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Gray's Lake Park

"The Place to Meet"

With its many opportunities for walking, biking, and other activities, Gray’s Lake Park is the “Place to Meet” in the Des Moines Metro area. The centerpiece of the park’s renewal plan is the two-mile trail encircling the lake. This trail is lit and equipped with emergency phones, providing a beautiful, clean, and safe outdoor experience.

Connecting the trail on the south edge of the lake is a 1/4 mile pedestrian bridge, the only one of its kind in the Midwest. The bridge is lit and visible from Fleur Drive... a powerful message that Des Moines is an attractive and welcoming place to live and do business.

News & Info

• What Wood This Be?

  Winter Tree Identification at Gray’s Lake Park

  February 24th, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.

  
  

  Meet at the boat ramp at the northwest parking lot
  Identifying trees in the winter without the benefit of seeing their leaves? A fun challenge! A few trees have distinctive “nametag” characteristics but many others require observation with a hand magnifier coupled with a written guide to determine their identity. Come learn secrets to identifying many of Gray’s Lake Park’s trees during the dormant season so that you can all the more appreciate them when they “wake up” in the spring, already knowing what they will be. We will cover a combination of major (color and texture of the bark, overall tree shape) and minor (site conditions, twig detail) tree features you can use for identification - things like,. Feel free to attend regardless of your current level of knowledge, whether you’d like to just absorb a few basics or explore the more in-depth process such as observing twigs for additional classifying information . . . no one is going to test you at the end. The first 30 - 45 minutes will be a general discussion and focus on five easy-to-identify types of trees. The next hour will incorporate the use of hand-held magnifying glasses to observe unique identifying characteristics on twigs of several additional species. You are welcome to stay for all or part of the workshop. Hand lenses and identification booklets will be available. Free and open to all ages. Call Teva Dawson, Gray’s Lake Park Manager, at 323-8907 or email TLDawson@dmgov.org for more information.

• Plaque Donations

  
  Along the railing of the pedestrian bridge, individual bridge plaque sponsors are recognized with a plaque bearing their name, company name, friends’, or loved ones’ names. A minimum $100 donation entitles you to a plaque. Each plaque is a brushed-aluminum rectangle measuring 4 x 2 1/3 inches. Sponsors may include up to two lines of text with 17 characters each, including spaces, for a total of 34 characters per plaque. An additional line at the top of a plaque, reading “In Memory of,” may be added upon request at no charge.
  
  Pedestrian Bridge Plaque Form
  
  To learn more about donating, Click here.

• Concession Stand

  
  Closed for the season – watch for the concession stand and boat rentals to resume in April.
  
  

• Yoga in the Park

  
  Saturdays at 9:00 a.m. on Cable Channel 7
  Reruns of the 2009 summer sessions will be broadcast.
  
  Yoga will return to Gray’s Lake Park in June 2010 and will be held each Saturday at 9:00 a.m. through September.
  

  2010 Instructor Schedule

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• Map of Gray's Lake

  
  
  Basic Map of Gray's Lake Park
  
  Detailed Map of Gray's Lake Park
  
  

  
  
  
  
  

• Gray's Lake Park History

  
  Through the centuries, the area that is today’s Gray’s Lake Park was part of the ever-changing course of the Raccoon River. Left behind after one such change in the Raccoon was an oxbow that would become Gray’s Lake Park. Residents of Des Moines in the early 20th century remember this body of water as a small pond. The land was originally owned by T.E. Brown, who sold 79 acres on the eastern edge of the property to Gaylord E. Gray. With concrete just coming of age, Gaylord Gray had the idea of mining sand and gravel out of this lake.
  
  Click here for more Gray's Lake History

  
  

• Gray's Lake Park Rules

  
  Alcohol
  Consumption or possession of alcoholic beverages is not allowed.
  
  Bridge
  Fishing or jumping from the bridge are not allowed.
  
  Hours
  November through March: 6:00 A.M. - 10:00 P.M.
  April through October: 5:00 A.M. - 12:00 Midnight.
  
  Click here for complete rules