Columbus Park

Columbus Park is one of our regular parks. It's a bit of a drive for us, but my kids really love the sprayground here. It's always jumping when we go. The picnic tables under the pavilion are usually filled up, and there are frequently people there for the day with packed lunches. It's clear we're not the only ones who love it!

Notice the splash pad area is in the shape of a ship. Let me build the suspense here by saying that's not the only ship at this park. Parents of kids who love playing pirates, keep reading...

McHenry Park

McHenry Park is a wonderful park on the north side of Des Moines. I'd never been there before and didn't know what to expect. As it turns out, it has a splash pad, a playground, and a natural playscape. There are three different outdoor shelters, one of which has stunning views! Really, it's an all-around great park. 

We parked on Oak Street, which seemed to be a quiet road. We passed by one of the shelters and the bathroom to get to this really cool splash pad:

There was a frog and a turtle to climb. The turtle got a little slippery, but the ground was padded (like you find at mall playgrounds).

They used the turtle as a miniature water slide.

The water drains down a little man-made "creek."

Looking beyond the creek, I could see a swing set and another shelter in the distance. The distant shelter is the one that's not available for reservations currently. The other two are!

This is the overlook shelter. It has views of the river down below, and of the city. It's on the southern end of the park, away from the road, but also a bit far visually from the splash pad.

This is the playground. Small, but the kids liked it. It has tall monkey bars that gave them a good challenge!

And here's the natural playscape. Both the kids and I were impressed!

The animal splash pad and the natural playscape really made the park stand out as unique and fun!

On the map below, you'll also see a trail marked. It was actually a real nice looking trail, wide with lane lines painted for cyclists.

Stone Park

Stone Park is home to the Pioneer Columbus Community Center. They host a few events and activities there, but this was actually our first visit. We stopped by on our way home from the kids' swimming lessons, and I thought it was just a playground. Not so! They also have a wading pool. It's a good thing they had their suits!

As you'll see in a few of these pictures, there's a lot of construction being done at the park. I'll have to

Sargent Park

Have you ever seen such a stunning park? I was floored when we arrived at Sargent Park. We came here to play in the creek, and we found this beautiful playground, designed as a natural playscape.

Before the kids got too settled into the playground, we went down to the creek to explore. There is access to Fourmile Creek just a short trot down the path from the playground.

Good Park

We finally took the time to check out Good Park. I've been meaning to get there because it's located not too far from us in central Des Moines, and it's easy to get to (on the corner of University & Keo Way). 

The kids get so excited when we go to a splash park. This one had no other people playing when we arrived. When they were little, I loved quiet parks where I didn't have to worry about them getting knocked down. Now that they're bigger, I like busier parks so they can socialize and play. 

Ashby Park

A heat wave has hit Des Moines! I sound very excited, but I'm very not. It's currently in the 90s, but feels like 109 degrees with the heat index. There are heat advisories throughout the county, and Des Moines has put out signs for their "cooling centers" that welcome people to come to various community centers and other municipal buildings to cool down. I tried to be optimistic about the day and took the kids to a new-to-us splash park: Ashby Park, located in Beaverdale.

The spray features weren't working, so it was really a regular wading pool today. And it was busy! Apparently, lots of parents had the same idea.

Greenwood Park Splash Pad!

Today was opening day of the new splash pad at Greenwood/Ashworth Park. It's official name is the "Dan and Mary Kelly Family Sprayground." I think it's gorgeous! The kids had the best time.

The ground looked like it would be slippery, but I didn't see any kids slip. In fact, Jo kept climbing on rocks and jumping down without any problems. It must be well textured (I didn't venture in to find out), but I'd probably be a little more cautious with younger kids.

When we first moved here, I thought this park was kind of hard to find. So in case you're not familiar with it, you turn south on 45th Street from Grand, almost as if you're going to the Art Center, but don't turn into the Art Center's parking lot. Keep heading south. You'll drive through a bit of forest and reach a big pond. As soon as you're at the pond, turn left and head east. It's a small road that winds up to the park, shelter, and new splash pad. I circled the spot in blue where it's located:

It's easy to turn on the splash pad. There's a stand right in the middle with a big, yellow button on it. When the kids pushed the button, it seemed to last about 10-15 minutes before everything turned off, and they needed to push it again.

More pictures of the kids having fun at the splash pad:

In the background of this next picture, you can see the shelter house. During the school year, they hosted a lot of after school activities for kids there, like bird classes and even snowshoe hikes.

There are plenty of picnic tables, made in the same design as the splash pad structures. They aren't shaded, and neither is the splash pad. However, in the background you can see the playground area does have a lot of shade--which is why it's one of my favorite parks! There's also a picnic shelter for shade, too.

This playground was already one of my favorites, but now that they've added in this new splash pad, I think it's going to be our go-to park this summer. It's just so lovely, and the kids had a ball playing there. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

For more details and pictures of the playground area, see this post from 2014.

Can't Miss: Centennial Center Park

We've been staying at my parents' house all week while they're out of town. It's been great not worrying about the kids messing up the house, only to get a call for a showing request on the house!

This past weekend, we wanted to find something to do, and I searched for local splash parks. We set out for Centennial Center Park, which just opened last summer. It's on Arapahoe Road between Revere Pkwy and Vaughn St, which is about a five minute drive from where we've been staying.

When we arrived, I was stunned by the view. It looks incredible! In fact, my husband and I scrambled to see if we had any cash because, from the looks of the park, we assumed they would charge admission. Nope. Free!

We entered the splash pad first. Jo thought we were crazy and had no idea where we took her.

Oliver just wanted to push some buttons to make the water go.

The splash pad area was pretty busy, so we checked out some other parts of the park. Seriously, it's huge! There was more "natural" splash park above, and the water ran down the rocks like a waterfall. This was Jo's favorite part! It was a lot less crowded, too.

There was one part of the park that was entirely made out of sand! It reminded me of parks from my childhood. They even had those digger contraptions! Oliver really loved the sand park. There were a few patches of shade here and there, but otherwise mostly in the sun.

You can see the walls were decorated and reflected parts of Colorado.

There was also a regular play ground for the kids. This part of the park was almost empty. I assume it's because 1) most people go there for the splash park, and 2) it was way too hot to enjoy the playground that day! I think the playground part would be a good choice in the fall and winter when the water is turned off.

Oliver liked the car, but he wasn't very good about sharing it with other kids.

Not pictured is the large jungle gym in the park. There was a large part of this park that was perfect for big kids--there were ropes to climb up about fifteen feet in the air! You don't see parks like that anymore, and the big kids loved it.

Centennial Center Park is outstanding! I don't usually praise parks with little to no shade, but all the running water to keep us and the kids cool helped tremendously. This is one of the best parks we've ever taken the kids to, so if you're ever nearby in the summer, be sure to stop and check it out. It's a winner!