Craigslist Farm and Garden Des Moines

Des Moines, Iowa: Information technology’south not a tropical getaway or major city, but this metro area of over 645,000 people is a unique jewel in the Corn Belt, where you’ll notice a plethora of activities, art, dining, and shopping you won’t go anywhere else.

If yous’ve never been before, you’ll desire to consider these interesting things to do and see, plus places to grab a seize with teeth, snag some photos, and have a shopping spree.

Things To Exercise In Des Moines

Visit The Bare Park Zoo

Blank Park Zoo, located in downtown Des Moines, is a wonderful place to kick off your time in Des Moines. With over 25 acres of country, the zoo, which opened in 1966, offers a range of animal experiences yous’ll enjoy, including the Australian Take chances, where you lot can see alive koalas and kangaroos, a rare treat exterior of the land down under.

The zoo features a free-range aviary and exhibits where yous can feed koi fish, parakeets, and giraffes, or even take a camel ride. You volition see elephants, zebras, otter, rhinos, gibbons, tigers, and more.

Spend a few hours at the zoo viewing the critters, having an animal encounter or two, and grabbing a snack or meal at the Safari Grill or Macaw Cafe.

You lot tin can visit the zoo between nine a.m. and v p.m. Admission for adults is $14 and children’due south admission is $8.

Traverse The High Trestle Trail

The High Trestle Trail is a decommissioned railroad runway, repurposed for pedestrians, cyclists, and rollerbladers. The trail itself stretches for 25 miles and winds its way through four counties. The High Trestle offers shaded and open areas, varied terrain, and diverse views along the 25-mile road.

The trail features a 130-foot trestle trail bridge from which it gets its proper name. The bridge is i of the longest of its type in the earth and was named by the BBC as one of the world’s 8 amazing footbridges. If you come at the right time, you can run into the span lit up at dark.

The High Trestle Trail offers yous a unique mode to experience Des Moines and, if you’re up for the full day, to meander on through 4 additional towns. There’south no admission fee and the park is open year-round. Multiple access points allow trail-goers to enter and end off at Ankeny, Madrid, Sheldahl, Slater, and Woodward, as well.

Get Cultured At The Des Moines Art Center

The Des Moines Art Center first opened its doors in 1948. Since then, the fine art deco-way building has provided visitors with a unique art experience through its permanent collections featuring Rodin and Matisse, too as the rotating exhibitions of collections from the region.

The museum likewise boasts a stunning ornamental rose garden that features a unique collection of sculptures. You’ll probably desire ii to three hours to enjoy the full experience of the museum and gardens.

The Des Moines Art Eye is an admission-complimentary activity. Cheque the website for hours and special events.

Unwind At Smash Park

If y’all’re feeling social, head to Smash Park for a one-of-a-kind experience. This unique and interactive venue is basically a backyard party year-round, except yous don’t take to exercise any cleanup.

Smash Park has Iowa’south largest patio and contains over 40 HD televisions for those who want to kicking dorsum and relax. If y’all’d rather exist the player, they offer:

• Pickleball courts
• Shuffleboard courts
• Bocce ball
• Cornhole
• Ping pong
• Giant Connect Four
• Giant Jenga
• Yard Dice
• Beer Pong
• Golden Tee
• Foosball
• Lath Games

Nail Park is an all-in-one sort of joint, featuring backyard foods, mitt-crafted cocktails, over fifty beers, and premium wines and spirits. Angus burgers, fire-roasted rotisserie chicken, and more than make this a peachy place for a group on a friends’ getaway or family outing.

Smash Park opens at 8 a.thousand. daily and is open late, with varying hours each night. Fees vary by action, so head to the website for more than info.

Places To Eat In Des Moines

Lucca

If yous’re looking for a cute temper for an upscale dining feel later a long twenty-four hours of store and play, y’all’ll want to visit Lucca, a luxurious Italian restaurant. The dining expanse features the building’s original exposed brick, which brings additional warmth to the already cozy restaurant.

Their indulgent card includes choices ranging from popular pastas like the Al Forno and Amatriciana to multi-course dinners featuring a range of choices like shrimp ceviche, tater bacon soup, pork mole, and eggplant marinara.

They’re open up for lunch and dinner and offer both gluten-gratuitous and vegetarian options.

Y’all can view the total carte du jour online or phone call to make reservations.

Skip’s

Skip’due south has been serving their upscale food and handcrafted cocktails in Des Moines since 1981. They offer a variety of American classics anyone can capeesh and have some of the best service in town. According to travelers and locals alike, the prices are reasonable, the service prompt, and the nutrient succulent.

Their carte features unique delights like pecan encrusted chicken strips and jalapeno shrimp appetizers. Their e’er-popular craven marsala makes the lunch carte, and you tin can try the Steak de Burgo if y’all go for dinner.

Skip’s is open for lunch and dinner, save for Sunday when they are airtight.

Flying Mango

Featured on Guy Fieri’s
Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives
in Oct 2015 and selected by Guy for Triple D Nation in December 2018, Flight Mango is a tasty charcoal-broil and Caribbean food joint with heart.

Flight Mango grills or smokes the vast bulk of its fare, earning the eating place a statewide reputation for exceptionally deliciously cuisine. The restaurant is owned past husband-and-wife squad Michael Wedeking and Suzanne Van Englehoven. They purposefully aim to arts and crafts a memorable meal for each guest who visits their Des Moines restaurant.

You can try dishes similar the Jenny Salad with brisket and cornbread, the Chicken Creole, or smoked pork tenderloin. If you’re after a dinner inspired by the Deep S, the Redneck Surf-due north-Turf and Louisiana Platter will get you there.

Flying Mango has dinner hours Tuesday to Thursday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.one thousand. and Fri and Saturday from five to 10 p.k. Lunch and dinners on other nights are available for individual parties only.

Harbinger

For a different twist on dining, visit Straw. The Asian-influenced eatery — owned by Joe Tripp, a 3-fourth dimension James Beard Award Semifinalist for All-time Chef: Midwest, and Rae Doyle, the front of house manager and sommelier — blends fresh farm produce with seasonal flavors to create unique twists on well-known Asian dishes similar steamed buns, mochi, and chawanmushi.

If you want to indulge in a full dining experience hither, y’all can create your own v-grade meal from a select menu, or try the chef’s pre-selected tasting menu. Both meals include wine pairings and vegetable-forward plates that will leave yous satisfied.

Straw is open up for dinner starting at 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sat. Tip: If anything includes the XO sauce, you don’t want to miss it.

West Stop Architectural Salvage

If you lot’re dying for some stunning rustic furniture and home accessories, you’ll want to drib into West Stop. They source their inventory from New York, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Chicago, England, and the Eye East to curate their unique and intriguing collection of classically highly-seasoned items.

Tin can panels, stained glass windows, aged furniture, and more than tin can be establish here, and they can ship items domicile for y’all if you lot discover something you simply have to accept but tin’t manage to transport.

Or, if you lot’re looking for something modest and unique to bring home as a gift, they have interesting mementos like jewelry fabricated from old typewriter keys and custom pieces crafted from odds and ends discovered in their curation process.

Raygun

If you enjoy an empowering shopping experience, you’ll want to visit this quirky Des Moines store. Raygun offers a range of collections — tumblers, mugs, magnets, stickers, t-shirts, and more than — and items that promote the rights of pretty much everyone in our nation.

The shop started when Iowa college graduate discovered he didn’t fit the mold for near jobs and grew into a multi-location shop that promotes the rights of women, public education, the LGBTQ+ community, cyclists, “snowflakes,” the environment, and pretty much everything else that’s marginalized and under-represented.

Leona Ruddy

Leona Cerise is a stunning jewelry shop where you can find locally crafted pieces and nationally celebrated collections from brands seen everywhere elegant, including the ruddy carpet. Owner Ellen Martinson named the store for her 2 grandmothers, Leona and Ruby. These women introduced her to patent leather handbags, high heels, and jewelry. Their love of beauty helped inspire Ellen’s commitment to compassion, humor, and generosity in all that she does — including managing her beautiful Des Moines store.