Project Updates

As I rowed down the river, I stopped to watch a deer run along the shore. There was something majestic about it, not that I had never seen a deer before, but that I’d never viewed one from this perspective. This was my first time sculling on the river with the Des Moines Rowing Club. [...]

When I was asked to write a little piece about outdoor activities that I enjoy, at first, I wondered what I would write about? It took about two seconds for me to realize I could talk about the great outdoors all day…if allowed. Being a wildlife photographer, I center around birds, but I never miss [...]

I have been canoeing and kayaking since high school and have lived in the Des Moines area since the summer of 1994 but had never had an opportunity to be on the Des Moines River until 2016 when I became a member of Des Moines Rowing (DMR). I learned to row in 2015, training on [...]

People with disabilities can often have poor physical health. For one Iowa organization, this means putting extra emphasis on finding recreational opportunities that include those with disabilities and creating fun ways to get active. Easterseals Iowa and Can Play have become a major proponent for the Central Iowa Water Trails (CIWT), supportive of the opportunities [...]

2020 has been the year for the outdoors. It has been a refuge and provided solitude as we have endured a year of challenge. It has been our friend and offered comfort in times of need and allowed us to take a breath while we think about the heaviness of our lives. The great outdoors [...]

I was riding my bike south on the Neal Smith Trail to the Downtown Farmer’s Market when I looked over at the river and saw a single sculler rowing upstream. I want to do that, I thought. So, I contacted Des Moines Rowing and they taught me how to row. That bike ride changed my [...]

I remember the first time I visited the High Trestle Trail Bridge. I went to see the artistic, spiraling steel cribs but left even more inspired by the Des Moines River valley below. Before the blue lights lit up the bridge that night, I was illuminated by a snaking river through a vast and lush, [...]

I have a confession to make. I am not from Iowa. Even after 21 years in this state, it is hard to give up my identity as a Minnesotan. And despite all of the Iowa Nice, I don’t always feel like I belong here. People here have deep roots. I live in the “big city,” [...]

Every winter, as the state of Iowa goes into hibernation, we love to make big plans for when the seasons turn to "shorts weather," or 50 roughly degrees. Each approaching summer promises to be the summer that you do the thing and hone a new skill. The summer to get into biking. The summer to [...]

The West Des Moines Parks and Recreation Department completed their first of five signature projects as part of the Five Waters Project. The Raccoon River Park Boathouse opened on Thursday, July 23. The Boathouse is located in the 631-acre Raccoon River Park located at 2500 Grand Avenue in West Des Moines. Construction on the state-of-the-art [...]