Water Works Park is a 1,500 acre park near downtown
Des Moines,
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...
. It is one of the largest
urban park
An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to r ...
s in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. Located along the
Raccoon River
The Raccoon River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 26, 2011 tributary of the Des Moines River in central Iowa in the United States. As measured using the lon ...
, the park offers trails, picnic areas, grills, and fields.
Arboretum
The park is home to the Arie den Boer Arboretum, one of the world's largest collection of crab apple trees, containing approximately 300 varieties. The arboretum was developed under the care of arborist Arie den Boer, in whose honor the arboretum was named in 1961.
[ The ]Des Moines Water Works
The Des Moines Water Works (DMWW) is a publicly owned, municipal water utility with its headquarters in Water Works Park. It was founded 1871 southwest of downtown Des Moines, Iowa, along the Raccoon River and provides water to half a million ...
staff now maintains through pruning and propagation. Today, the arboretum includes approximately 1,200 trees in the collection.
Events
Every winter, the park hosts ''Jolly Holiday Lights'', a holiday light display. Large portions of the Des Moines Marathon
The IMT Des Moines Marathon is a marathon held annually in downtown Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city e ...
and Hy-Vee Triathlon
The Hy-Vee Triathlon (now known as the Des Moines Triathlon) was an Olympic-distance triathlon race held in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. From 2011–2014, the race served as the World Triathlon Corporation's 5150 Series U.S. Championships. Previously, i ...
pass through the park.[ ]
The park has frequently hosted large festivals and concerts.
See also
The Lost Planet (Des Moines)
References
External links
Official Site
{{Des Moines
Parks in Iowa