Des Moines Outdoor Activities

Since 2007, foodies have flocked to Iowa's Premier Beer, Wine & Food Expo each year to check out food and drink booths, watch cooking demonstrations, and meet chefs. Guests explore more than 100 booths filled with samples of wines, food, and cheeses they may purchase and store at a complimentary drop-off location until they’re ready to leave. Expo-goers may also enjoy cooking demonstrations and meet-and-greet sessions with nationally recognized celebrity guests, including Food Network’s Dr. BBQ and Goose Island Beer Company–founder John Hall. Not to be outdone, local chefs share the secret techniques, ingredients, and facial expressions they use to make popular regional dishes.

The 2010–11 season was a milestone for the Iowa Energy. Just their fourth season as part of the Developmental League—which has helped produce nearly one-third of the NBA's players as of the 2011–12 season—the team claimed its first league championship, defeating the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. Prior to their title run, the Energy had made back-to-back playoff appearances fueled by first-place finishes in the league's Central Division. The Energy plays all of its home games at Wells Fargo Arena, where future basketball stars of the Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Hornets, Denver Nuggets, and Washington Wizards learn the basics of the NBA game and how to do veteran players' laundry.

An indoor baseball, softball, and soccer training facility, The Batter's Box provides athletes of all ages a year-round spot to improve their skills. Balls and bats clack at nine different baseball and softball areas—including six automated batting cages and a bullpen tunnel—where pitchers practice throwing from the stretch and learn what it takes to not be a belly itcher. Under the same roof, a 5,000-square-foot oasis of AstroTurf sprawls before soccer players, and professional instructors dish out coaching tips to individuals or groups during lessons.

On June 14, 2008, the Iowa Cubs played a home game in front of a total of zero fans. The empty ballpark was the result of flooding throughout Des Moines. It was also another strange footnote added to a long line of odd occurrences that have come into play in the baseball history of Iowa’s capital.

The marriage between Des Moines and baseball stretches back to 1887, before cars roamed the streets and robots were considered for managerial positions. Teams came and went over the years, until 1969, when the Iowa Oaks debuted as part of the American Association. Finally, in 1981, the Oaks became the top minor-league affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, and they were renamed a year later. Under the direction of the big-league Cubs, the Iowa Cubs have enjoyed several bouts of success, highlighted by an American Association league title in 1993.

We are an 18-hole public golf course located in the heart of Iowa. We showcase bentgrass tees, fairways, and greens and over 40 undulating bunkers. Our course pays tribute to the links traditions of golf by relying on the prairie winds and fescue grasses as the primary defenses.