The Ankeny Brief
For a town its size, Ankeny is loaded with parks - more than 40 of them, from big sports complexes to little neighborhood playgrounds you can walk to. Here's the quick map: the destination parks worth a drive, the four with splash pads, the skate park, and how to find the one closest to your door.
Ankeny has 40+ parks and ~80 miles of trails. The biggest include the Prairie Ridge Sports Complex (~133 acres) and Hawkeye Park (courts, playgrounds, restrooms). Four parks have free splash pads - Crestbruck, Dean, Sunrise, Watercrest. There's a 30,000+ sq-ft skate park at Prairie Ridge. Full list & map: ankenyiowa.gov/parks.
Prairie Ridge is the big one - roughly 133 acres of open space, paths and fields that's a favorite for walkers and runners. Hawkeye Park is the go-to for courts: tennis, sand and court volleyball, and baseball, plus playgrounds, restrooms, drinking water and parking. Between the two you've got most of a weekend covered.
These four neighborhood parks have free splash pads that run Memorial Day through Labor Day - just push the button to turn the water on. They're the easy, no-cost summer outing when the pool feels like too much. (For the bigger pool-and-slide setup, see pools & splash pads.)
The Prairie Ridge Skate Park at 1400 NW Prairie Ridge Dr is a 30,000+ sq-ft outdoor park - ramps, stairs, roll-ins, a shelter and benches - built for skateboards, BMX and inline skates. It's been rated one of the best in Iowa.
With 40+ parks, there's almost always a playground within a few blocks. The city keeps the full parks list and interactive map at ankenyiowa.gov/parks - the fastest way to spot the nearest playground, shelter, ball field or restroom. Many parks also connect to Ankeny's paved trail network, so you can walk or bike between them without touching a road.
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The four splash-pad parks (Crestbruck, Dean, Sunrise, Watercrest) are hard to beat in summer - free water play plus playgrounds. Hawkeye Park has playgrounds too.
Hawkeye Park has tennis, court volleyball and beach (sand) volleyball, along with baseball. For pickleball specifically, see our pickleball guide.
Yes - the City of Ankeny publishes a complete parks list and map at ankenyiowa.gov/parks, covering all 40+ parks.
Trails & bike paths · Pools & splash pads · Fishing · Dog park · Things to do