what is there to do in des moines

Known equally Valley Junction until 1938, the largest suburb of Des Moines is growing at a staggering rate, more than than doubling in population since 1990.

West Des Moines has humble origins, taking shape effectually a railroad depot at the plow of the 20th century.

Decades earlier, the abolitionist and first settler, James C. Hashemite kingdom of jordan had established a station on the Underground Railroad here.

Today the city is Des Moines' go-to shopping destination, whether yous want to shop local at the stylish Valley Junction downtown expanse, or want to hit the largest mall in Iowa at Hashemite kingdom of jordan Creek Town Center.

1. Historic Valley Junction

This revitalized railroad district in Westward Des Moines is everything you could want from a hip downtown commercial area.

Growing up around a depot for the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, Valley Junction harks back to the 1890s and is the soul of Due west Des Moines.

This is the setting for the summer farmers' market, and there's a super selection of independent boutiques, art galleries, antique shops and restaurants for all comers.

At the last count there were more than 160 independent stores, mostly centered on 5th Street and its cross streets.

In the space of three blocks the historic district has more than than fifty contributing buildings. Look out for No. 137, the old Engine Firm, dating back to 1901. The first floor was West Des Moines' fire station, while the Metropolis Hall was on the second floor until 1952.

two. Raccoon River Park

The star of the West Des Moines Parks organisation is this marvelous 630-acre park on the Raccoon River.

And the crowning glory has to exist Blue Heron Lake, which has a boat launch, beach and a modernistic boathouse open during the summer for canoe, kayak and stand-up paddle board rentals.

Also worthy of mention is the 225-human foot line-fishing pier, offering superb access for fishing enthusiasts of all abilities and ages.

The playground at Raccoon River Park is touted every bit one of the nearly unique in the metropolitan area, while there's a seasonal ice rink, a 3.2-mile multi-apply trail, four picnic shelters, an archery range, a nature eye and complexes for softball and soccer.

3. Jordan Firm

The West Des Moines Historical Lodge has an apt abode, at the residence of the city's first settler.

This was James C. Jordan (1813-1891), who arrived hither from Virginia in 1846. The Hashemite kingdom of jordan House was built a few years subsequently and has a lot of stories to tell. Jordan was a diehard abolitionist, and upwardly to the Civil War, his house was a station on the Underground Railroad.

The abolitionist leader John Brown is known to have stayed here at least twice, and on one occasion in 1858 he was helping a party of 12 onetime slaves escape to freedom.

The Jordan House's electric current appearance dates from an Italianate extension in 1870. On a self-guided tour you tin peruse sixteen period rooms, adorned with interesting pieces from past times.

Take in the detailed exhibit on the Underground Railroad, only also the regular railroad, which was crucial to the city's development.

4. Jordan Creek Town Center

Leading W Des Moines' assortment of shopping destinations is the largest mall in Iowa, and the quaternary-largest shopping complex in the unabridged Midwest.

Hashemite kingdom of jordan Creek Town Middle had been in the pipeline for a decade earlier it opened in 2004 with 160+ shops and services beyond three districts.

Even for jaded shoppers, the mall's enormous food court is a thing to behold, and has a co-operative of the dear Des Moines fast food restaurant, Zombie Burger.

Exterior, a cluster of restaurants with patios (P.F. Chang's, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse), sit around a large ornamental swimming.

v. Westward Glen Town Center

This huge mixed-utilise development just off I-35 feels like a trendy city commune in its own right. Centered on a plaza, Due west Glen Town Centre blends residential units, offices, stores, bars and amusement venues.

Aside from the Super Target section shop, pretty much all the businesses here are independent or belong to fresh new chains, similar the Hurts Donut Company.

For an thought of what to await, there are boutiques, dwelling house design stores, a spa, blast salon, yoga studio, a pinball arcade, escape room, wine tasting station, as well as restaurants for a spectrum of cuisines and bars from a gastropub to a hookah lounge.

6. Brown's Woods

Iowa's largest urban forest area is in West Des Moines, across the water from Raccoon River Park. This is a fine place to exist at any time of yr, but especially in summer when you can hike under a mantle of hardwood forest.

This is fabricated up of hickories and oaks, on a gently rolling mural laced with trivial streams. The forest are named for the wealthy Des Moines lawyer, Tallmadge E Brown (1830-1891), who endemic this and other big chunks of land edging the metropolis.

There's a restroom area at the entrance and a network of easy-to-follow trails for walks and cross-country skiing in winter.

seven. Des Moines

You're never more than a few minutes from the land capital, which comes under the political microscope at the start of the presidential campaign wheel every 4 years.

On the political theme, a tour of the Iowa Land Capitol building is a must. Completed in 1886, it's the merely five-domed capitol in the state, with a central towering dome clad with 23-carat gilt.

Also essential is the Governor's residence, Terrace Hill, dating back to 1866, along with the vibrant Downtown Farmers' Marketplace, the informative State Historical Museum, Blank Park Zoo, Greyness'south Lake Park and the Scientific discipline Middle of Iowa.

The Iowa State Fairgrounds are just eastward of downtown, and the eleven-day State Fair in August is officially the largest annual result in Iowa, attracting more than 1,100,000 people. Beneath, nosotros'll list a couple of other Des Moines highlights that are especially close.

8. Des Moines Fine art Eye

Minutes away is one of the region'south preeminent fine art museums, founded in 1948. In its all-encompassing collection the Des Moines Art Center has works by the likes of Matisse, Rodin, Monet, Gauguin, Grant Wood, Georgia O'Keeffe, Lichtenstein, Mark Rothko, and many more than nosotros can listing hither.

Amongst the museum's most important pieces are Edward Hopper's Automat (1927) and Portrait of Pope Innocent (1953) by Francis Bacon.

This world-class collection has a striking home, in an Art Deco edifice from 1948, with a Modernist wing added in 1968 and some other by Richard Meier from 1985.

The spacious chief gallery hosts several shows a year, for themed group displays, traveling exhibitions and solo shows by world-renowned artists.

ix. Salisbury House & Gardens

Shut to the Des Moines Art Center is another cultural attraction to proceed on your radar. Salisbury House was congenital in the mid-1920s for the cosmetics magnate Carl Weeks and his married woman, Edith Van Slyke Weeks.

The mansion is a near-replica of The Male monarch's House, in Salisbury, England, which was built in stages from the 13th to the 16th century. The Des Moines version faithfully reproduces that alloy of styles, incorporating Gothic, Tudor and Jacobean architecture.

In 1922 the architects fifty-fifty purchased authentic period fittings and effects from properties in Salisbury for the projection.

Y'all tin can visit Salisbury Firm for a guided or self-guided bout to appreciate the interiors and a large fine art drove boasting works by Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641), George Romney (1734-1802) and Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830), to proper noun a handful.

10. Valley Junction Farmers' Market

Valley Junction is exactly the kind of place where you lot would expect to find a humming farmers' market.

Taking identify every Th, 4-8pm May through September, the marketplace offers a range of Iowa-grown fresh produce, besides as specialty ingredients, flowers, baked goods, plants, street food and all manner of cute craft.

The market coincides with the Music in the Junction, a summertime concert series. These shows are free to the public and are accompanied by a drinkable garden that opens at v:30pm.

eleven. Walnut Woods State Park

Just upstream from Raccoon River Park is a 260-acre park preserving an important area of bottomland hardwood forest, cherished in spring and summer every bit a location for birdwatching.

At Walnut Woods State Park you'll enter the largest unmarried stand of black walnut trees in Due north America.

The gentle Raccoon River meanders through the park, providing opportunities for boating, paddling and fishing, while on land you can hike or ski along two miles of trails.

There'due south a fine onetime society hither, built from the limestone during the Depression past the Civilian Conservation Corps, besides as a small campground.

12. Living History Farms

Adjacent door in Urbandale is a tiptop-notch outdoor museum charting 300 years of Iowa's agricultural history.

Living History Farms is made up of a series of sites, giving a sense of farming and daily life at different points in the state'south past. So there'southward a 1700 Ioway Farm, an 1850 Pioneer Subcontract and the 1900 Horse-Powered Subcontract.

You can travel at your own speed through these environments coming together on-site interpreters who put on educational demonstrations throughout the season.

At that place'southward also a replica rural town, Walnut Hill, designed like a Midwestern settlement from 1875, complete with a print shop, general store and blacksmith, too as the authentic Flynn Mansion and Befouled, both listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

13. Smash Park

A couple of blocks from Jordan Creek Town Centre and a rock's throw from hotels, is a fresh entertainment allure.

Smash Park is a few things rolled into 1, but at its heart are facilities for pickleball (iv indoor, two outdoor courts), cornhole, shuffleboard and darts.

Within is an arcade with ping-pong, football, eight large Hard disk drive TVs, a giant Connect Four and a variety of other games for all ages.

This is all complemented by a kitchen serving gimmicky, street-fashion bites, from wraps to bowls, flatbreads, bao buns, burgers and salads.

xiv. West Grand Golf

This highly rated practice facility is billed every bit the best spot in the Des Moines area if yous desire to piece of work on your swing or fine tune your short game.

Westward Grand Golf can exist a family unit twenty-four hours out thanks to its xviii-pigsty miniature golf course, in a gorgeous, water-rich setting with fountains, waterfalls and exquisite bloom gardens.

The form is fun for kids, but offers great do for serious golfers. As for the driving range, this has irrigated grass tees and several target greens, all guarded with bunkers.

15. Valley West Mall

To go with West Des Moines' profusion of shopping options yous've got this giant enclosed mall that opened in 1975 and has more than 100 tenants. When we fabricated this list the primary ballast was JCPenney, which also housed a branch of Sephora.

A few of the many well-known stores on hand at Valley West Mall are Claire'south, Victoria'southward Secret, rue21, Kay Jewelers, GNC, Eddie Bauer and Bath & Body Works, along with many independent businesses.

Food-wise you've got a Dairy Queen/Orange Julius, Chipotle, Jimmy John'south and Blaze Pizza, to name a scattering. The mall is also dwelling to the Des Moines Children's Museum, a fabulous, hands-on learning resource for children and parents.

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Source: https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-things-to-do-in-west-des-moines-iowa/