Cascade Falls Aquatic Center — Attraction in Ankeny

Update 7/23/25: drove 45 minutes one way to come bring my family here. Upon walking in, an announcement was made in the loud speaker that people could "only go around the lazy river 1x before being asked to wait a turn in a long line. I am unable to use diving boards and waterslides and the ONLY thing I can do is swim and float in the lazy river. I asked a staff member who looked like he was 14-15 if I would I be able to please utilize it solely as I am NOT capable of utilizing any of the slides or the diving boards. I was literally told "No, you'll have to wait in line." I was offered, nor given, ANY type of accommodations....AND TODAY WAS A INDEX HEAT WAVE DAY! I should not have to pay $10 to be severely restricted on my access to the only thing that I am capable of utilizing at this facility. They allowed the children to utilize it BEFORE the handicap, disabled and elderly...making us stand in line while all the teenagers an older kids were able to utilize any part of the facility at any time. This was highly unfair. Not only did it waste our gas but it wasted our time. We ended up having to drive all the way back to Nevada and just utilized the city pool there where we were allowed to bring in our food and drinks.... Unlike this location. If you're not going to allow outside food or drinks, I recommend getting BETTER choices & portion sizes. I also recommend that the NEXT TIME a situation like this happens....the elderly, disabled, handicapped and any other adult with limited Mobility or MEDICAL RESTRICTIONS be given first priority to "The lazy River" as the children and teenagers are capable of utilizing the rest of the park, unlike some....

Place is very fun with kids....foods a bit on the skimpy side so I recommend not buying food there. Also, if you are a larger person OVER 300lbs...you are limited on what you can do there as a few of the rides have weight limits. The lazy river was pretty cool...except for the crowds upon crowds of kids plowing into your tube trying to tip you over or ramming up your backside. All in all, it was ok....definitely better than Furman Aquatics Center in...

Not very happy. But before I complain, let me give you some back story: About a month ago, I was watching 4 of my nieces and nephews while my sister was out of town. We went to this pool for the first time, all 3 of the olders passed the swim test (also all over the height requirement), and we went double tubed down the green and blue slides with the youngest (age 5) multiple times. Not one word was said to us the entire 4 hours we were there about the youngest’s height. We assumed the height requirement sign must be for single riders and children could go with parents/adults. We actually had so much fun we decided to go back with said sister and her 4 kids PLUS our 2 boys (Ages 11 & 14). I watched ALL the kids(aside from the little 5yr old) do the swim test and pass. With everyone (but the little again 5 yr old) being able to roam and swim freely throughout the park, we enjoyed it from 12:30-3:30! My niece went on the tube slides with her mom multiple times, with multiple lifeguard changes, and again, no word on height at all. Come 3:30 and of course she wanted to do the slide again. So her and her mom went up with the double tube and the lifeguard that was up there told them “NO! That she was too short,” that she couldn’t even let her go down one last time and made them walk all the way back down the stairs. I’m not against following rules. If there is a height requirement then there is a height requirement. SO, YOU NEED TO TRAIN ALL YOUR LIFEGUARDS TO NOT LET THE LITTLES DOWN THE SLIDE THEN!!! Because I tell you what, its a lot easier as a parent to tell a child they are not big enough for something from the get go than to spend a total of 7 hours doing slides and then told at the last minute you can’t. If you took the time to read all this, I thank you!! Just be PRE WARNED: if you go there, the rules may or may not apply to you based...

The temps today demanded we head from Prairie City to Ankeny to our favorite water park. We didn't anticipate any pop up storms though. It was 100 degrees and sunny when we arrived. Waited in line for about 15 minutes, were told the pool was evacuated due to lightning and it'd be a 30 minute wait to re-enter. So, we paid $24 thinking that was perfect time to get changed, find a spot for our things and they'd let us in the water. No. Every 10 minutes the delay restarted due to lightning, pushing the time to nearly 4pm before "possible" re-entry of the water. So, I went to management and asked about a refund. Kirsten(I hope I spelled that correctly) and Rachel in the office were being bombarded with rude mothers demanding a full refund of cash. Apparently they do not give out cash refunds. They give you a certificate to come back (bummer, but it's better than nothing and we'll always come back). Thankfully both could tell we, among MANY others, hadn't even stepped in the water (except for the showers) and gave us our pass to return on a better day. I do think they need to better explain to the customers that continued to pay and enter, that while it was a 30 minute wait, the time could keep resetting with each strike. Had we known this prior to paying and walking in, we would have went home and saved the money. We understand they can't predict the weather nor break safety rules, but better explanation of the delays would have saved us heat exhaustion, a whining 8 year old and gas $. Thanks Kirsten and Rachel for giving us our pass to return. We really appreciate it.

Aside from this specific incident, we highly recommend Cascade Falls! It's a very fun water park and the staff are friendly and make sure everyone is being safe. The water slides are our favorite thing...