Ankeny Is Building Its Side of the High Trestle Trail One Stop at a Time

The High Trestle Trail is the most popular recreational trail in central Iowa. Ankeny economic development director Derek Lord told Axios Des Moines in January that Ankeny's side of it hadn't had distinctive features to draw people in. Since then the city has been adding stops along the trail in small, separately funded phases. As of the end of September 2026, some are open and some are still on paper. Knowing which is which can save you a wasted walk.

Why the trail is getting built in pieces

Ankeny is building the High Trestle Trail Experience Park in phases. It's a 14-acre park, about three-quarters of a mile long, running along both sides of the trail from West First Street to the underpass at South Ankeny Boulevard. According to the city, more than 1,500 residents helped shape the first feature through surveys and meetings. The city has also said future projects will move ahead "as funding becomes available."

That funding line explains the whole pattern. Each phase is put together from city money, county grants, and arts grants. Lord told Axios the longer goal is to make the Uptown area an outdoor tourism destination by adding to the park over time. So the trail you ride this month is a snapshot partway through the build, not a finished design.

The first phase cost an estimated $1 million. It included the glow trail, new lighting and power, 147 shade trees, turf, native seeding, and low mounds built along new trail segments to hold future art installations. Those mounds are a good clue. The city graded spots for art before it had the art, because it was planning several phases ahead.

The newest finished piece is on the northwest side

Ankeny's newest addition along the trail isn't in Uptown. Trestle Ridge Park, at 3707 NW Reinhart Drive, is a new neighborhood park on Ankeny's northwest side with a direct connection to the High Trestle Trail.

The city lists these features:

• A playground
• A basketball court
• A shelter house
• Open green space and a natural prairie area
• A fishing pond
• A parking lot with a direct trail connection

That parking lot may matter more than it looks. If you want to ride or walk a stretch of the High Trestle without starting in Uptown, a park with its own parking and a direct trail connection gives you another starting point. Bring the kids, let them run around the playground, then head out on the trail.

The Ankeny Park Board scheduled the park's dedication, ribbon-cutting, and a free ice cream social for Monday, Sept. 28, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The city's listing invited people to meet Park Board members and Ankeny Parks & Recreation staff, and it promised games for kids. If you missed it, the park is still there.

The piece that's easier to enjoy in October

The city planned the glow trail as the first attraction in the Experience Park, and it was open by May 2025. It's a 425-foot offshoot of the High Trestle. The pavement contains phosphorescent material that absorbs sunlight during the day and gives off a soft glow at night, with no electric lighting. The city called it the first glow trail in Greater Des Moines.

The glow needs darkness, and in midsummer that doesn't come until late. As fall days get shorter, dark arrives in time for an after-dinner walk, so October is a better month to see the glow trail than July. Since the pavement charges in daylight, a sunny afternoon should set it up best for that evening.

The glow trail was also built as a starting point. The city described it as "the foundation for future projects and amenities in the Experience Park." The next pieces are meant to go right next to it.

What's still on paper

This is where the public timelines and what you can actually find on the trail start to drift apart. Here's where the two projects people ask about stood as of Sept. 30, 2026.

The flowline. In January, Axios described a nearly 900-foot paved path planned just east of Walnut Street. It would add small rises and dips to a trail that's usually flat, and it's designed for strollers, wheelchair users, and kids on bikes. Axios said it was expected to open by the end of summer 2026. The city's Phase 2 project page describes the same idea as a coaster-style side path, about 882 feet long and 6 feet wide, with two nature-play areas, benches, and trash receptacles. That page still only says construction is "scheduled to begin in 2026." Summer is over, and I couldn't find any public confirmation that the flowline has opened or that construction has started. For now, its status is unconfirmed.

The cost figures don't match either. Axios reported this year's phase at around $300,000, including a $100,000 Polk County grant and $45,000 from the Bravo Greater Des Moines arts council, with city tax dollars covering the rest. The city's Phase 2 page estimates $210,000, made up of $100,000 in county contributions, $100,000 from the Capital Project Fund, and $10,000 from the Hotel/Motel Tax. The Axios total may cover more work, such as the underpass lights, but neither source explains the difference.

The South Ankeny Boulevard underpass. Axios also reported plans for an interactive LED light installation in the underpass beneath South Ankeny Boulevard, to welcome trail users coming from the south. In a June announcement, the city said Bravo Greater Des Moines had helped fund lighting for that underpass and that it was planned for later this year. No artist has been named publicly, and I couldn't find any report that it's been installed. "Later this year" still has three months left.

Both projects belong to the same Experience Park as the glow trail. When they're done, the stretch between West First Street and South Ankeny Boulevard will have a lot more to do than it does today.

Putting together a fall afternoon on the trail

Most of what's open right now is at the edges and in pieces, so a good outing connects them.

Bravo's support also reaches the Northwestern Trailhead at 2125 NW Irvinedale Drive. This summer, a separate $7,500 Bravo grant paid for the city's Uptown Arts project, which the city said would bring live performances, a community fiber art exhibit, and a temporary art installation to Uptown and the High Trestle Trail. The Music on the Trail series opened at that trailhead in June with Levi Smith, and the city said more shows would follow from July through September. Bravo has now helped pay for the glow trail, the Northwestern Trailhead, the trail's public art master plan, and the planned underpass lighting. It's one of the steadiest backers of Ankeny's trail projects.

For an evening out next month, look at Saturday, Oct. 10. The city's free Fall Movie Under the Stars is showing Hocus Pocus at Wagner Park, 410 W First Street. Dessert trucks arrive at 5:15 p.m., and the movie starts at dusk. The Experience Park also starts at West First Street, so you can walk down to the glow trail after the credits, when it's fully dark.

Here's a simple plan for the next few weeks:

1. On a weekend afternoon, start at Trestle Ridge Park. Use the playground or fishing pond, then head out on the trail from the park's own connection.
2. On a clear evening, go to the glow trail after sunset, ideally after a sunny day.
3. On Oct. 10, combine the Wagner Park movie with a walk on the glow trail.
4. Check the city's Experience Park Phase 2 page before you go looking for the flowline east of Walnut Street.

The city is building a stop at a time, and this fall Trestle Ridge Park and the glow trail are the ones you can visit.

If you're already planning which part of the trail you want to live closest to, or you just want to compare notes on Ankeny's newest parks, I'm always happy to talk it through. Reach out to Laura Major anytime. Let's Connect.