Free & Cheap Things to Do in Des Moines

Arts & Culture

Iowa's premier art museum, designed by Eliel Saarinen with later additions by I.M. Pei and Richard Meier and ringed by the free Pappajohn Sculpture Park. Permanent-collection highlights include Hopper, Pollock, Edward Ruscha, Goya, and a regularly rotated selection from a 5,000-piece holding. Always free admission.

Address: 4700 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA 50312

Tip: Closed Mondays. Pair with the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park (28 outdoor sculptures, also free) right in front, then walk to nearby Greenwood/Ashworth Park. Free street parking on weekends along Grand Avenue.

History & Culture

One of the most photographed gold-domed Capitols in the United States — 23-karat gold leaf over four smaller domes, with five floors of marble columns, hand-painted murals, and a rotunda you can stand directly under. Free guided tours run year-round and walk visitors past the Iowa Supreme Court chamber and the Senate floor.

Address: 1007 E Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA 50319

Tip: Free 90-minute guided tours run Monday–Friday on the hour 8am–3pm and Saturdays 9:30am–2:30pm; arrive 15 minutes early to clear security. Free parking in the surface lots on the east side. Self-guided brochures available at the visitor desk.

Arts & Culture

An open-air sculpture park spread across 4.4 downtown acres of green lawn, with 28 large-scale works by Jaume Plensa, Yoshitomo Nara, Ai Weiwei, Mark di Suvero, Louise Bourgeois, and Keith Haring. A quiet, walkable counterpoint to the Des Moines Art Center, which curates and maintains the entire park.

Address: 1330 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA 50309

Tip: Open daily sunrise to midnight, free, with no fences or admission booths. Strong sunset light in summer and after winter snowfalls. Free street parking on Grand Avenue; pair with a walk through nearby Western Gateway Park.

Markets & Food

Twelve city blocks of vendors fill the Historic Court District every Saturday in season, with 300+ Iowa producers selling fresh produce, meat, cheese, baked goods, kettle corn, breakfast tacos, and crafts. Repeatedly named a top-10 farmers market in the U.S. — the official Des Moines weekend ritual May through October.

Address: Court Ave District, Des Moines, IA 50309

Tip: 2026 season runs Saturdays May 2–Oct 31, 7am–noon. Free entry; bring cash and a tote. SNAP/EBT accepted with the Double Up Food Bucks program doubling your fresh-produce dollars at participating vendors.

Parks & Gardens

A glass-domed conservatory and 14 acres of cultivated outdoor gardens just east of downtown along the Des Moines River. Inside, a tropical jungle of palms, orchids, and a banyan tree; outside, themed gardens including a free Robert D. Ray Asian Garden that stays open dawn to dusk separately from the paid conservatory.

Address: 909 Robert D Ray Dr, Des Moines, IA 50309

Tip: The 1.7-acre Robert D. Ray Asian Garden is free daily 6am–10pm — solid budget pick if you skip the conservatory. SNAP/WIC EBT card admits up to four people free. Closed Mondays; summer Friday evenings extend to 7:30pm.

History & Museums

Three free floors of Iowa history just west of the State Capitol — from a fully reconstructed 19th-century one-room schoolhouse to mastodon and giant sloth fossils, the original Iowa Constitution, and rotating exhibits on Iowa's role in everything from Lewis & Clark's expedition to the Civil War to space exploration.

Address: 600 E Locust St, Des Moines, IA 50319

Tip: Open Tuesday–Friday only — closed Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays. Free parking in the garage at the NW corner of E Grand and Pennsylvania, then walk one block south. Pair with a Capitol tour next door, or grab lunch in East Village.

Parks & Nature

A 167-acre downtown park ringed by the paved Kruidenier Trail and a 240-foot pedestrian bridge across the lake — Des Moines's signature waterfront walk with downtown skyline views from the south side. Add a free swim beach, kayak rentals, the Bill Riley Trail connection, and a new sprayground arriving in 2026.

Address: 2101 Fleur Dr, Des Moines, IA 50321

Tip: Park is open daily; the loop trail is well-lit at night. Free parking in lots on Fleur Drive and George Flagg Parkway. Sunset on the pedestrian bridge with downtown framing the water is the postcard shot. Bike rental on site in summer.

Outdoors

A 25-mile rail-trail connecting Ankeny, Slater, Sheldahl, Madrid, and Woodward, anchored by the half-mile-long, 13-story High Trestle Trail Bridge over the Des Moines River — a piece of public art with steel girders that frame the view and 41 LED-lit cribs that glow blue from sunset onward.

Address: Johnson Family Trailhead: 2008 IA-210, Madrid, IA 50156 (28 miles north of Des Moines)

Tip: Bridge lights run sunset to midnight April–October and sunset to 9pm November–March. Park free at the Johnson Family Trailhead in Madrid, then it's a 2.6-mile flat walk west to the bridge. Stunning at dusk on a clear night.

Wildlife & Education

Iowa's largest zoo — 49 acres and 2,500 animals on the city's south side, with sea lion training demos, giraffe and penguin feedings, and a kids' kingdom included in admission. Daily keeper chats run on a posted schedule, so a single visit can pack in a half-dozen free programs.

Address: 7401 SW 9th St, Des Moines, IA 50315

Tip: Prices are date-based — off-peak weekdays run cheaper, so check the calendar before buying. Giraffe feeding is a couple dollars extra and worth it. Summer hours 9–5 daily.

Family & Kids

Downtown's hands-on science museum — six experience platforms from Small Discoveries for preschoolers to a working makers studio, plus a 50-foot dome planetarium with shows included in admission. The When Things Get Moving hall of pulleys, tracks, and trajectories is the kid magnet.

Address: 401 W Martin Luther King Jr Pkwy, Des Moines, IA 50309

Tip: Planetarium shows are included — grab times when you arrive. Street parking is free Sundays; the Star Theater occasionally closes for upgrades, so check the day's schedule online.

History & Culture

A 500-acre open-air museum in Urbandale where costumed interpreters work three real farms — a 1700 Ioway site, an 1850 pioneer farm, and a 1900 horse-powered farm — plus the 1876 town of Walnut Hill. Tractor-drawn carts shuttle between eras; plan three to four hours.

Address: 11121 Hickman Rd, Urbandale, IA 50322

Tip: General touring season runs April 30–October 31, Tuesday–Saturday; arrive by 2 pm to see the farm sites. Groups of 12+ get discounted rates. It's a splurge by Iowa standards — and worth a full day.

Historic Sites

A 42-room Tudor manor on ten wooded acres, built in the 1920s by cosmetics tycoon Carl Weeks as a copy of the King's House in Salisbury, England — complete with 16th-century English oak interiors, rare books, and original art. Self-guided tours run about an hour.

Address: 4025 Tonawanda Dr, Des Moines, IA 50312

Tip: Open Wednesday–Friday most weeks; tour tickets release on a rolling two-week window online. The surrounding woods and gardens are part of the visit — leave time to wander.