The Waukee Brief
For a city growing this fast, Waukee has held onto its green: 22 parks, roughly 25 miles of trails, and the trailhead where one of Iowa's longest paved trails begins. Add a 66-acre sports complex with its own fishing pond, a city golf course, disc golf and a free splash pad, and there is plenty of reason to get outside. Here is the quick map.
Waukee has 22 parks and about 25 miles of trails, and it is the trailhead for the 89-mile Raccoon River Valley Trail. The headline park is Triumph Park (66-acre sports complex with an 11-acre fishing pond). You can also golf the city's Sugar Creek Municipal Golf Course, throw the 12-hole disc golf at Centennial Park, play pickleball at Fox Creek, and cool off at the free Fox Creek splash pad. Waukee has no city swimming pool.
Waukee's quiet superpower is the Raccoon River Valley Trail, one of the longest paved trails in Iowa, which starts and loops back right here at a trailhead marked by the landmark Waukee Railroad Pergola. From that single trailhead you can ride ~89 car-free miles out through Dallas and Guthrie county towns like Adel, Dallas Center and Perry, or stick close to town on the Heart of the Warrior, Sugar Creek and Kettlestone trails. It was named one of Iowa's Great Places in 2015. Full rundown on our Waukee trails guide.
Northwest of downtown sits Triumph Park - a 66-acre City of Waukee sports complex at 700 NW Douglas Parkway. What's out there:
About three miles of trails loop the complex and tie into the wider network. Details on our Triumph Park page.
Waukee lets you fish, sunrise to sunset, on a handful of city-owned ponds - no lake required. The go-to spots:
The Triumph Park pond is the standout - an 11-acre pond with an ADA-accessible fishing pier, stocked with bluegill, channel catfish and largemouth bass, plus rainbow trout the Iowa DNR stocks in spring and fall (Waukee even runs a "Trick or Trout" trout day at the park). Fishing is allowed only on the city-owned Triumph Park, Kettlestone and Tallgrass ponds, sunrise to sunset. For bigger water, Blue Heron Lake in West Des Moines' Raccoon River Park is a short drive.
Waukee's city golf course is the Sugar Creek Municipal Golf Course - a public 9-hole, par-34 layout at 1505 6th Street, open to everyone. For a free round of a different kind, Centennial Park has a 12-hole disc golf course (plus sand volleyball and a Gaga Ball pit). And Fox Creek Park has four pickleball courts alongside its tennis court and the free splash pad.
Waukee does not have a municipal outdoor pool. A proposed outdoor aquatic center went to a bond vote in November 2024 and fell just short of the required 60% supermajority, so it's not currently funded or under construction. For now, the free Fox Creek splash pad and the indoor pool at the Waukee Family YMCA are the in-town water options - the nearest outdoor aquatic centers are in West Des Moines and Clive. Full rundown on our Waukee pools & splash pads guide.
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Waukee has 22 city parks and about 25 miles of trails, and it is the trailhead town for the 89-mile Raccoon River Valley Trail. The headline park is Triumph Park, a 66-acre sports complex with an 11-acre fishing pond. You can also fish several city ponds, play the Sugar Creek Municipal Golf Course, throw the 12-hole disc golf course at Centennial Park, or cool off at the free Fox Creek splash pad.
Waukee has about 25 miles of city trails and is the anchor town for the Raccoon River Valley Trail, an 89-mile paved regional trail that starts at the Waukee trailhead and loops through more than a dozen Dallas and Guthrie county towns. In town, the Heart of the Warrior, Sugar Creek and Kettlestone trails feed into the network.
Waukee allows fishing from sunrise to sunset on the city-owned Triumph Park pond, Kettlestone ponds and Tallgrass Pond. Triumph Park has an 11-acre pond with an accessible fishing pier stocked with bluegill, channel catfish and largemouth bass, plus rainbow trout stocked by the Iowa DNR in spring and fall.
Yes. The Sugar Creek Municipal Golf Course is Waukee's city-owned public course, a 9-hole, par-34 layout at 1505 6th Street. It is open to the public - no membership required.
Waukee does not have a municipal outdoor swimming pool. A proposed outdoor aquatic center went to a bond referendum in November 2024 and fell short of the required 60 percent supermajority, so it is not currently funded or under construction. For water play, Waukee has the free Fox Creek splash pad and the Waukee Family YMCA has an indoor pool; the nearest outdoor aquatic centers are in West Des Moines and Clive.
Trails & bike paths · Parks · Triumph Park · Golf · Disc golf · Pickleball · Pools & splash pads