Things to Do in Urbandale, Iowa (Living History Farms and Beyond)

You promised the kids a farm. Not a screen, not a gift shop, an actual farm, the kind with a blacksmith swinging a hammer and an ox that outweighs your minivan. And now you are standing in a 500-acre open-air history museum on the edge of Des Moines, watching a nine-year-old ask a woman in a bonnet how butter happens, and quietly realizing the best things to do in Urbandale, Iowa were hiding in plain sight the whole time. Welcome to the suburb that keeps sneaking up on people.

Urbandale sits on the northwest shoulder of Des Moines, close enough that you can be downtown in fifteen minutes and far enough that you get quiet streets, big parks, and easy parking. The headliner is Living History Farms. Everything else is the very good supporting cast.

Still reading? Good. You are the kind of traveler who wants the real itinerary, not the brochure version. Here is how a local would actually spend a family day here.

Start with the big one: Living History Farms

If you do one thing in Urbandale, do this. Living History Farms is a working, open-air museum spread across roughly 500 acres, and it does something most museums cannot: it lets your kids walk straight into the past instead of reading about it behind glass. There is an 1875 town, historic farm sites, costumed interpreters actually doing the chores, and animals that do not care about your schedule.

A few things worth knowing before you load the car:

• It is a lot of walking on dirt paths, so real shoes beat sandals and a stroller earns its keep with little ones.
• It is largely outdoors and seasonal, which in Iowa means spring through fall for the full experience. Always check the current calendar and hours before you drive out.
• Give it a half day, not an hour. Kids who "just want to see the animals" tend to end up churning butter and refusing to leave.

It is the rare attraction that tires kids out and teaches them something, which as any parent knows is the holy grail. That combination is exactly why it anchors any honest list of things to do in Urbandale, Iowa.

Everybody plans the trip around the fancy stuff and then the kids spend forty minutes obsessed with an ox named after a president. That is the whole magic of Living History Farms. It out-cools the phone.

Get outside: Walnut Creek trails and Urbandale's parks

Urbandale is stitched together by green space, and Walnut Creek runs right through the heart of it. The paved trails along the creek and greenbelt are flat, shaded in spots, and friendly to strollers, training wheels, and adults who have not been on a bike since the Obama administration. Rent nothing, bring nothing fancy, just go for a roll and let the afternoon slow down.

When the kids need to burn off the last of the granola-bar energy, Lions Park is a reliable Urbandale go-to with playground equipment and open room to run. The city keeps a solid roster of neighborhood parks, so wherever you are staying, there is usually green space within a few blocks. A loose plan that works:

• Morning at Living History Farms while everyone is fresh.
• A picnic and a stretch of the Walnut Creek trail after lunch.
• Late-afternoon playground time at Lions Park before you all agree you have earned dinner.

Where to eat (keep it easy)

Urbandale is not trying to be a foodie pilgrimage, and honestly that is a relief when you are traveling with people who negotiate over chicken tenders. The Douglas Avenue and Hickman Road corridors are where most of the everyday dining lives, a practical mix of sit-down spots, quick bites, coffee, and ice cream for the ride home. Menus and hours shift, so peek at whatever is open now rather than trusting a list from three years ago.

And because you are fifteen minutes from downtown, the whole Des Moines food scene is on the table too. If you want the bigger swing, we rounded up the best of it in our guide to things to do in Des Moines, and for the stroller crowd specifically, things to do in Des Moines with kids.

Why Urbandale works as a home base

Here is the quiet argument for staying in Urbandale instead of parking downtown. You get the calm suburb at night and the whole metro by day. Living History Farms and the trails are right there, the interstates are close, and you are a short hop from the Des Moines zoo, science center, riverfront, and every restaurant you could not fit into one trip.

For families, that trade matters. Quiet street to sleep on. Big city ten minutes out. A driveway instead of a parking garage. It is the easy-access, low-stress version of a Central Iowa trip, which is precisely the kind of stay we are built for.

You want the fun of the city and the sleep of the suburbs. Pick a home base in Urbandale and you get both. Your kids get a yard, and you get a coffee maker that is actually yours for the week.

A simple family day in Urbandale

Do not overthink it. A day here almost plans itself:

• Morning: Living History Farms, early, before the heat and the crowds.
• Midday: lunch on the Hickman or Douglas corridor, then a slow walk or ride on the Walnut Creek trail.
• Afternoon: Lions Park to run it out, or a quick drive downtown if everyone still has gas in the tank.
• Evening: dinner nearby, ice cream, and back to a home that is quiet enough to actually rest in.

Two mellow days and you have covered the best of Urbandale with room left over for a Des Moines detour. That is the beauty of a suburb that punches above its size.

The bottom line

Urbandale is easy in the best way. A world-class history museum, creekside trails, good parks, a driveway, and the whole of Des Moines a short drive off. Stay central, keep the plan loose, check seasonal hours on anything outdoors, and let the town do the rest.

Need a comfortable place to land close to all of it? Book a Stay-A-While home and set your family up minutes from Living History Farms and everything Des Moines has to offer.