Ankeny has 55 miles of mapped trails, 1.7 for every square mile of land
95% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Hawkeye Park (1.2 mi), Precedence Park (0.5 mi). 5% of Ankeny’s land is conserved, about 995 acres.
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns · #25 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
995 acres · of 32.7 sq mi of land
Trails
55 mi
1.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,087 ac
15 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
95%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
99 mi
98 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Ankeny?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ankeny is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #25 of 140 in Iowa. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ankeny’s overall grade.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
5% of Ankeny’s land. Who manages Ankeny’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city895 ac
County97 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)5 ac
Local Park · 912 acState Recreation Area · 42 acLocal Conservation Area · 39 acConservation Easement · 5 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 5 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 62 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)
Managed by
Acres
Public access
Otter Creek Golf Course
Local Park
Town or city
213
Open
Prairie Ridge Sports Complex
Local Park
Town or city
133
Open
Four Mile Creek Greenbelt
Local Park
Town or city
93
Open
Chautauqua Park
Local Park
Town or city
46
Unknown
High Trestle Trail
State Recreation Area
County
42
Open
Carney Marsh
Local Conservation Area
County
39
Open
Heritage
Local Park
Town or city
34
Open
Sawgrass
Local Park
Town or city
23
Open
Twin Gates Greenbelt
Local Park
Town or city
21
Open
Crestbruck
Local Park
Town or city
18
Open
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
130 places to go in Ankeny
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
98 mi
off-road bike paths
0.3 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
34Baseball
30Tennis
23Soccer
19Basketball
11Football
9Beach volleyball
9Softball
5Tracks
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Ankeny
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Daylight (h)
9.5
10.5
11.8
13.3
14.5
15.2
14.9
13.8
12.4
11.0
9.8
9.2
High (°F)
30
35
48
61
72
81
85
83
76
63
48
35
Rain (in)
0.9
1.1
2.1
3.9
5.1
5.2
4.1
4.2
3.6
2.6
1.9
1.3
January is the driest month (0.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 5.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Ankeny →
Next door
Ankeny and its neighbors
Ankeny has the most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Ankeny
Where can I hike in Ankeny?
The longest trail networks: Hawkeye Park, 1.2 miles; Precedence Park, 0.5 miles; Somersby Park, 0.4 miles; Village Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ankeny is conserved land?
5% of its land, against a typical 3% for an Iowa town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Ankeny’s trails?
Hawkeye Park and Precedence Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Ankeny?
99 miles of bike routes are on the map: 98 of off-road paths and 0.3 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Ankeny?
23,687 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ankeny or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,087 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Ankeny have?
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #25 of 140 in Iowa. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Ankeny neighbors.
Photo: Ashton B Crew · CC BY-SA 3.0