Pappajohn Sculpture Park

Absolutely stunning place to walk and experience art. Stayed only a day in Des Moines and stumbled on this place while looking for a place to walk from my hotel. I took my time and wandered all throughout the park and read about the sculptures; really really lovely.

Visiting the Pappajohn Sculpture Park in Iowa was such a refreshing surprise. It’s one of those places that feels effortlessly creative — a huge open space right in downtown Des Moines where art doesn’t hide behind museum walls. Instead, it stands out in the open sky, completely approachable, giving you the freedom to walk right up to it, touch it, and see it from any angle you want. What I loved most was the variety. The sculptures are bold, modern, weird, thoughtful, playful — every few steps there’s something totally different waiting for you. Giant abstract shapes, bright metal structures, surreal creations that make you tilt your head and go, “What am I even looking at?” In the best way possible. It’s the kind of park where every piece has its own personality, but together they create a lively outdoor gallery full of energy. The space itself is beautiful. Wide green lawns, open pathways, and the Des Moines skyline as a backdrop make the whole park feel clean, open, and inviting. Whether you’re exploring every sculpture closely or just relaxing on the grass while people wander around, the atmosphere is peaceful but never boring. What really stands out is how accessible it is. No tickets, no pressure, no rushing — you can explore at your own pace, take photos, enjoy the sunshine, or simply soak in the creativity around you. Families, artists, students, tourists — everyone blends together in this shared outdoor art space. Overall, Pappajohn Sculpture Park is a genuine highlight of downtown Des Moines. Fun, free, visually striking, and filled with unique pieces that spark curiosity. It’s the perfect stop for anyone who loves art, open spaces, or just a great walk in the city.

Really enjoyed visiting the park and walk around. There was plenty of parking around and it was easy to figure out how to pay. Took me about one hour to walk around take pictures and enjoy the art...3000 steps or so

8.18.25 I came across this place while visiting Des Moines for work. It says that this park is named after John and Mary Pappajohn, who are renowned art collectors. They donated the initial collection of sculptures—28 pieces valued at an estimated $40 million—to the city of Des Moines. Free to walk around and explore.

I didn’t know the guy who makes the pizza also made sculpture parks. The Des Moines art scene is BOOMING. Lovely sculpture parks with some fantastic pieces.

Five year old loved it. He really liked finding the actual pieces of art in person of the map of the park they have available at random spots through out. All in all we had fun.

I wish it was a bit more interactive. Only one sculpture didn’t say “no touching” some of them were cool and creepy all at once. A nice place to stop if you have some time to waste on a beautiful day.

Is an absolute beautiful day lots of people just walking around taking pictures to some really nice quiet place

The sculpture garden seems to be the #1 attraction in Des Moines, and I can see why. The 4.4 acre park features a variety of artists from all over the world and there were several names that I recognized. The sculptures are scattered throughout the green space. You can also use your phone for an audio tour. "Nomade" by Jaume Plensa is probably the most popular because you can stand inside the figure. I have seen the "Love" sculpture by Robert Indiana in different states. The "Untitled (Three Dancing Figures, version C)" by Kieth Haring stood out with its bright colors. I also enjoyed Yayoi Kusama's "Pumpkin (L)." The best thing about the place is that it's a FREE experience.

John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park is a large outdoor free sculpture park that is open to the public and located in downtown Des Moines, in front of the Des Moines Art Center. It officially opened on September 27, 2009. Named after the very generous philanthropist, whom this couple donated millions of dollars to Iowa State and other colleges in Iowa, the local hospital and other causes. There are numerous of unique sculptures from artists all over the world. One artist's work that I do recognize is Deborah Butterfield. She is an American sculpture best known for her bronze horses made from wood and recycled metal, in which I have seen in other sculpture gardens in other states. With many sculptures, one that you may see right away is this large white sculpture made by Jaume Plensa, titled "Nomade". This sculpture is composed of numerous of letters to form part of a person sitting, holding his/ her knees towards their chest. This artist's sculpture is supposed to represent a metaphor that he has for human culture, in which a person alone has limited potential. However, when formed into groups (or together), become stronger. While visiting Des Moines, I just knew I wanted to check out this sculpture garden with my husband and our little girl dog. Parking was easily to find, as it is only street (paid) parking available. We spent a little over 20 minutes walking through the park and taking photos. There isn't much information regarding the sculptures, but you can find the sculpture guide on the Des Moines Art Center website. A nice visit worth doing when visiting Des Moines. And when you are done you should consider checking out the state capitol and eating at Zombie Burger + Drink Lab afterwards (which is both a tourist and local favorite).

After a big lunch in Des Moines, i had to digest my food so I meandered the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park. Such a creative green space that features an impressive array of sculptures by some of the world's most renowned artists in downtown Des Moines. This park is a collaborative effort between John and Mary Pappajohn, the City of Des Moines, Des Moines Parks and Recreation, the Des Moines Art Center, and local businesses. The result is a public green space I spent the most time at the Jaume Plensa Nomade sculpture. It explains that letters and words on their own have little meaning but together can create thoughts, different languages and community. Applied to people, we're better and stronger together than separate.

I finally had a chance to visit this place. There's usually easy access to the sculpture garden if you pay for the parking spot. Beautiful we'll maintained path that leads you around to many sculptures most of which are abstract art. People are thankfully respectful of this art and not putting graffiti on it. Great way to spend 30 minutes and not spend any money either.

At one point my friend looked over and said, this one is called 'bum on a bench'. Lol. There were a handful or so of homeless folks who called this park 'home' while we walked through. They didn't bother us, but they don't go unnoticed either. Getting back to the sculptures, we walked through the entire park to see everything here. Most of them are talented pieces that are enjoyable. Others are deformed and don't seem to have any purpose or clarity. That's art for ya. Honestly, this was just another free thing that we found to do while we visited Des Moines. It provided a few laughs, a small piece of exercise, and the art, well, at least a 1000 words. Cheers.

Pappajohn Sculpture Park opens to the public from 6am to midnight and its free! I wish I knew it lights up at night but we still enjoyed it. Park is clean and big and some interesting sculptures all around the park. Plenty to look at. Enjoy a sunny day with the fresh air and some cool sculptures.

A beautiful walk with really nice sculptures. I would have liked more history about the pieces. Several homeless in the park but they were just sleeping and didn't bother anyone.

If you're looking for an activity, go wander through the Pappajohn Sculpture Park @1330 Grand Avenue, in the middle of our beautiful City. There are plenty of restaurants and coffee shops to drop into. If you have littles who play Pokeman Go... it's a GOLD MINE! I'm gonna say there are at 75 sculptures by world renowned artists. It's a must visit!

So many cool statues I lost count! Right in the middle of downtown. Take a pic with everything - just don't judge.

Love that in the heart of downtown Des Moines, there is this park, free and open to all, curated by the Des Moines Art Center and filled with so many different sculptures from renowned artists all over the world for you to appreciate and take in! I saw pieces from Robert Indiana, Yayoi Kusama, Mark di Suvero, and Jaume Plensa just to name a few of my favorites! We came later in the day, so there was plenty of street parking available along the perimeter of the park. I would anticipate on a busier, better weather day that might be more limited, but hopefully the turnover rate is decent given that we spent about 30 minutes tops here and was able to proper see, read, and take in everything and then some during our time! There's not a ton of seating areas within the park, but definitely a few along the perimeter of the park as well. There's even a fun sculpture in the middle of the park that you're allowed to "interact" with and sit upon! But other than that, it's mostly a strolling kind of park, but I'm sure you could lounge on the grassy areas as well if you wanted. All in all, a great gem in the middle of Des Moines that I highly recommend everyone check this place out if you've got 15-20 minutes or more to spare!

This is a lovely free sculpture park in downtown Des Moines. Even though the park is surrounded by buildings on all sides it feels like a little oasis. There is plenty of street parking and only $1 for half an hour. I've only been during the day but definitely plan to go back at night when the sculptures are lit up.

This has to be the weirdest and coolest free thing you can do in a town. Parking is super easy and super cheap. There is plenty of street parking almost everywhere. If you are looking for a free activity and love really cool art, this is your place. Some of the art makes sense and some is open to interpretation. However all of it is placed in a beautiful park and I truly love that!

While my son was attending his orchestra camp, my daughter and I went to the Sculpture Park. I have never been here although now I wish I had because it's just a wonderful place with wonderful artwork. We had a great time.

A quiet summer Monday morning in downtown Des Moines. We had the park to ourselves and we took full advantage! Our kids (2 & 11) ran around. Yelled for the echo in the colored sphere, ran underneath the red iron rods, stared at the scary spider, ran into the human alphabet body, etc... We spent about 40 minutes here. It was a great little morning adventure for our crew. We guessed what things were, wanted to know names of certain pieces, wanted to touch the art, etc... We all chose our favorite and had a guessing game over it. Plenty of parking on street around the park (metered) and pretty clean.

This is a really great sculpture park to do a walk about. This is right in downtown Des Moines. Lots of room to walk around and take pictures. There are many sculptures here including Yayoi Kusama's sculpture. There are many great views from this park of different buildings and if you look around I noticed some great restaurants as well. Feel free to run around and park your car for free nearby!

We were on vacation and everyone I saw on TikTok said to stop by here. We went in the afternoon on a Saturday and there wasn't many people there. The farmer's market was closing down. I didn't see any bathrooms . The part was extremely clean and a lot of places to sit. The grass is well maintained. The sculptures are pretty cool. Overall okay if you're in the area.

This lovely sculpture park is located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa. Free to the public, it is meant for all to wander through and enjoy this eclectic collection of sculpture art. There are also benches for resting. Definitely a place to visit when you are in Des Moines.

A sculpture park in the city center is rare. St. Louis and Seattle come to mind and there are a few more. On a warm Summer day, this is probably a great spot to relax. I visited on a cold morning where the clouds above were about to unleash something heavy. The works here are by famous names. Mark di Suvero may be the oldest and his pieces are typically monumental in scale. Such is the case here. His 1987 bright orange painted steel piece, 'T8,' is set well against the landscape. It's nice that this vast lawn is not crowded with sculptures because it allows the viewer more visual perspective when looking at individual works.

This park is so well maintained. It's clean, open and very fun for a quick walk to enjoy the artwork. The sculptures are spread out with lots to look at, unique pieces. It's in a cute neighborhood with plenty to eat and coffee shops. Worth a visit if you're in the area.

What a beautiful spot of greenery in the middle of downtown Des Moines. Very walkable with a variety of sculptures to look at. Interesting use of materials and surrounded by new and old architectural buildings. We walked the sculpture park during the day and drove by again at night to see how the sculptures were lit. Very enjoyable way to spend a half an hour or so.

Such a cool park right downtown in Des Moines. Beautiful sculptures in a beautiful park, lots of room for kids to run around and for dog walking. It has a nice audio tour so you can learn about the different pieces. Very nice, you can spend as long as you like and just enjoy art.

I'm not going to make a joke about how excited I was for this to be called Pappajohn, because that would be childish (even though I still find it funny). This free sculpture park located in Downtown Des Moines was my destination when visiting the city a few days ago while on long trip from Buffalo, NY and Las Vegas, NV. This place has some street parking down the road and I'm sure locals know better spots to park then we do. It took about a half hour from start to finish to take everything in and I had an absolute blast enjoying these wonderful pieces of art. My personal favourite was the gremlin looking thing looking down on you, but hey, all of it was fantastic. Overall, this free sculpture park is the perfect place to walk around Downtown, take some pictures, and maybe even have a nice little picnic, Either way, it's a must see if you are rolling through town!

This is a must-see if you're traveling through Des Moines. Small but packed with unique sculptures including one by the famous Yayoi Kusama. This place exceeded my expectations and was a favorite destination of both me and my husband. Seeing the sculptures in person rather than just the photos is well worth it. Nice views of the skyline from here too. Nearby several good restaurants as well.

Nice park in downtown Des Moines, enjoyed walking around and looking at the sculptures. Paid parking all around the park, not too many people on a weekday afternoon.

Very cool green space with neat sculptures to push you along the path. Pick up an art guide at the front and learn about each piece and artist as you walk along. I dig on museums, but the kids always get bored before I do. This was a happy compromise. As long as you don't touch the pieces, they are free to run about and wiggle, while you pretend to still be carefree and piddle.

Nice park in downtown Des Moines. Considering that Des Moines basically closes after business hours for the exception of some restaurants. This was the one of the only places to visit in the evening. Nice interesting sculptures. Easy to find, parking at the time we went was great but I could imagine terrible during the day. Great place to see if you are visiting Des Moines.

Papa John's apparently sponsored this park but other than that it's great. This is a gorgeous Sculpture Park in Des Moines. Right next to some of the trendy areas a little bit to the west of downtown. It's well worth a visit - in a city which doesn't have a tremendous amount of standout attractions this is definitely one of the better ones and it's free.

Great park! Just beautiful with so many incredible sculptures to admire in such a pretty setting. Really fun for kids and lots of great photo ops. Free parking all over and super easy to walk through. Loved it!

Aside from it being minus 17 degrees outside, completely snow covered and really only being able to run to take pics from sculpture to sculpture in a span of less than 10 minutes... If you ever find yourself in downtown Des Moines, definitely make a pit stop at the Sculpture Park. What is it? About a 2 block park with a bunch of really cool looking sculpture pieces. My favorite was the semi transparent painted glass spectrum. Really cool for pictures and such. Probably would've been more enjoyable if we could've spent more time, but I'm glad we stopped to see it despite how cold it was outside. Anyways, just look at all the pics uploaded. How could you pass this up? 'Til next time, cheers!

This was a perfect little spot to stroll around downtown. The weather was favorable, and everything was spaced out well. The other reviews pretty much say it all. You can have a picnic and linger, or blitz the sculptures in like 45minutes including time to snap pictures.

Loved it. If you are in Des Moines or just passing through, make it a stop on your journey. It's easy to get to with on street parking. It could be worked into a lunch break if you are hesitant to stop. Get out of the car and move around a bit! It's a great spot to walk and just gaze at the sculptures or to spend more time and read about them and think. There is a mobile phone recording that provides more info on each work of art or you can access the website guide and read about each one. While there are other sculpture parks / gardens in other cities this park provides a wide variety of sculptures by different artists in a wheelchair accessible convenient site. It is easy to get around and it would be a good spot for people not familiar with sculpture to explore as an introduction. The Haring piece is fun and colorful and kids would love it - they could pose like the figures. The horse pieces by Butterfield are also great for those new to sculpture but intriguing because of her process. An earlier reviewer dissed this place for not having "classical" works - it's a nice place with fun pieces that is not off putting to people curious about art. We also found other pieces to be more challenging and thought provoking - Shea's "Post Balzac" - Weiwei's "Iron Tree Trunk" - etc. This park was created through the generosity of the Pappajohns (not pizza family) in an area of the city that had become rundown. Sure it may not be as great as some think the park in Minneapolis is but you may not be traveling that way - check it out and see what you think. A real gift!

Still my fave spot in town to walk around, be inspired and bring out of tourist! There are so many magical sculptures here and they have added new ones on a consistant basis over the years! The park is always super clean and manicured! It's the perfect spot to have picnic, take a breather, or be inspired!

This park is so wonderful to have in the center of the western gateway of Des Moines' downtown. The very generous Pappajohn's who donated all of the original sculptures and continue to add to the collection on the regular. It is a place that graduates, wedding parties and the casual passerby stops to have a picture snapped. It some Keith Herring and the Nomad and now we just added the Love Statue to the collection. It is something that locals and visitors must not miss. They also have free docent led tours regularly if you want to learn about each of the sculptures. I highly recommend this destination as it is so incredible!

Worth a stroll if you're in town. Plenty of metered parking spaces nearby. Lots of restaurants nearby also if you want to make this a lunch stop.

If you are interested in public art, take the cell phone tour. It uses a QR code on any one of the art pieces and gives you some great info. If you are a photographer, the best times to shoot are early mornings or late-evenings on the weekdays. Bring your tripod and a wide lens as well as some mid-range prime (I use a 50mm and 10-22mm). The parking is all metered, but I recommend walking or biking here. There are plenty of places to eat nearby, many of which offer carryout. This is a great place to bring kids or take a date. Security here is done with geo-fencing. There are plenty of cameras and it is well policed. You don't need to worry about skateboarders or vandals ruining stuff. The grass and landscaping are well cared for - this place is really fun!

Located just west of the hustle and bustle of downtown Des Moines, the Pappajohn Sculpture Park provides a well-groomed, art-rich, and peaceful introduction to our city's vibrant downtown culture. In a typical afternoon at the sculpture park, you're likely to see people viewing the art, eating lunch from one of the nearby food trucks, playing Pokemon Go (tons of PokeStops), and those just looking for a quiet escape from the busy downtown shops and restaurants. If you're there at the right times, you're likely to find events and activities happening in the park from a variety of local organizations. As an outdoor exhibit, visitors are allowed to respectfully interact with all of the sculptures, making the park a great spot for kids who tend to be too rough and excitable for an art museum setting. It may only take a half-hour to walk and tour the entire park, but there is an audio guide available via cell phone, provided by the Des Moines Art Center, to learn more about the sculptures onsite. Even if you're not interested in the art scene and culture, I would highly recommend taking some time out of your day to kick back on a warm day, and take in the downtown scenery!

Awesome(and free) thing to see when in Des Moines. I didn't do it, but there is also an optional cell phone tour that allows you to dial in and receive a guide tour over the phone. Even though the park is on the smaller side, there is a good variety of sculptures. I love that you can get up close to all the sculptures as well. Highly recommend!

Beautiful place! Love the sculptures and is great for a daytime picnic or a night time walk.

You'll be disappointed if you're used to Minneapolis' walker sculpture garden (way better) but it's still worth checking out. Good excuse to be outside at least. Cell phone tour is a nice option even though the voice gets old after awhile. The short snippets about each art piece in the brochures from the Art Center is a better option.

Free public art smack dab in the middle of downtown! It's a small park but it does take maybe an hour to walk around it if you really want to see it in its entirety. Parking was easy. No pay meters on a Sunday bordering the it. The park wasn't crowded at all but since it's pretty much open to the public any time of the day, I don't understand how it could be. Cute find in the city.

I love walking around here- it's peaceful, fun, and so beautiful. You'll enjoy the winding paths, interesting sculptures, and light-hearted atmosphere. There's often people gathered to play frisbee, walking dogs, or just meandering around. There's also plenty of places nearby to shop or find some food.

My first time visiting the Sculpture Park was in the dark, and my second time was during the day time. I loved it both times! Some of the sculptures are better at night, and some of them are better during the day, in my opinion. However, you cannot go wrong. We also tried the cell phone tour for some of the sculptures and learned a lot! Such a peaceful and gorgeous park! I look forward to visiting for a third time!!

With just a few hours to kill before our flight out of Des Moines, we stumbled upon this park on a very nice fall day. Although some in our group did not warm to the contemporary sculptures, I loved it. What a great place to seek some respite in downtown Des Moines. Beautiful photo ops too.

A pretty great place to relax or take pictures. Des Moines is an awesome city with tons of parks around the city. It's hard to believe this is so close to downtown. Parking is a bit tricky but parking anywhere downtown can be during peak times. The park grounds are meticulously maintained which is awesome to see such pride the the area sites!!

If you are in Des Moines and right in the area it's worth checking out. It's modern art so no classical sculptures. Seems like a nice place to take a sightseeing break as there are a lot of benches.

I have to hand it to you, Des Moines. I'm a little jealous of your downtown sculpture park. Every time I find myself strolling through the area I think to myself, this would be quite lovely in the heart of Indy. Kudos to the generous couple who made this beautiful and diverse collection of artwork available to the public. I was especially impressed to find a piece of work by Haring (the brightly colored dancing blob/stick figures -if that helps ring a bell). The space is free and "open" until midnight with lighting, artwork markers and landscaping. If you find yourself craving coffee while in the area, stroll on in to Ritual Café (located within the block) - it's one of my favorite coffee spots in the city.

The sculpture park is big and beautiful. 26 works of art purchased by the Pappajohn's and located from 10th to 15th Streets between Grand Avenue and Locust Street in Downtown Des Moines. There is street parking in the area if you want to stop and check it out. I didnt have a chance to see all the sculptures but I was definitely impressed with what I did see. Hoping to view the rest of the artwork on my next visit!

Nice place to spend half an hour or so, especially if you have kids or pets that want to run around. They have a couple dozen sculptures clustered into about a dozen groups. Could be very fun if you are into taking pictures or looking for an interesting background for family photos. Each sculpture has a plaque, and hypothetically you can call to get a more detailed description, although the system disconnected when we tried to use it. A fun thing to do if you're already downtown, not sure I'd make a special trip out for it since it isn't very big (a few city blocks by a few city blocks).

We stopped here on a whim on our way out west. We wanted to have a nice walk where we could stretch our legs and found this place on a roadside attractions site. Street parking was simple and about $1 (though not sure how crowded the downtown is during non-COVID times). The statues were all unique and fun to explore. At the end of the day, we discovered that downtown Des Moises is quite beautiful and worth exploring if we drive through again.