Cowles Commons

Across the street from the Des Moines Civic Center, most people have probably walked/drove by this place while visiting Des Moines. There is a really cool structure at this park that gets lit up with different colors at night. Otherwise, it's just an open space in the middle of downtown Des Moines that sometimes get booked by political candidates while visiting Iowa during campaign season for rallies.

Nice common area downtown with plenty of benches to sit on, a gorgeous water fountain, and several bars and eateries close by. The city does a good job keeping the place clean and caring for the trees and plants there. I walk though almost everyday and it is rarely busy except once or twice a month when an event will be hosted there.

Love to swim and run here. Nice showers for after

Pete Up in the Park at Cowles Commons! What a great location in town! I got to see Pete Buttigieg in person! Thank you Des Moines!

Love this spot! Great splash pad for kids! Sculpture lights up at night and looks super pretty! Great family events, like Fam Jam, held here as well. Smoking isn't allowed in the area, so it's perfect for kiddos!

We went to the Christkindlmarket here. It was a good showing for the first year, if a little small. The brass band was great and the glühwein was good and warm. Hope they are back again next year.

Bir Red Food truck for the win. Taco boat is delicious

A nice place to cool off (especially for kids) in the summer, when fountain is on and soft jets of water come up from under the plaza cement.

Also, autumn time is pleasant and relaxing while sitting on one of the benches when the leaves turn color.

The Commons are also a venue for events, festivals, and concerts, depending on the time of year. Also worth noting, the Des Moines Performing Arts Center is directly across the street, and the Court Avenue nightlife district is only a block away.

At night, many of the sculptures are lit up and give the Commons a bit of a cosmopolitan feel. Cowles Commons has updated their small green spaces just last year and looks great.

One bit of warning... occasionally their are groups of homeless folks. Most are nice people, but occasionally, they can be intoxicated and pester passersby.

The greatest place for any venue, especially families

Went for the NCAA tournament just to hang out with my kids they had a blast lots of room to run and play

LOVE COMING HERE WITH MY CHILDREN! Its beautiful at night and in the daytime, and there's a place to sit for adults or kids who dont want to play in the water.

Cool place and the veggie food truck is fantastic!

On a bright summer day this park is Zen like. Between the kids laughing and playing in a beautiful splash pad,to the adults enjoying the beautiful scenery . I would recommend this park to anyone,.old or young. The reason I am not sending any pictures,is because a person needs to see it to get the full experience. I on the other hand get to enjoy this beautiful park since moving here. Do yourself a favor and pack a picnic lunch and enjoy yourself. It's truly a spiritual park

We saw a show came sonic butterfly there and it was spectacular! The location was great. There was a splash pad fountain area and a big open space to set up lawn chairs to watch the performance.

Beautiful day and a well-kept park.

Nice public space for events.

Love this place in the summer time. The fountains are cool the led-lighted architecture is great. Perfect place to bring a date to or the kids on a hot summer day / night. If you're walking around downtown Des Moines make sure you put this on your list. And there's always something going on there too it seems some type of event some type of festival Food.

Only been once but we took our grandson and our 2 dogs after the Farmers Market they had a great time. There wasn't a lot of people there. Grandson and dogs had fun but bring a towel! They were soaked.

Lovely place to visit just across from the Iowa Civic center in between 3rd St- Walnut St and locust St. It is a must. Hold a lot of Events downtown like the beer festival, the bacon festival and a lot more.. Through out the summer, people visit with their kids to play, take pictures as well. And it has this pretty colorful water fall. You will not regret it.

The city has completely renovated this area in the past few years and it's now a great place to enjoy a workday lunch or to listen to music and have a drink after work. I particularly enjoy the fountain on hot summer months.