As a fitness professional, I have high expectations for gyms and I like this one! They have a large…read morelap swim pool/diving area, leisure pool, therapy pool, basketball courts, racquetball courts, 2 group fit rooms, and childcare area downstairs. Upstairs, they have a lot of cardio machines, racks, weight machines, free weights, a cycle studio, and room to stretch. They offer many group fitness classes which I hope to try soon. I've heard great things about their childcare and how nice it is for families. The facility is kept clean and everyone is friendly. It's not quite as fancy as some gyms, but it gets the job done and isn't too expensive. Definitely the gym to join in Ankeny.

Best family facility in the region. You can't go wrong with all the amenities they offer. From the…read morefitness equipment, to the lap track, 4 basketball courts. the abundance of kids activities, an expansive child, watch, to the kid pool, you can't beat the price!

A community center for all!!! I love Valley Community Center…read morefor its beautiful center, all the activities they offer, and for a wonderful meeting place. For professionals and casual meeting. Been coming here for most of the summer and I can't believe we haven't taken advantage of this center as much as we have before. Parking lot is plenty and spacious. Out front is an outdoor playground with even wheelchair accessibility. My kids LOVE this park. Going inside, guests are welcomed by the sweet smell of complementary coffee! There is an open gym with scheduled events going on. Restrooms are always clean and plenty. Mini cafe that serves espresso and coffee drinks with a variety of easy snacks and drinks for kids. Prices are nice! A small drink with espresso (latte) is $3.65. I've seen Richard (the barista) there every time and he's very personable. We sees regular customers a lot and still remembers us! There is an indoor playground as well!! Parents can work and sip on coffee while kids are playing inside. I LOVE THAT! Legos, books, and blocks are outside of the indoor playground. Glass windows separate the lounge and playground. We have been here on different days and they always have something fun to do! This Monday was a free kid movie and popcorn day! Two fridays ago was free creamsicle day! I love this community center and highly recommend anyone to visit and make connections here. Great place for play dates and meetings.

This is a really nice community center. Great playground…read moreand tons of room outside and inside. Really beautiful building. I bring the kids here every year for the Fall (Halloween) party. It's connected with the valley church across the street, but they don't push religion on you at all and I like that. It's very welcoming and inclusive to everyone. My kiddos absolutely love it! We've come for the last 4 or 5 years. For this specific event they get: *to dress in their Halloween costumes *have pony rides *big blow ups for the kids to play on *face painting *root beer floats *popcorn *candy *photo booth pics *tons of carnival games *balloon animals *and more And get this... it's all absolutely FREE! For this event alone this community center gets 5 stars from me. It's become a Halloween tradition for us :)

I've been going here since I've retired and it's a great place for seniors. I would recommend…read morejoining if you have interest in social activities with other adults they have some wonderful pool tables a small computer room and a large multi-purpose room which has activities like bridge in other card games plus a wonderful nutritious daily lunch. They also have a craft room and do crafts and they also have a small workout area. they also have a small TV and movie watching area. They also have some exercise classes designed for seniors and some services for Seniors like tax help. They have a really nice caring stsff and lots of choices for people who want to remain active in their senior years. The centers large multi-purpose room for some community meetings in evening I know that the Audubon society meets there the local Sierra club meets there, and several other community groups meet there. If you live in the Beaverdale area or the nearby Merle Hay area is very convenient to come to and has bus transportation in the front. It's also right next to the Franklin library which is a plus.

What can $5 get you? The oak grove beach are is nicely maintained and a lot of beach for…read moreactivities and getting together with friends. Day trips cost $5 for the permit. The are hundreds of parking spots. Tons of big grain sand, not Pensacola sand bit you could imagine it's coquina if you close your eyes. The water at saylorville in July is clear and a little green. Perfect temps for cooling off as you watch all the boat people go by. The dedicated swim area is the size of a football field. So even busy there is room to spread out. The bottom is the heavy sand and comfortable to walk in if you're grossed out by weeds and mud. Overall this is nice spot and only 5 miles outside of Ankeny. The views is nice of the Saylorville lake which is a core of engineers lake along the Des Moines River Basin. There is no lifeguard on duty but also no rip tides. Come enjoy a little 'surf' action as the little waves sweep in and give you that faux beach experience!

This is a nice small rec area. When you first enter the area you can either go straight or left…read more If you go left it takes you to the picnic area. The picnic area has two shelter areas and a small play area. The play area consists of just a rope structure that kids can climb on. Shelter 2 is a neat shelter that is down a trail and tucked back in to the woods. If you go straight when you first enter it takes you down to the beach. The beach area is very large and has a very large parking lot and there is a bike trail that connects to it. The beach is a great place to take the family.

We were visiting some family in Des Moines for the week when my 4 year old began to become stir…read morecrazy after being stuck inside due to weather. We decided to pack up her, my sister and my 8 year old nephew, and head over to Kids Empire at about 1pm on a Friday afternoon. We are definitely not new to Kids Empire, as we frequent two locations in the Chicago suburbs, so we knew what to expect, but I definitely didn't expect this location to be as run down as it was considering it has far less traffic than the locations we typically visit. The spiderweb is down and blocked off due to the webbing being too weakened and a substantial fall risk, and the landing area for the slide that you ride the plastic sleds down had exposed particle board - splinters galore!! The layout also didn't make a ton of sense, as there were random holes to access lower levels in the middle of pads, without a solid way to get around them. This is easy for older kids and adults to maneuver around, but my 4 year old kept having to go down in the hole, then pull herself back up - had I not been there, I could see her getting frustrated, or accidentally injuring herself. I haven't seen this layout at other locations before. The play space is also much smaller than other locations, considering the square footage of this Kids Empire. There is a TON of seating though. The toddler area is pretty well maintained, but I didn't appreciate the two 7-ish year olds who were climbing over the walls and almost trampling my 8 month old nephew. We were told that 3 and over weren't allowed in the toddler area, but that rule definitely was not enforced. I know it isn't staff's job to manage other people's children, but a simple reminder to the parents would have been well appreciated. The cost is $24 for children over the age of 1. This includes to admittance of two adults and one sibling under the age of 1, for open play. Normally, I'd find this reasonable, but maybe not for a space this run down. Socks are also required, but you can bring your own from home - I do appreciate when play places don't require the purchase of their socks, as we already own 12 pairs of sticky socks from other play places. Okay place to visit once, staff was very friendly, but I think we will try our luck somewhere else next time. It is unfortunate that there aren't more indoor play places for kids in the Greater Des Moines Region.

A littl eoverpriced at 20 bucks a visit, but my kid does really like it here and I like that you…read morecan leave and come back. It's convenient to take him for a little bit, leave to eat a prepacked lunch or run a quick errand while we are out/take a break to cool down, and then return. I wish it were a little cleaner, and we have had issues a few times with older kids being bullies in the play area but that's a problem almost anywhere unfortunately. Overall aa fun place to visit as a special play day.

This park is awesome and expansive! Trails and fields, playground equipment and build outs…read moreeverywhere, forts and lookouts, and a skate park!!! I took my kids here today and we had a great time! There are plenty of places to sit, nice concrete trails perfect for walking, biking, scootering or skateboarding! The pond was still frozen, but I'm sure it's lovely when it defrosts. I like big parks like this because even if it's a hot sunny day and tons of people are here, there's still plenty of room to spread out and not feel like you're on top of each other.

What a great park! This park has everything: softball/baseball fields, soccer fields, tennis…read morecourts, pond, long walking/ bike paths, kids climber, and lots of slides. There is also a new community shelter that is a tornado safe room. The super lame part of this safe room is that it's locked!! It's only for private rentals and events. So if there is a tornado, make sure to book the shelter in advanced so you can use the safe room. The kids climber and slides are excellent. They are newer, safe plastic without any sharp metal parts protruding. There is even a huge metal slide that is built into the ground. It's like the old school slides we had as kids. It's so fun. The kids love it. I even tried it a few items. Let me tell you, as an adult that weighs more than 2 or 3 kids, you fly down that slide!! It's almost a little scary how fast you go as an adult. The kids are fine but adults who weigh more really take off. At the base of the slide, be ready to dismount because it launches you! I would have given this park 5 stars but the restrooms make it a 4. The restrooms are gross. While there are probably nice, clean restrooms in the shelter, it's only for private rentals or events. Most of the public restrooms are port-a-potties. At the open shelter toward the east next to the police station, there are restrooms with running water, but they are just as gross. Also, there is no soap in these restrooms. Even with the restroom status, this park is definitely a must for all ages.

Really fun walking trail for kids. Very enjoyable for families. Easy to get to from Des Moines…read moremetro area.

Wow wow wow! What a wonderful addition to Jester Park!…read more The recreation center came after the Nature Center and it completely fits the park with the activities it offers. We came out here for Snowshoeing. $10 to rent per person. They even have children sizes! Other activities to do are: Cross country skiing, bouldering wall, indoor archery and air rifle practice. The hours accommodate the winter months and the spring and summer hours are as follows: March 16 - 20 | Monday - Friday | 10 a.m. - 4 p.m ... Summer ORWC hours (Memorial Day -Labor Day) Thursday & Friday |10 a.m. -4:30 p.m. Saturday | 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Sunday | Noon - 4 p.m. Staff is friendly and professional. Very engaging and personal. Clean facility with restrooms and drinking fountain. Free coffee and tea with a donation box to give. I can't wait to come back!!!!!

This park was a stop on a road trip for a leg stretch break. It's awesome, there is everything you…read morecan think of for a park. They have plenty for little kids and big kids. There's also a trail. An hour passed before we blinked! We will be back and highly recommend putting this on your list if you chase parks like our family!

Can I be a kid again??? Even as the parent, this park is 10x better than I imagined it to be. It is…read moreimportant to note that Triumph Park is not only a playground but also a recplex of sorts with multiple ball fields, small lake with a fishing dock, and walking trails. But I am am here to talk about the playground portion because I was blow away! Everyone else must be as pleased and excited as I am because on a Friday evening the place was packed. Pulling up I was fearful I made the wrong choice seeing all of the cars and kiddos running around but there is so much to do on the playground and it is a large enough space that it still was enjoyable for my step daughter. I also want to note that my stepdaughter is upper elementary school age and parks are hit and miss given her size/age. Triumph Park playground is a HIT and reminds me of those expensive indoor obstacle parks you pay to go to - Did I mention this is a public park so it is FREE!? There is also ample parking since it is adjacent to the ball diamonds. One of my favorite parts is that the base (floor) of the playground is solid with a rubber mat or faux grass materials with padding underneath for a little cushion to protect your littles. Also no mess! - Who ever allowed sandbox/woodchip playgrounds anyways, yuck! I am not sure I can describe this next feature well but most of the structure is sort of built into the ground. The main portion is dug into a "hole" so the landscape itself is fun for the kids to run up and down, it is also lined with faux grass and cushion. (I told you I wouldn't describe that well, you will just have to go see it for yourself!). There is plenty of play spaces for little kids but the tall, tall slides for the big kids and towers to get to them are INSANE. I have never seen anything like it in a public, outdoor park. They also have really fun spins (literally) on a merry-go-round and teeter-totter, the kids really seemed loved these. I not sure how else to describe it other than I was extremely impressed. We will be visiting many times this summer and telling all of our friends!