Beautiful place to get some exercise and quiet. People need to be mindful though and keep their distance we are still in the pandemic. Share the trails

Nice fields with plenty of parking. Lots of walking trails for between softball games. Dog park nearby.

Really nice green space, and a great ~3 mile loop around the lake. The main problem park side has a concrete path, but the rest of the loop is pretty tightly packed gravel.One of my favorite spots in the DSM metro to run. 1 lap, 2 laps, 3 laps, etc. The sky is the limit!

Such a calm and peaceful park. The water is perfect for kayaking. Even on crazy hot days the water us still cool... Plus the huge playground is great for kids of all ages.

The wildness of Raccoon River Park is amazing, the views and nature

The lake is beautiful. It was a beautiful day for a paddle. It was nice to see a lot of people out enjoying nature. I love kayaking this lake.

My family loves this place.

Love this place. Put my feet in water and it was delightful. Next time going swimming. We like walking the trails as well. And we look forward soon to kayaks and canoes.

I love completing the Remembrance Run at Raccoon River Park every year. It is such a great trail with a beautiful backdrop for the walk/run.

Love the path around the lake. Love the sandy beach swim area. There are lots of picnic tables and grills and shelters. Lots of native plants and wildflowers, which attract a large assortment of birds and insects. Fishing, boating, running, walking, biking, soccer, playground, swimming! Anything you want to do.

Love walking around this park. Some ice fishing in the winter and will be fun to swim at the beach in the spring. There is a great dog park, softball fields, archery.

Beautiful facility, nice trail , peaceful worth a visit.

Love this place! The beach is our favorite. Super clean, security on site, nice big area, roped off for swimming, parking very close by.The playground is awesome. So many different things for kids to do. Swings, slides, sand pit, zip line, rope climb, bouncy bikes, snd more.Several shelters througout the park. Fishing pier. Walking and biking trails. Dog park. Softball complex.Such a great place to visit in Des Moines! No charge to swim or fish or explore the trails. Check it out!

Was once such a beautiful park. Seems as though the city has given up on the once beautiful flower beds through out the park. Just poorly maintenance through out entire park. Plenty of security though, such nonsense. Last time I was there bathrooms were plain out atrocious, bowels everywhere floor walls piled on toilets. Once upon a time it really was a great place to go take the family relax on the beach. Now I wouldnt let my dog piss in that park.

Beautiful had a fantastic day if boating and swimming with the kids ️

Its A Gorgeous Place. To Spent A Very Calm And Relaxed Day

I was pleasantly surprised at how busy this place was. the trails are very wide and are conducive for bicycles and pedestrians alike, and the setting is just beautiful!

It used to be amazing. Good fishing and quiet. Since the addition of the boat house it now is a zoo filled with noobs who dont respect those who are fishing.

Went to fish. Nothing was biting. The design of the handicap entrance from parking lot to fishing pier could have been better

Love the walking trail around the lake. Its high fall there right now.

Great family friendly park. If you go in the morning it is not quite as crowded. The beach can get it be really crowded in the afternoon.

I love walking this lake! The mosquitoes will eat you alive so have some off on.

Magical, beautiful, spacious and friendly. What more do you want?For real, this pro is awesome with a dog park, archery range, boat rental nature trail and beach

I love this park its close to my home and it has great trails Good scenery. I enjoy all the plants that have been planted and are native to Iowa. Its definitely a place you should visit and enjoy!

A very clean beach. No seaweed no gross stuff in the water. And a very nice playground.

Great park with nice views around the lake. It is located in a good area - a lot of good people are typically there.

Beautiful had an outside wedding & indoor reception. Gorgeous place

The park is a very popular place as I witnessed many people using the trail & other facilities while I installed pipe for the new boathouse.

Drove down today to get out of the house. The park is beautiful and well maintained. We had a lovely time. The dog park is lovely. Would be nice to have a cafe open in the summer time.

We had some vacation time so decided to head down and spend some time at the beach on the lake

Not the best policies. They dont let kids do several things that other parks do.

The archery facility is a great place to practice year round. Broadheads are NOT allowed!

Little dusty, but lots of room and friendly people, admissions cost is low as well

I really like this park. It’s a little over 3 miles to walk a loop. They are building more, something with paddle boards, I think, and I can’t wait to try it out once it’s complete.There’s a lot to do here overall; baseball diamonds, dog park, kids playground, lay on beach and or swim in the lake, area to take your kayak or boats to fish, fishing dock, etc...

Great rec place. Now that the boat rentals are open, makes things even better.

Go there for the annual Iowa Remembrance 5k. Such a beautiful place with a great trail for the run!

Love this place. The beach is clean, and the dog park is awsome. We always grill at one of the shelters and there usually available. The people in the area are also friendly. Great experience overall.

Rented a Canoe from the Boat House.Staff was awesome, and had a great time! Highly recommend!

Nice relaxed beach. Mix of both rural and city beach vibes which is pretty great for Iowa. Nice playground right next to it as well.

Lots of room to spread out. Nice facilities.

First time going here. Took the kids. Beach was nice had plenty of room even on a busy day. Water was surprisingly clean. Large area roped off to swim in safely. The deepest part roped off was about 7 feet. Nice big playground with lots of equipment. Plenty of picnic tables for use. Some covered some shaded some in the sun. Plenty of parking. Would go back.

Son and team won 2020 MVP tournament. GREAT place

There would be five stars on this review IF the water was clear, but its brown. Regardless of the water quality this well designed beach will fill up in the summer with happy Iowans. Kids will play, dogs will run, bikers will roll, and walkers will enjoy the trail around the lake. Nature center and nearby ballfields make this about the most complete park in the area. Well worth the trip in any season.

Racoon River Park is one of my favorite places to visit when its nice out. There is so much to do! My kids love the park and the beach, there are quite a few geocaching locations around, the dog park and the 3 mile trail around the lake is gorgeous and not at all crowded like many of the other trails in the area.

We live nearby and visit almost weekly. Beautiful lake, scenic trail, dog park, archery range, pavilions and playground, softball fields (hockey rink in winter), soccer fields, beach, nature center (with snow shoe rentals in winter), fishing pier and boat ramp with dock, and now they are building a boat house. This park has everything.

Nice park. The lake is called Blue Heron Lake and its an old quarry. Its been stocked for fishing but I really havent heard of many fishermen having much luck here. I fished for several hours and didnt get a nibble.

New boat house was great, reasonable rates, paperwork to rent goes pretty fast.

Love this place if you need somewhere to go to clear your head or just a place to chill this place has it all

There is a trail of the perfect length for a quick hike. 3.2 miles around the lake on a smooth, flat surface of crushed lime Stone.

BEAUTIFUL, well manicured park. This dog park is by favorite in the Des Moines area for the space the dogs have to run. The park itself is always nice for families to visit with the playground and ball fields right by and the docks off the lake to fish from.

Always look for the blue sky ️

Excellent park and great to walk around.

We love going to this place! Never had a bad experience! Its huge as well, they have a small and a large dog area but most people just use the large dog area. Its 20$ a year so its pretty cheap and you need to supply your dogs shot record which is nice and reassuring! Only problem is, sometimes after it rains theres a lot of bugs. But other than weve had a great time!

Always good time w/family never nothing to do

The beach is a decent experience and there are few other things for you to do as well. Overall its a great place to spend your weekend may ur be with yourself or with a family of any age group.

Pretty busy but expected. We had a lot of fun walking on the trail. My dog got to meet alot of other puppies.

Various things to do in a beautiful, well kept area. Great for a whole family day.

Great place to take grandchildren to swim, play in the beach sand, on the playground- including a sandbox area, & eat our picnic lunch. Wish the splash pad worked tho, & would be nice to have a couple more tables & grills to cook hotdogs for the children. But they love it here & keep going! Stop complaining about mosquitos- what do u expect? We are by a lake & trees &they are everywhere! Just come prepared!

Has a basketball court and tennis court. There is also a playground and a shelter and a mini trail.

A nice little lake that you could casually kayak around in around an hour. A no wake lake, so mainly bass boats, kayakers and stand-up paddleboarders.

Lots to do here. Its decently busy most of the time.

Great place to take the family for a quiet and fun day. Playgrounds are clean and have many options for the kids to play on and keep busy. They have some good trails to walk on as well as run and bike. Lots of wild life roaming the woods. The trails have porta potties on them for ease of bathroom use. Very clean and well kept park. Good parking options and access to boat ramp and beach is a plus.

I generally go here to walk around the lake but people swim, fish , picnic, being their children. There is also a softball field, dog park and a part for archery!

Old rock quarry with plenty of good fishing spots

Very nice for fishing, paddling , kayaking etc. The beach gets very crowded. Wouldnt recommend that area do to Covid.

Our favorite summer getaway. Nice big beach with decent water!

This park is one of the often forgotten treasures in Des Moines. For 5$ you can get a pass to the dog park, which is unparalleled in the area. Our dogs had a blast running around in the large area with the woods. We then got a chance to walk over towards the beach. It is definitely a place that you should check out!

Fresh air , no stoplights

Well maintained, havent had any issues with them

Great Park Didnt See Any Issues

Always good to come home and see the new sites! This is amazing!

Get off the trail if your looking for good places to fish.

Fun place to go and let the kids swim and play on the playground equipment.

Had a baby shower here for my first grand baby, we actually used the lodge had an amazing time.

We always have a GREAT time at the dog park and (usually) everyone is super friendly

One of the nicest, cleanest, well rounded parks Ive been too. The trail around the lake is great to walk or run. The beach is perfect for kids and adults. And theres a busy house being built on the other end. Cant wait.

Very beautiful park, good to picnic at!

It was nice clean not overly crowded.

Great place for a photo shoot

It was amazing day, and the park great

Theres a lot of nice trails here. As well as some play spaces for dogs.

Good place to have some fun at the beach.

This park is so beautiful. My friend told me they have wonderful fireworks for the 4th of July, but parking and getting out is a nightmare, so plan ahead for that. I like how they have soccer fields on one half, baseballs fields on the other and a cute park and beach in the middle. The view of the water is so pretty too. I saw people canoeing, boating, and fishing.

The running trail is beautiful, but its only about three and a half or four miles all the way around. It would be nice if there were more trails, but for what they have its very nice. There are portable restrooms along the trail as well as picnic tables. The beach is pretty nice. Ive found a piece of glass on the beach once, but otherwise its very well-kept and the bathrooms are great considering its a public area.

Blue Herron lake is wonderful given its proximity to town.

Went for a walk around the lake. At 3 miles its a nice hike without being too long. Lots of natural vegetation and very pretty flowers. We passed the softball diamonds and a beach, it all seemed well maintained.

Good fishing in the peninsula plus I really enjoy sunbathing at the rivers beach

Great place for USSSA Baseball for youth. Bathrooms, snack shack close to the fields and bathrooms heated during the cold beginning of the season tournaments, people taking care of the ball fields and snack shack very nice food was great,field #3 beautiful view of the River. Most of all very little kid friendly for the ball fields have a covered play ground area for kids very smart idea...PS.Go to the snack shack and get the black and Blue Burger made out of brisket formed into a hunger patty topped with blue cheese and grilled onions yes grilled onions absolutely AMMMMMAAAAAZING! $8 little pricey but worth it... Otherwise Raccoon River Park great place for youth sports also believe they have a Dog park too out side the field gates.

Decent fishing. Bass and bluegill.

The beach is great and play ground is fun

Its a well thought out park. On one end there are softball fields. In the middle there is are playgrounds and shelters. On the other end are soccer fields. They are nice fields. There is also a fishing area.

The walk around the lake is wonderful on a nice summer day! 3 miles of nicely groomed path, mostly fine gravel and some pavement/sidewalk - we didnt see any critters today, but have in the past. Today we saw and heard lots of happy birds! And NO FLOODING anywhere along the path!

Always enjoy bringing our dogs here to walk. Plenty of open space and places to explore.

Very nice view and very clean.

Its so beautiful... The landscape is nice! A good place to spend time with family and go fishing.

Great place for the whole family. There are many different things to do here. It is a great place to go fishing, and the dog park is huge! The soccer fields and the softball diamonds are also very nice. Theres swimming and a great trail for walking.

Really nice place Take your family Some of cleanest places escpecially the bathroom and out house

Love the place and great size fish

Nice lake, big beach, chill attitude.

Great amenities and a 5k circle around the lake. Also plenty of parking