Brown's Woods — Attraction in West Des Moines

Around the year 2013 I went on a late evening walk with the girl I was dating (it didn’t work out but that’s a different story). We did NOT spend enough time looking at the map. 20 minutes into the walk it started to get dark. After 30 it was black. We did not have a flashlight and phones then didn’t have great lights.

As we got to the far section of the trail, it started to get muddy. We were jumping around avoiding the puddles. Rubbing against bushes. Walking into spider webs. Eventually we had to accept that we weren’t going to keep our shoes clean. And the mosquitos were as unbearable as you can imagine on a summer night in a muddy forest. I was itching for a week afterwards.

This was our first visit to the park. The trail wasn’t marked as well as it is now. We were backtracking, second guessing ourselves, desperate to get out of the mud. Desperate to stop the biting. It was a nightmare.

We eventually got back to the car an hour and a half later than we planned. We were dirty, sticky, itchy, and hungry because we HAD NOT ATE DINNER YET. We were relieved it was over but annoyed at the entire situation.

It didn’t work out between us but I...

Walked here for ages but it has definitely become more popular in the past 3 years, which is interesting. They now have a little extra parking lot that used to be off limits down the road from the main lot. Probably due to its increased popularity. One reason this has been a go to for me is it’s not for bicycling & no offense to bikers, but walking/hiking on trails with bikers is super annoying to me. Des Moines is bike-crazy, and caters to them heavily, but I am an on foot fan, so it’s nice to find a place just for hiking. It’s a beautiful place with lots of trails to choose from—1 mile, 2mile, 3 mile. It’s very buggy so bring bug spray. And in the low spots it gets very swampy & muddy if there’s been any rain recently. I’ve seen wild turkeys, deer, Cooper’s hawk, a nesting baby vulture & parent, all the fun migrating birds —it’s great for bird watching. Definitely a fun...

Who knew? I have been to the Des Moines area Manu times and have hiked at many state and local parks. I never knew this existed until a few days ago. This place offers over 484 acres of forested trails. Many trails are near streams. Quiet and peaceful. Nice big parking area. Plenty of handicapped spaces available. Pit toilets on site. This preserve is named after a local lawyer who acquired tracts of land and gave it to the state to be used for places like this. What foresight! This place is ideal for families or by yourself. Deer and other wildlife can be seen or heard. On my exit I hear an owl. Very nice. This place looked clean and safe. Very scenic. It offers access to nearby Racoon River. I think there was a drinking fountain there too. In my opinion this place has to be seen to believe. Very...