# A Visit to Des Moines **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 14, 2015, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-visit-to-des-moines/720043 "2015-05-14T16:58:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Greenjeans](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.greenjeans/32/551_2.png) [@Mr.Greenjeans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Greenjeans)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-visit-to-des-moines/720043/1 "2015-05-14T16:58:16Z")
Travelling for another gymnastics meet for Miss Greenjeans. This time…it’s Des Moines, Iowa. We don’t have a lot of free time. Likely Friday evening, Saturday afternoon and evening, and Sunday evening. I have no idea what to do for fun there. The Field of Dreams seems too far for a quick trip. TripAdvisor told me about the State Capitol and the Sculpture Park. Any other suggestion from someone who knows Des Moines? If you know of activities or restaurants, please share. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Greenjeans](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.greenjeans/32/551_2.png) [@Mr.Greenjeans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Greenjeans)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-visit-to-des-moines/720043/2 "2015-05-15T09:42:02Z")
Sigh…no replies. That’s what I was afraid of. Maybe I’ll just announce my presidential campaign. ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-visit-to-des-moines/720043/3 "2015-05-15T13:23:34Z")
Des Moines has a well regarded [zoo](http://www.blankparkzoo.com/) [Adventureland](https://www.adventurelandpark.com/) is a theme park in Altoona, outside of Des Moines Other ideas [here](http://www.catchdesmoines.com/things-to-do/). ---
**Author:** ![CalBak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/258eb7/32.png) [@CalBak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalBak)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-visit-to-des-moines/720043/4 "2015-05-15T14:06:36Z")
The East Village is a nice little part of downtown that has some good casual dining like Tacopocalypse and Zombie Burger+Drink Lab as well as bookstores, coffee shops, and shopping. The entire metro are has a plethora of walking/hiking/bike trails. Downtown has Grey’s Lake and to the West side of town there’s Browns Wood nature preserve if you would like a somewhat moderate hike. There’s the farmers market on Saturday and it’s only about 8 blocks from Hy-Vee Hall on Court Ave. [http://www.downtowndesmoines.com/events](http://www.downtowndesmoines.com/events) [http://eastvillagedesmoines.com/](http://eastvillagedesmoines.com/) Hope that helps a little and have fun! ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-visit-to-des-moines/720043/5 "2015-05-15T16:23:05Z")
Ames, Iowa (45-ish minutes north of Des Moines) is the home to Iowa State University…second largest university in Iowa. As a grad of the University of Iowa, I’m required to state that ISU sucks. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-visit-to-des-moines/720043/6 "2015-05-15T17:55:00Z")
There’s Living History Farms: > [@](#): > > Living History Farms is a 500-acre open air museum located in Urbandale, Iowa. The museum’s mission is to educate visitors and demonstrate the past 300 years of Iowa’s agricultural history. > **[Living History Farms](https://www.lhf.org/)** > > Explore Iowa's rich history of transforming the Midwest through farming, settlements, & more. Our interactive farm sites walk you through 300 years of history. ---
**Author:** ![CalBak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/258eb7/32.png) [@CalBak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalBak)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-visit-to-des-moines/720043/7 "2015-05-15T18:56:27Z")
I forgot to put a disclaimer on my first post. The East Village is brimming with hipsters. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2015, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-visit-to-des-moines/720043/8 "2015-05-16T01:26:21Z")
I haven’t been to Des Moines in years, but I used to spend three days a week working there when my company was establishing a branch office. My favorite Italian place looks like it is still open: [Noah’s Ark, 2400 Ingersoll Street](http://www.yelp.com/biz/noahs-ark-ristorante-and-fireside-lounge-des-moines)