American Legion Park — Attraction in West Des Moines

This park is a hidden gem. In the summer, the splash pad has shade from all the trees, its self operated meaning an adult pushes the button and the water squirts for approx 15 minutes, then shuts off again. There is a covered shelter area, softball diamond, they just put in an AMAZING skate park that is full of kids and adults all different levels skating and doing tricks. It's fun to just go sit and watch. They have a tennis court, but it needs some love. I wish they would resurface it and add some Pickleball lines. It also has a basketball court, a walking path, and a big grassy area for dogs to chase balls (leashed if course, or at least...

A playground, water feature, softball field, basketball hoops and tennis court manage to share space with a parking lot and bathrooms without feeling cramped at all. In fact, this is one of the most pleasant open community spaces in Des Moines in spite of its small size. I love walking over from 5th Street to eat lunch in the shade of one of the many venerable old trees, enjoying the sun and relaxing in the well-kept grass. Treat yourself to some quiet time in one of the hidden gems of...

My kids love it here. The splash pad is always a big hit. There's not much shade around the splash pad and kids do a good job of experimenting with the water pressure to soak adults sitting on the benches, so just bring sunscreen and expect to get wet if you're anywhere near it. The playground is nice too. The bathrooms are serviceable and I've always found them to be cleaner than most public parks. Overall, we've always had good...