EXPLORE: Fun in the sun

By Jeff Pitts

Whether you prefer to stay dry or get a little wet, fortune favors the tan. The following are a few area favorites for soaking up sunshine.

BIG CREEK BEACH AT BIG CREEK STATE PARK
8794 N.W. 125th Ave., Polk City
www.iowadnr.gov/Places-to-Go/State-Parks/Iowa-State-Parks/Big-Creek-State-Park
Hiking, fishing, boating and more, Big Creek Lake (near Saylorville Lake) offers something for everyone, including the largest beach in the state park system.

WAVELAND GOLF COURSE
4908 University Ave., Des Moines
www.golfwaveland.com
More than 40,000 rounds of golf get duffed at Waveland Golf Course annually. The 18-hole course offers ample slope, mature trees and well-wooded hillsides.

ADVENTURELAND AND ADVENTURE BAY
3200 Adventureland Drive, just off I-80 (Exit 142A) in Altoona
www.adventurelandresort.com
SURF’S UP! Spend the day in Iowa’s largest wave pool — 25,000 square feet — or enjoy “Gang Plank & Pirates’ Plummet,” a wrecked pirate ship-themed attraction with floating sea creatures, a lily pad obstacle course and swim-up kids “bar.” Or maybe “Shipwreck Shores,” a pool designed just for kids. If you’d rather stay dry, Adventureland offers many opportunities to scream your head off on its rollercoaster offerings: The Monster, Tornado or Outlaw.

JOHN AND MARY PAPPAJOHN SCULPTURE PARK
1330 Grand Ave., Des Moines
www.desmoinesartcenter.org/visit/pappajohn-sculpture-park
Two dozen eye-popping pieces of oversized artwork situated on 4-plus acres of urban greenspace and nestled neatly within the city’s urban hustle and bustle. The sculpture park has become one of Des Moines’ most popular places for people to hang out, hunker down, people watch, play hacky or gab with strangers. Located on the western portion of downtown. Admission to the park is free.
PS... A park “Exploration Guide” can be found here: www.desmoinesartcenter.org/webres/File/2019%20park%20exploration%20guide_website.pdf

GRAY’S LAKE PARK
2101 Fleur Drive, Des Moines, just south of downtown
www.dmgov.org/Departments/Parks
Paddleboarding, canoeing, kayaking, boating, plus a beach and maybe best of all is the ever-popular 1.9-mile walking loop — including a 1,400-foot-long pedestrian bridge. The amenities at Gray’s Lake add up to make it one of the city’s best-known and most-visited recreational hotspots.

RACCOON RIVER PARK
2500 Grand Ave., West Des Moines
www.wdm.iowa.gov/Home/Components/FacilityDirectory/FacilityDirectory/42/1433
The “crown jewel” of the West Des Moines Parks system, Raccoon River Park boasts more than 630 acres of recreation, along with several hundred acres of natural areas for wildlife, but it is Blue Heron Lake and its 500-foot beach that has sunbathers attending in droves.
FUN FACT: Waveland Golf Course is the oldest municipal golf course west of the Mississippi.

OUTSIDE THE BOX...

WATER TRAILS 
Row, row, row your boat, canoe or kayak — or just float downstream in an inner tube — central Iowa offers many ways to enjoy its Water Trails.  An Interactive Paddling Map can be accessed here: www.iowadnr.gov/Things-to-Do/Canoeing-Kayaking/Where-to-Paddle
DID YOU KNOW? NFL Quarterback Kurt Warner didn’t start while playing Division I-AA until he was a senior at the University of Northern Iowa. After that, Warner went undrafted and wound up playing indoor football for the Iowa Barnstormers while working a second job stocking shelves at a local grocery store. But when he finally earned his chance at the big time, he became a Hall of Famer, Warner was baptized in Gray’s Lake.