it takes you to the shelter and play area and if you go straight it takes you to the boat ramp and beach areas. The boat ramp is a two vehicle ramp so you can have two boats going in and coming out at a time. There is a huge double parking lot attached. The second part of the parking lot is also used for beach parking. The beach is really nice and has a couple picnic tables with shade over looking it. The shelter and play area is really nice. The play area is new and big and kiddos can play on it for a while. Right next to the play area is the shelter area. The shelter area is huge and in the shape of an L. It has fire places on both ends of the shelter. The play area is to the north of the shelter and on the south side of the shelter is a sand volleyball court and a baseball field. If you were going to have a family reunion or big party this would definitely be a good shelter to rent.

Great quiet and clean place for the kiddos!! There's a bike trail, restrooms and has a short walk…read moreto the waterside.

Located only 20 minutes northwest of Ankeny on the western shore of Saylorville Lake, the 1600-acre…read moreJester Park Nature Center has a buffet of options. Whether it is a visit to their elk, hiking, biking, learning, cabins, birding, snowshoeing, or cross-country skiing, they have a lot to offer! We visited on a moderate winter afternoon and enjoyed spending time with their elk, who roam the property's northwest end. They wander in an area, allowing nearby viewing and enhancing the entire experience. They also have an 18-hole golf course, a 9-hole course, and a driving range with instruction available. I'm returning!

Air riffle shooting was fun, as was the archery, the ice cream also helps! Summer has canoes,…read morefishing, etc. Staff helpful and friendly both times we have been.

This park is a little older but is still one of the best in Ankeny. It is located amongst all the…read morehomes on the SE side of town. The park itself is a really big park and has trails that run through it. The park is big enough that you can either walk the paths in the park or take the paths through the park and through the community. The park itself has two backstops for baseball or softball. One of the backstops has an infield that goes along with it. There are some open grass areas for sports practices too. The park has a playground area for kids and swings. It has a picnic shelter area too. For sports other then the fields and backstops the park also has a basketball court with four adjustable hoops. Along with the hoops the park also has a place to play horse shoes. The horse shoe area has three different horse shoe pits and also has special lighting.

Miracle Park All-Inclusive Playground is Ankeny's largest playground with more than 14,000 square…read morefeet of fun. The playground features double wide ramps going more than nine feet high and various play amenities that children with and without special needs can enjoy. There are roller tables, sway fun gliders, sensory play center, and an omni spinner for all to enjoy. We had a short road trip to Des Moines and this playground was close to the hotel that we stayed at. We had a little bit of time to kill so we stopped by on a late afternoon. Despite the hot weather, there were plenty of kids but it was not crowded.

The slides, swings and playground area was great. I brought my friend's 12 year old (who didn't…read morewant to leave) while I got my steps in. There were two decent sized shaded area with picnic tables. I only knocked off a star for the dead cockroach I saw. That being said, it is outside around lots of green things so it is understandable. I would still totally go back.

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.

Awesome Campground in a beautiful area of Des Moines. This looked like a relatively wealthy suburb…read morewith nice houses all around. Walkable access to the lake. About 15-20 minutes away from the City Center of Des Moines but the Farmers Market on Saturday's is an absolutely MUST stop. We really enjoyed our stay, just wish it was longer. Pro's: 1) Beautiful location right on the lake. 2) Long concrete pads that had no problem fitting our 43' TH. 3) Small jungle gym for our kids to play on. 4) Walking distance to the lake beach. 5) Easy to navigate roads 6) Awesome and easily accessible fishing areas around. Con's: 1) Electric only, although they had water throughout the park and a dump station up and the front. 2) Trash dumpsters were VERY far away. Had to truck our trash out to the dumpster. 3) Ants ... Ants, and more ants. Keep anything food related away from the outside of the rig and keep your fingers crossed they don't find the a path to the inside. 4) Power went out in the middle of the night when it was ranging near 100 degree's on the high for the day. It turned back on within minutes, but just a heads up on the power grid of the campground. 5) Pad is concrete (Awesome) but is far from level. Not sure I saw a level site in the entire CG. Even with the con's, its hard to beat $22/night. We'd stay here again in a heart beat. 3-4 days seems to be ideal.

This campground was packed on weekends and dead during the week (which we love!). Our family of 7…read morestayed for 2 weeks. Our site was electric only. There's a dump station and some places to fill water tanks. The playground looks pretty new and our kids enjoyed it. It was a basic, no frills campground that felt like a state park stripped down. The extremely frustrating thing is getting reservations. Every weekend is booked, but the weeks are wide open....yet we were not able to extend our stay to midweek because there is a 14 day limit.

Watercrest is a really nice park in NW Ankeny on NW 5th St. The park has a bunch of different…read morethings to do. There is a basketball court with adjustable hoops, a bathroom and a shelter. The park also has a big field used for kids sports including soccer and football. The nice part about the field is that there is a walking/bike path that goes around it. The park has two playground areas, one for younger kids and one for older kids. The younger kid side has swings and a play area with smaller slides. The older kids area has lots of things for the bigger kids to climb and play on. All in all it is a good family park.