Iowa's Walking Club promotes physical fitness through non-competitive sporting events. Our events are designed to help community members have fun, become fit, and make friends. We hope you'll join us!
Inclement weather policy: Generally, we do not cancel based on weather forecasts. We do cancel for extreme temperatures, rain, and snow. To check for cancellations, see our Facebook or Meetup pages.
Weekday Walks
We are kicking off the holiday season with two great lights walks!! You will be able to enjoy Jolly Holiday Lights and the Grandview Park Luminary Display. Then you can multi-task, do some indoor walking at the local malls and get that Christmas shopping done!! Join in the fun!! Questions – Susan Pinneke 515-423-8437 (call or text).
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Monday, December 4, 5:30 PM – Jolly Holiday Lights at Outlets of Des Moines, 801 Bass Pro Drive NW, Altoona. We will meet on by the “Jolly Holiday Lights” sign on the water tower side of the mall, by Forever 21 and Sketchers and parking lots D3 & D4. We will enjoy holiday lights displays, which are free and open to the public. Since this is a fund raiser for the Make A Wish, I’m sure there will be opportunities to donate, if you’d like. I plan to have dinner at the food court after and get a start on my Christmas shopping.
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Friday, December 8, 5:30 PM – Grandview Park, 3230 Easton Boulevard, which is the south entrance to the main park road (E. 32nd Street). Follow this road until you come to a few homes on the left and the intersection with Guthrie Avenue. At that point, you'll see the shelter ahead on your right. There is some on-road parking near the shelter and limited parking spots elsewhere along the park road. You can also park on Guthrie Avenue between E. 29th and E. 32nd Streets. Join us for an enchanting evening hike along the luminary-lit nature trails of Grandview Park. The City of Des Moines is sponsoring this event, so we will not be the only hikers. Meet inside the park near the Mahaffey Enclosed Shelter, where the hike begins. I'll be near the parking area holding a sign that says "Iowa's Walking Club" so we can find one another and walk as a group.
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Thursday, December 14, 2:00 PM – Merle Hay Mall Food Court, 3800 Merle Hay Road, Des Moines. We’ll meet at the food court and do a couple of laps around the mall. Followed by Christmas Shopping???
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Wednesday, December 20, 6:00 PM – Valley West Mall Food Court, 1551 Valley West Dr, West Des Moines. Join us for some climate-controlled walking. We will be working off our Christmas cookies!!
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Friday, December 29 - 10:00 AM – Mid-American RecPlex, 3536 Booneville Rd, West Des Moines. This is as close to outdoor walking as we can get indoors. We’ll meet at the check in area and do some laps around the field. There is a $3 fee.
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Tuesday, January 2, 2:00 PM – Merle Hay Mall Food Court, 3800 Merle Hay Road, Des Moines. Let’s kick off the new year right with a couple of laps around the mall.
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Monday, January 8 – 6:00 PM – Valley West Mall Food Court, 1551 Valley West Drive, West Des Moines. Start/finish at the food court by Von Maur. We’ll enjoy a few laps around the mall and check out the sales.
We’ll be taking a break from walking for a couple of months as I head to sunny Arizona. We’ll be back on the trail starting April 1. We’ll kick off the season with a week of diverse walks to peak our interest for the walking season ahead. Happy Holidays everyone!!!
Monthly Meetings
We meet on the third Monday of the month at 6:30PM for a brief meeting.
From Apr to Sep, weather permitting, we meet outside at American Legion Park in Valley Junction, 301 Vine St, West Des Moines, IA 50265. Bring a chair, bug spray, and water.
From Oct to Mar, we meet via Zoom. Contact gdmva.iowa@gmail.com to get the link.
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