Parks Area Parks
HP Community Action Association
Linda's Street Party 2006 Cars
Parks Area? Our Parks Area contains five parks -- in alphabetical order Birdland, McHenry, Prospect, Riverview, and Union. All fall along the Des Moines River channel. Two are oxbows -- former portions of the Des Moines River channel.
Birdland Park. Birdland Park easily qualifies as the largest. It abuts the river from Sixth Avenue east to Pennsylvania Avenue. You might have difficulty finding a formal sign other than this one on their tennis court.. So, we'll start with the western-most portion -- the tennis courts and water recreation area (like a pool).
Tennis. Dozens of tennis courts comprise the complex. Lotsa places to lose your balls. We found two barely used ones while walking around the perimeter. An excellent lighting system enables racquet whackers to play way late.
Baseball and Soccer. The complex contains a regulation baseball diamond. Evening games are played under the halide lights. If you pay to watch, you can sit in the bleachers. Too cheap to pay? Sit on the berm that separates the diamond from the river. Behind the diamond and hard to see, you'll find a soccer field.
Swimming Pool. Not enough vitamin D in your diet? Tan
your toes and roast your brains at poolside.
Water Slide. Or run up the stairs and slide down the curly water slide. Make a big splash and soak your friends.
Diving Platforms. Or, if you're feeling brave, cannonball off one of the high-diving platforms. Everybody should try it once. That's the Second Avenue bridge in the background.
Longest Park. Drive along Birdland Drive or walk or jog on the Saylorville Trail that follows the river, and you'll come to ...
Birdland Marina where river boaters house their modes of transportation.
Mostly you find smaller crafts and pontoon boats in the Marina. The serious boaters keep their yachts and sailboats miles upstream above the Saylorville dam.
Still Birdland. On the other side of the street we find Birdland Lagoon and their shelter house. In the winter, the shelter house shelters ice skaters.
Across the lagoon and to the left of the shelter house, you'll find a kids' monkey park, sheltered picnic tables with grill, and further back a softball diamond.
Union Park. Directly across the street (Pennsylvania Avenue) you find Uniom Park. To the left, you'd be overlooking Birdland Marina. To the right, you drive thru a typical park.
Just a nice looking place to commune with nature.
In the old days (last century), Union Park boasted several impressive floral displays. The seem to have migrated to Fleur Drive this century. Well, "Fleur" means flower in French. Union Park gardens find themselves in more modest circumstances these days.
Carousel. However, Union Park now boasts the only carousel (French for "merry go round") in Des Moines (French for "of the whatever"). There is another Des Moines in Washington State. Maybe they know what it means?
The Carousel. Here's our answer to Prairie Meadows (without the one-armed bandits, buffet, and chain smokers). Easier to get to and fresher air. Admission? Whatever you want to contribute.
Kids' Area. There's a shelter house to the left, a wading pool, and some tennis courts way in the back. Plenty of parking except on National Holidays.
Rocket Slide. If you haven't tried this super slide, bring some wax paper. Wax paper gets your butt scooting down the chutes like a rocket.
Good Crowd. A constant stream of kids uses the slide. Still, plenty of room for you. Just get in line.
West Side Of Sixth Avenue. Just in case you need more parks, head west from Birdland Park on the Saylorville Trail, and you'll find the the back entrance to Kiwanis Riverview Nature Island. For an in depth view of the peninsula, click on the link Riverview link.
Saylorville Trail. Dick LeCroy and your Highland Park Business Club worked on this project for years. Actually, Dick worked toward several other trails also.
Great for Bikers. Bikers can pedal this trail for exercise or
for heading downtown to work. It's pretty and not crowded except on
holidays.
Multi-Use Trail. Or you can walk, skate, or jog the trail. The river rus along the entire trail up to Saylorville Dam and beyond.
Welcome to Riverview. Whatever mode of transportation you elect, you'll find the back entrance of what the natives call Riverview.
Good Fishing. Here we see some of the natives drowning worms. Depending on whom you talk to, you can catch some lunkers here. But let's cross the water and head uphill to ...
McHenry Park. McHenry Park (oddly enough on Oak Park Avenue) overlooks Riverview. Lots of uncut lumber blocks most of the view, but you can still see it. You could see it even better at night back in the olde days (before Adventureland).
On the Left. To the left, you'll find a softball diamond, swings, and a shelter house.
Center View. You can also find tennis courts, monkey bars for young yard apes, and a shelter house for family re-union picnics. On the right you will find an entrance to the Saylorville trail. Do not ride your bike down that hill. It is too steep for normal humans.
Prospect Park. If you had crossed the river instead of Riverview, you'd have found Prospect Park -- a fairly unknown city park.
Picnic Areas. You'll find the usual picnic amenities.
More Trails. Along this side of the river you'll encounter the Ding Darling Greenway. Ding donated this park (before it was a park) to Des Moines. This really rough trail also goes all the way to Saylorville Dam. Do not expect to traverse it on a trail bike unless you plan to carry it.
Boat Launches. Best of all, you can drop your boat in right here. Then you're all set to stir up our Des Moines drinking water.
... with one of these noisy water stirrers. You can't beat one of these speedy little crafts on a hot summer day -- especially if you're being towed on a line (and even better if you're wearing water skies).
The Des Moines River. All of our Parks Area parks track along the Des Moines River -- a very friendly river if we can exclude 1993. LA
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