Destination DSM
Saturday Morning: Don’t miss the Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market, a top-10 U.S. market and an easy five-block walk from the hotel. Favorites: Northern Vessel cold brew lattes, Bozz Prints, Mast Family Farms baked goods, Pepper Harrow Farm lavender products, Grade A Gardens produce.
Things to Do: Pappajohn Sculpture Park (3 blocks away) plus Black Cat ice cream; East Village shops (Raygun, Allspice, Kitchen Collage); Fong’s Pizza and its crab rangoon pizza; Climb Iowa (Indoor Rock Climbing)
Outdoors: Gray’s Lake and Water Works Park (5-minute drive) for paddleboards, kayaks, canoes, beach time, and the Des Moines Biergarten; B Cycle bikes across from the hotel; Waveland Golf Course (Oldest public course West of the Mississippi)
For Kids: Science Center of Iowa, Blank Park Zoo, and Gray’s Lake playground and splash pad.
Food & Drinks: Proudfoot and Bird, Bubba, Akeboni 515, Centro, Fresko
Breweries & Bars: Exile, Confluence, Big Grove, El Bait Shop, Hessen Haus, Hello Marjorie
For all the days along the way