$6/person and I believe the sign said under 14 free, so that is an amazing deal for some summer…read morefun! This was my first time at the pools here and I came early Sunday morning for water walking in the lazy river. I was surprised the current was on because it looked like people were mostly hopping along with the current. But after I got in, I could tell this would be a fun workout. And after I walked for about 90 minutes, my legs were like jelly getting used to land again and my back was a little sore. Fun activity to do with a friend so I will be back!

I have never had a good experience at this pool. Last summer my son was going to go off the diving…read moreboard with float things on but we were told no because they would actually drag my kid under and make him drown. IDIOTIC! Thats the complete opposite of what float things do! I asked to speak to a manager and asked where on their "pool rules" does it states that. They had no answer. I also said that we have been to other pools and jumped off the diving boards with float things on and their only response was "well sorry that's just our rule here" and my response was where does it say anything about that. Today was the WORST! Within 5 minutes of being there we got yelled at for snorkels. Not a big deal we put them away. Then, my husband got yelled at for wearing his sunglasses down the slide at age 35. Ridiculous! Then, going around the lazy river my son wanted to get out and hopped out of his tube.. instead of lifting him out of the water immediately we waited we walked to the exit and got yelled at for getting off the tube even though he was tall enough to be in the area. The worst part was my nephew jumped in to the 3ft 10in area and a lifeguard jumped in afterwards. The manage had to come scold us for doing absolutely NOTHING. We did nothing wrong. The lifeguard said she thought he was "too little" and he made her nervous so she jumped in. Funny thing was the same lifeguard DID NOT jump in nor 2 others to actually save a little boy who was struggling and I was the one to swoop in and save him. The manage had to tell me that the lifeguards are trained and that I need to trust them in which I said okay thank you I will be with my nephew and he is actually plenty tall to be in the area... she continued to preach at me in a very demeaning way. I said the matter did not need to be discussed more and walked away knowing that my nephew was in tears because of how they were treating us. Instead of respecting me she went to all her 17 year old friends and talked about me. My nephew sat for over an hour SCARED to get in the water because of how awful we were treated. We will NEVER go back and I advice you DO NOT go to Clive Aquatic Center - unless you want to get yelled at by a bunch of teenagers.

My family got season passes for Cascade Falls last summer. These passes were worth every penny,…read morebecause this place is an all-day activity that my kids never got tired of. The entire facility is kept very clean, and all of the lifeguards are super friendly. My girls both took Red Cross swimming lessons here, which added to our level of comfort with all the staff. My eldest daughter got dubbed "Junior Life Guard" on account of her tendency to literally shadow the lifeguards around the park. Every single one of the guards were so nice and patient with her, and never made her feel like she was bothering them. There is ample space to spread out, with plenty of tables, chairs, lawn area, etc. so that even when there are tons of people, there is still room to move around have plenty of personal space. The snack bar is well-stocked and fills in the gaps when picnic lunch isn't enough. All of the water slides are a good time! You can go bare, with a single or a double tube. The boogie board wave maker is super fun to hang by and watch, but not so fun to actually do if you aren't coordinated or familiar with that kind of force. Despite growing up on the beach, this thing kicked.my.butt, and more than a handful of people got to see MY butt when I totally wiped out on it. If you feel cool, try this thing out...you may just need to be taken down a notch or ten. The kids play area is laid out in such a way that parents have a clear view of the entire space, which is SO nice when you've got multiple kids to keep an eye on! I love this place and will definitely be back again this summer!

The waterpark itself is a good place but the staff there suck. The staff there suck because this…read moreone life guard decided to have a problem with me and management placed a boundary on that specific life guard even though she started the accusation of me staring at her when I was in a line full of other people on the flow rider. When I asked one of the managers if I could explain my side of the story she rudely said "no" and so I said "ok, have a good day." And complained to a different manager of the park about that life guard. The rules they have there are also very dumb like you can't butt bomb off the diving boards you can't flip into a dive or if you accidentally flip in the toilet bowl slide they'll get onto you about it. The same life guard that accused of staring at me she's also grumpy all the time and shows attitude while others even if they're having a bad day they're still polite. Again the managers most of them are rude especially this manager that wears a white head band or a head band in general. As I said this place is good I've been there since I was little and is my child hood waterpark but this year I'm not sure who picked the managers or life guards but they sucked which made the park not fun anymore unless there are people who are a similar age range or you decide to go with other friends.

A lot of fun for whole the family. Water slides are a lot of fun. Very clean. Lots of lifeguards.read more

Awesome aquatic center on the west side that might be overlooked…read more Came Out on a Thursday afternoon 1:00pm and stayed till 4:00 and it was not packed!!! Great size pool for young kids and then transitions to a deeper pool in the middle. I enjoyed this pool as it was not that large as Valley View near Jordan Creek. No lazy River. Three giant slides are the highlight. Diving board and a drop slide. Overall it was a cool pool and highly recommend visiting if you want a smaller setting.

This park is pretty alright. The playground is a naturescape arrangement, and there's a large…read morewater fountain too. There's a mini suspension bridge, tiny tunnels, a sand pit, rocks to climb, good trails for scooters and skateboards, a covered picnic shelter and relatively clean bathrooms. The only thing I wasn't so stoked about was that in order to get to the swing set, you have to walk a different sidewalk that is parallel to Douglas. That could create a problem if you've got multiple kids and have to keep an eye on all of them.

Great small park! This was the perfect spot for our picnic today. When we stopped by there was…read moreplenty of parking with over 2 dozen stalls. They had 6 covered tables, 4 trash cans, a double charcoal grill, water fountain and, porta potty. The play area was fun for the boys. 4 different slides, 4 swings, and a sand digger provided plenty of options to burn off some energy. Come check it out if you're near by.

This is the park commonly called the froggy park. It's a fun park with a play area for kids with…read moremultiple slides and other objects for kids to climb on. It has a shelter for parties and a big wide open field for sports like soccer games. There is a creek that runs through the park and has a couple bridges over it. Deer and ducks are commonly seen in the creek area. The park has multiple trails that connect with other trails that go throughout the NW side.

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.

This is such a beautiful park and it's huge!!! My friend's daughter absolutely loved the playground…read moreand the adults loved the green space and the picnic areas. There are also nice basketball courts! It's located very conveniently by the dog park and there is plenty of parking. There is a hidden gem of this park, the memorial Plaza. Super neat and beautiful. This is such an amazing park and it will be great to bring my little one here to play when he gets big enough!

Fun park for the kids to play! Plenty of space to run around. Basketball and soccer are enjoyable…read moretoo! Bring a ball. Downside, there's no restroom.

This is not a business but it is a highlight of Des Moines!!Wow this is a mega park!!!…read more This specific playground area is extremely large for your typical park. The only playground I've ever seen with canopies to provide shade. (My favorite part of the play equipment) I love the wheelchair access to the playground equipment too. We visited on a Tuesday afternoon and there was a large school bus full of kids. There was PLENTY of room to play and run for many families including my own! I wasn't as disappointed realizing how much room there was for all the kids to play. I love there are hiking trails within the woods. One was closed due to the wetness of the trail. Another trail was beyond the soap box derby track and was open. Over all it was a very pleasant visit and i really enjoy this park! This park is a highlight to the south side of Des Moines!

Being from out of town, I'm always unsure when I look for a park. You never really know what you're…read moregetting in to. This park, however, is one of the good ones. It's clean, there is a lot for the kids to do, and even though it was packed there was still enough room for my 9 y/o and 1.5 y/o to play. The people we met were nice and it seemed everyone was looking out for each other. That's hard to find at a park, so I appreciated it. There was also a lovely trail to walk if you're tired of the playground. Oh, and there was a less busy playground across the street. While it wasn't as new as this one, it was still a good place. There are bathrooms with water fountains and porta-johns as well.