The Ankeny Brief
When it's 90° and the kids are climbing the walls, here's your cheat sheet: Ankeny's two aquatic centers, the free splash windows, and the neighborhood splash pads you don't have to pay a dime for. Hours shift a little each season, so we link the city's live pages for same-day details - but the essentials below hold year to year.
Ankeny has two outdoor aquatic centers: Cascade Falls, the bigger one ($11 general), and Prairie Ridge ($7), whose splash park is free Mon-Fri, 10-11:45 a.m. in season. Both are closed for the 2026 season: Prairie Ridge closed Aug. 12 and Cascade Falls closed on Labor Day, Sept. 7. They usually reopen around Memorial Day weekend. Free neighborhood splash pads run Memorial Day through Labor Day. Weather hotline: 515-963-3575.
The smaller, neighborhood-scale pool of the two, at 1220 NW Prairie Ridge Drive. It's built for families: zero-depth entry (walk in like a beach), two water slides, a kiddie slide, a lily-pad walk, a splash park, and heated water. General hours run noon-6 p.m. daily in season.
The bigger, newer of the two, at 2350 SW Prairie Trail Parkway in Prairie Trail on the southwest side. It opened in 2010 and has a lazy river, a FlowRider surf machine (42" and taller), a diving well with a drop slide and 1- and 3-meter boards, the Swirl Bowl slide, a zero-depth entry pool, a kiddie slide, a lap pool and heated water. Open swim runs noon-7 p.m. daily in season. Kids under 9 need an adult with them.
Ankeny keeps free splash pads at four neighborhood parks (Crestbruck, Dean, Sunrise and Watercrest), open Memorial Day through Labor Day, 8 a.m.-8 p.m., so if you just want the little ones to cool off for 20 minutes you can skip the pool. They're button-activated - press the pad and the water kicks on - so they only run when someone's using them. Locations and any closures are on the City of Ankeny Splash Pads page.
Pool hours change with the season, staffing, and swim lessons - and both centers close for storms. Call the cancellation hotline at 515-963-3575 if the sky looks iffy, and check the city page for that day's open-swim times. Season passes (a good deal for regulars) are sold through Ankeny Parks & Recreation.
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Yes - the neighborhood splash pads are free all season, Memorial Day through Labor Day. The splash park inside Prairie Ridge is free only during the Mon-Fri 10-11:45 a.m. window; otherwise it's included with pool admission.
You can pay daily admission at the gate. Season passes are available if you'll be going often, and they usually pay for themselves in a handful of visits.
Both pools usually open around Memorial Day weekend, and they close at different times. In 2026, Prairie Ridge closed Aug. 12, while Cascade Falls ran daily through Aug. 23, then weekends only, and closed Sept. 7 (Labor Day). Both are closed for the season now. Splash pads run through Labor Day.
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