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On the northwest edge of Des Moines, Urbandale hides one of the Midwest's most unusual museums: a 500-acre open-air journey through three centuries of Iowa farming. At Living History Farms, costumed interpreters plant crops with oxen, cook on wood stoves and run the shops of an 1876 prairie town, while the city around it goes about its modern suburban life.
Urbandale began as a small community along a streetcar line in the early twentieth century and grew quickly after World War II into one of the larger cities in the metro, with tidy neighborhoods, a busy business corridor along Douglas Avenue and a generous network of parks. Walker Johnston Park and Lions Park anchor its outdoor life, and paved trails connect to the wider greenbelt system of the Des Moines suburbs.
It makes a calm, convenient base. Downtown Des Moines, the Iowa State Fairgrounds and the Iowa State Capitol are about 15 to 20 minutes away, and Saylorville Lake to the north offers boating, beaches and long bike rides.
A 500-acre open-air museum where costumed interpreters recreate Midwest farm life across three centuries, from a Native American farm to a pioneer homestead and a 1900 horse-powered farm. A tram helps you cover the distance between sites. Plan at least three hours and wear sturdy shoes for the gravel paths.
The town at Living History Farms recreates a growing Iowa community of 1876, with a general store, blacksmith shop, print shop, pharmacy, schoolhouse, church and bank staffed by interpreters in period dress. Chat with the blacksmith as he works the forge, and ask the printer to show you the hand press.
Built in 1870 by Martin Flynn, an Irish immigrant farmer and businessman, this Italianate brick house stands on its original site within Living History Farms. Its furnished rooms show how a prosperous Iowa family lived after the Civil War. Look for the nearby Flynn barn, which dates from the same era.
This working farm shows Iowa agriculture at the turn of the twentieth century, when draft horses pulled the plows and planters. Interpreters tend livestock, gardens and fields using period tools and methods. Visit in late summer or fall to see harvest work and the farmhouse kitchen in full swing.
A recreated farm of the Ioway people shows how Native Americans raised corn, beans and squash on the prairie around 1700, with bark lodges, gardens and hide processing. Interpreters explain seasonal life and traditional crops. It is the first stop on the Living History Farms route, so start your visit here.
Every Thanksgiving morning thousands of runners, many in costume, take on a cross-country course through the fields, woods and creeks around Living History Farms. It is billed as one of the largest off-road races in the country. Register early, expect cold water crossings and bring dry clothes for afterward.
Urbandale's largest park offers sports fields, a playground, a fishing pond, shelters and walking trails that link to the city's wider trail network. It is busy on summer evenings with youth games and families. Pack a picnic and walk the loop around the pond for an easy hour outdoors.
A central park with mature shade trees, picnic shelters, a playground and open lawns, Lions Park is one of Urbandale's long-established neighborhood gathering places. It is a pleasant stop for a picnic between visits to Living History Farms and the Des Moines sights. Reserve a shelter ahead for group meals.
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Log in to add photosPhoto: Dennis Bratland, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Photo: ActuallyElite, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: ActuallyElite, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: ActuallyElite, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: ActuallyElite, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: ActuallyElite, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: ActuallyElite, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: ActuallyElite, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Photo: Dennis Bratland, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Dennis Bratland, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Dennis Bratland, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Dennis Bratland, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Allen Huffman of English Wikipedia (log), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Dennis Bratland, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Dennis Bratland, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Dennis Bratland, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
