Excellent our selection - wow! This is the place for pies and fresh apples. Friendly and helpful…read morestaff. Easy parking.

Located in town. I didn't do any of the rides, but only entered market area for baked goods…read more Front of the house pumpkins for sale by weight. Plenty of pies, donuts, caramel apples and etc for purchase. 6 pack of apple cinnamon donuts will run you $7. I also picked up single serving baked apple oatmeal. Not very large facility, but enough parking spots.

Came here for the Friday at Farm and had a great time! The music was not too loud and enjoyable,…read morethere is plenty of room for seating and shade leaves. There was a nice little farmers market and a few food vendors to choose from. I will definitely be going back. Relaxing and fun for all ages

We went there for Fridays at the Farm. But unfortunately out of the 150 people there none of the…read morevendors and 145 of the patrons did not wear masks. We will not be back to this COVID-19 petri dish. Because I would prefer to stay alive.

This was the highlight of our trip. If you're in the area please visit this alpaca farm. There is…read moreno cost to visit, but they do accept donations and they have a shop that they sell alpaca related goods. My family loved visiting and petting and feeding all the alpacas. The owner is very responsive on Ig so if you have any questions feel free to shoot him a message.

Such a neat place to get out in nature and get to hang out with some amazing animals. The…read moreowners/staff make you feel welcome and answer any and all questions you may have and give you a great history of the animals. The gift store is quaint and affordable. Absolutely a must visit if you're near the Des Moines area

I was able to attend a small event recently at Speckled Hen Farm encompassing Speckled Hen and a…read morecouple of businesses they closely partner with. Lone Oaks Farms and Covered Bridges Winery. Until a few days ago I'd never heard of Speckled Hen Farm. Kris was our host at Speckled Hen along with Luann from Lone Oaks and Kevin from Covered Bridges winery. I guess they are kind of little hidden gems in nearby Madison country... The Speckled Hen store features a lot of fun, farm-inspired merchandise, handmade baked goods and artisan bread, farm fresh eggs, local honey, gourmet food products, and fresh seasonal produce. Kris and Luann were wonderful hosts filling us in on their history, how they select the people they bring into their businesses as vendors and for their events. And setting up an al fresco table of some small plates for us...! To Speckled Hen Farm it was a 32 min drive from where I live in Clive. A trip to the Northern part of Ankeny or to the South side can take me just as long...so it's really not far away at all and it's a nice drive. If you're like me and you enjoy a little bit of a day trip to find new things... It's worth the short drive from the metro! Check out upcoming events at Speckled Hen on their Facebook page and site (as well as those for Lone Oaks and Covered Bridges Winery on their respective pages). Everything from scratch pizza nights with dough handmade by Kris and cooked on the open pizza ovens in the patio area behind the store... Live music, prairie walks, photography workshops, etc. And if you have friends coming into town Speckled Hen also has a four bed two bath airbnb on site. The Roost! https://www.speckledhenfarmsiowa.com/ https://www.facebook.com/peacelovechickens

This property is absolutely beautiful! A hidden gem in Winterset Iowa. I got invited out through…read moreYelp & I'm so happy we went! The little farm shop had so many fun funky finds to choose from. We took home a homemade dip mix, garlic & chive! We can't wait to try it. This place has so many events to fill your summer bucket list. Be sure to check out their website! The owners were so sweet & informational. Spend an afternoon here wine tasting & you will have a weekend well spent.

I visited Rose Farm due to their partnership with the Polk County Master Gardeners. Just a short…read moredrive south of Des Moines, it's convenient to visit. I was able to get a peek at the flowers available for cut flower buckets. They have indoor meeting space including a kitchen area. I will definitely watch for events and classes.

What a charming place. I had never been out here before. I went for a cooking class. There was…read morea cute shopping area when you entered the building. The coffee that were for sale smelled delicious. I wish I had planned on being home that week, if so I would have purchased one of the beautiful flower bouquets. The woman that greeted us offered us her family lemonade, which was a family recipe (OMG! It was amazing!) I took a quick walk around the property before the cooking class. There was a chicken coup as well as chickens roaming around. A beautiful dog was hanging around outside as well a friendly cat. I definitely will come back out for another event

2026 Edition! The weather truly pulled through this year! I also tried lots of new items. Here's…read moresome of what I got at the Iowa state fair: * All-American scrambled egg roll [NEW] * Ultimate bacon-brisket Mac & cheese donut [NEW] * Ultimate minneapple pie [NEW] * Chopped Italian ham hoagie * Garlic dill cheese curds [NEW] Not pictured: bucket of cookies :) My favorite new food item was definitely the bacon brisket mac and cheese donut!

First time at the Iowa State Fair! As a typical Minnesota State Fair goer, I was trying to keep my…read moreexpectations low. Overall, I had a great day and a ton of fun!! Definitely bring a reusable water and a handheld fan. It's hot. I loved that there were so many places to refill our water bottles. We got there via the free parking ramp in Des Moines on Center and 7th then took the $3 round trip DART bus which worked like a charm. Super easy to navigate. We were dropped off at Gate 10 then worked counterclockwise around the fair. The only thing I wasn't prepared for was how many golf carts/cars would be on the roads at the fair. I kept feeling like I was going to get hit. My favorite food by far was the hot beef sundae ($10) from Cattleman's Beef Quarters. Can't go wrong with hot beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, and cheese. We got a delicious donut ($5) outside the swine barn then saw the biggest pig I've ever seen in my life -- 1,296 lbs! We saw a sheep sheering contest in the sheep barn, then wandered around the fair up to the agriculture building for a (FREE) hard boiled egg on a stick and the butter cow. We cooled off in the Culture Center and saw the amazing photography and fine art submissions. They have nice bathrooms in that building. Then we got the deep fried pb&j ($10 each, grape was better than strawberry) which were another favorite of the day. One of my other food highlights were the cheese curds from Brad and Harry's ($8). Same vibe as the mouth trap cheese curds in MN. Delicious and a fair food staple. Some foods that did not wow me: The corn brats ($8) which are like corn dogs but with brats instead of hotdogs. My hopes for these were too high. They were fine. Nothing beats a pronto pup. The Minneapple Pie ($14). Everyone in Iowa was raving about it. It was fine, not worth the money in my opinion. Barksdale's cup of cookies ($5). Not good. Would not get again.

Sweet corn was fresh, sweet and tender. The best I've had in a long time. Peaches were juicy and…read moresweet as well as the cantaloupe. The tomatoes were also very tasty. Definitely recommend going there even if it is a long drive for you. Took me about 25 minutes to get there. Worth it.

We were staying in the Des Moines area and looking to kill some time before heading to the theatre…read moreon a Saturday, and a quick Google search brought us to Painting with a Twist. We were intrigued by the idea of painting and pouring a candle, even though we aren't artistic by any means and felt a bit out of our element. We were "walk-ins" and when we arrived, they set us up with paints and materials, and showed us the books to choose a design with step-by-step instructions. Beverages were available for purchase - we had cans of soda (2 for $3, very reasonable!). The vibe is creative and welcoming, and the staff are friendly, encouraging, and make you feel artistic even if you're not. There's space for both scheduled sessions and walk-ins, as well as painting classes (one started after we arrived). Everything felt very organized and cohesive. Once we finished our paintings, a staff member guided us through pouring our candles - we even mixed scents, and they smelled amazing! After pouring, we left and returned about two hours later to pick up our finished candles. We had a fantastic time. This was a fun, creative, and inexpensive experience - just $63 total for the two of us to each paint and pour a scented candle, plus two beverages. Highly recommend! Disclaimer: I said I'm not an artist, so go easy on me when you see my pics! :-)

Great experience! Had a blast for a birthday party…read more They let us bring in food. They offer drinks! Super fun atmosphere. Staff was lovely. Would definitely go back with friends!