Ankeny is one of the fastest-growing cities in Iowa, and there's more to do here than most people realize — plus the entire Des Moines metro is a short drive away. Here's the complete local guide: get outside, grab a beer on a patio, take the kids somewhere, wait out the rain, or pile in the car for a day trip. Bookmark it.
The marquee outing is the High Trestle Trail — its half-mile, 13-story bridge over the Des Moines River valley is one of the largest trail bridges in the world, and it glows blue at dusk. The Ankeny trailhead is on the north side of town. From there the trail network links all the way to the 89-mile Raccoon River Valley Trail, a 120-mile continuous paved loop. Ten minutes northwest, Saylorville Lake has two swim beaches, fishing, and 11 campgrounds; just north, Big Creek State Park has the largest beach in Iowa's state-park system, and Jester Park keeps a beloved bison & elk herd. Full rundown on our Ankeny outdoors guide.
More on where Ankeny eats and drinks in our restaurant guide.
In town, the Kirkendall Public Library runs free programs all week, the city's splash pads and pools open Memorial Day to Labor Day, and the Ankeny Miracle League offers adaptive baseball for kids of all abilities. Ten to twenty-five minutes away in the metro: Adventureland (amusement & water park in Altoona), Blank Park Zoo (Iowa's only accredited zoo), and the hands-on Science Center of Iowa downtown.
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Subscribe free →You've got a car, so your options multiply. Within ~20–30 minutes: the free Pappajohn Sculpture Park and Des Moines Art Center, the gold-domed State Capitol, the walkable East Village and Court Avenue districts, Gray's Lake and Water Works Park, and the renowned Downtown Farmers' Market on summer Saturdays. A little farther for a Saturday: the Madison County covered bridges in Winterset, the Dutch town of Pella, and the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad.
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