Walker Johnston Park — Attraction in Urbandale

For the fishermen: it's a standard pond for a family day out; bluegill, largemouth bass, and channel catfish. I don't think I need to tell you how to catch bluegill, but the bass and catfish are harder to pull in, but they're in there. I've only seen people catch bass with minnows, and personally I've never seen anyone else catch catfish, however I have pulled a 7 lbs, 23 inch channel catfish out of the water using blue gill cut-bait I caught earlier in the day. Bluegill are under the dock and around the shores (duh), bass are gonna be around the bluegill but just a little further out, and for catfish try working it around the dock, or the middle of the lake. This isn't a trophy fish pond, but it's kinda cool to pull out a decent size fish while everyone else is looking at you in awe. It's a hard pond to fish, but it makes catching bass or catfish super fun when you have a big one on the end of your line. Good luck and I hope I made your day a little easier. P.S. if you're going frogging, this is a decent place for it, i would recommend 8:00 pm to...

This review is specifically for the skate park......the rest of the park is actually very nice. While my 12 yr old son prefers to skateboard, ALL of his friends ride scooters (as do most young kids these days). While scooters are technically not allowed at this park, I've seen them used there EVERY time we've ever gone.

The last time we were there (& apparently this happens quite often), one of the older skateboarders called the police on several young kids (8-12) using scooters who were then forced to leave the park. Its truly sad that instead of simply educating these kids on how to use the skate park appropriately, the skaters just call the cops to kick them out & caused a scene with one of the parents. My son has no desire to skate there anymore since the police are likely to show up & none of his scooter friends can join us. The city needs to realize that times have changed and the rules need to be updated to allow more kids to use the park (like the newer/better skate parks in Ankeny...

This is a wonderful local park, with tennis courts, a softball/hardball complex, a skate park area, and walking trails for miles, and more I'm sure; we didn't cover the whole grounds. Not to mention Pokemon GO! Many gyms, and countless dozens of pokestops make this a great gathering place, much like the sculpture park downtown. Within an hour I had filled my bag, and captured over 100 pokemon, just walking around the park. I haven't played since before you could trade; so it was impressive to see 30+ people teaming up to take on a raid; all while practicing safe social distancing! The park is beautiful, well maintained, and lively; with all the ammenities, like restrooms, trash receptacles, and water fountains (I see alot of parks without any water...). I must say we were definitely awed by our first visit here; the play areas are clean, and structurally sound. This park is full of life, positive vibes, beautiful scenery, and...