Fox Creek Park
Park
18 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Iowahwyman · CC BY-SA 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Waukee
Waukee has 8.6 miles of mapped trails, 0.4 for every square mile of land
92% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Fox Creek Park (1.1 mi), Painted Woods West Park (0.5 mi). 196 acres are parks and preserves, 6.7 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns · #103 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
119 acres · of 21.9 sq mi of land
Trails
8.6 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
196 ac
6.7 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
92%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
55 mi
55 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Waukee?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Waukee have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Waukee is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns, #103 of 140 in Iowa. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Waukee’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical IA town 3% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · IA 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land6.7 acres of park per 1,000 residents (196 acres) · IA 19 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home92% of residents within a half mile of a park · IA 91% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 47%
LessMore
Iowa towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 27%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B. 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.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Fox Creek Park, with 1.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Painted Woods West Park
Managed by Waukee
8 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 11 parks & preserves
Fox Creek Park18 acres · 1.1 mi of trail
DirectionsPainted Woods West Park8 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Waukee
DirectionsAlice Nizzi Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Windfield Park3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsStratford Crossing Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsWestown Meadows Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsGrant Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsCentennial Park35 acres
DirectionsRidge Pointe Park21 acres
DirectionsWarrior Park12 acres
Prairie Rose4 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
119 conserved acres
1% of Waukee’s land. Who manages Waukee’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city63 ac
County56 ac
Local Park · 119 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raccoon River Valley Trail Local Park | County | 56 | Open |
| Centennial Park Local Park | Town or city | 32 | Open |
| Ridge Pointe Pavilion Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Warrior Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Windfield Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Grant Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
29 places to go in Waukee
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Waukee
Enchanted Forrest Park
DirectionsFox Creek Splash PadIn Fox Creek Park
DirectionsMine Ruin Land Play SpaceIn Alice Nizzi Park
DirectionsSpaghetti Land Play SpaceIn Alice Nizzi Park
DirectionsPlus 22 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Waukee
Kinship Brewing Company Dog Park
DirectionsTrailside Dog Park
DirectionsPlus 1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
3 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
55 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
55 mi
off-road bike paths
Fox Creek Park TrailsBike route
0.9 miCourts & fields
27Baseball
19Tennis
10Soccer
7Football
5Basketball
4Softball
4Pickleball
3Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
St. Boniface Catholic ChurchBuilding · listed 2024
About itWhen to get out
September is the best month for walking in Waukee
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 | 64 | 48 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 0.9 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 3.8 | 5.1 | 4.9 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 1.8 | 1.3 |
January is the driest month (0.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 5.1 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Waukee →
Next door
Waukee and its neighbors
Waukee has the second most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waukee | 1% | 0.4 | 7 | 92% | B− |
| Clive | 10% | 0.6 | 27 | 99% | A |
| West Des Moines | 6% | 0.9 | 30 | 92% | A |
| Van Meter | 1% | 0.3 | 53 | 67% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Waukee
Where can I hike in Waukee?
The longest trail networks: Fox Creek Park, 1.1 miles; Painted Woods West Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Waukee is conserved land?
1% 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 Waukee’s trails?
Fox Creek Park and Painted Woods West Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Waukee?
55 miles of bike routes are on the map: 55 of off-road paths. Named routes: Fox Creek Park Trails.
Is there public land near Waukee?
11,082 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Waukee or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 196 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Waukee have?
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #103 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 Waukee neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →