Des Moines gets the headlines, but one of Iowa's most interesting small cities sits just 15 miles west of the capital. Waukee, incorporated back in 1878 as a railroad and coal mining town, has quietly become the fastest-growing large city in the state — its population hit nearly 32,000 in 2024, up roughly 8,000 in just four years. Dallas County, where it sits, ranks as the fourth fastest-growing county in the US. Growth like that usually means new things to see and do, and Waukee delivers on that front.
Getting there is simple. It's about a 20-minute drive from downtown Des Moines and roughly half an hour from Des Moines International Airport, making it an easy add-on to any trip to Iowa's capital. Accommodation runs from standard hotels and motels to home rentals if you'd rather have a kitchen.
Food is a good reason to come. From June through September, Triangle Park hosts a weekly farmers market on Wednesday afternoons — produce, eggs, honey, and baked goods straight from local growers. For a sit-down meal, Mullets Waukee is the town's family-friendly spot for hearty American breakfasts and casual classics. More curious eaters should try LT Organic Farm Restaurant, right on I-80 and open only May through October. Its farm-to-table menu shifts with the seasons and leans Mediterranean, Caribbean, and Indian, with vegan and gluten-free options, and reviewers consistently single out both the freshness and the owner's hospitality.
Outdoors, Centennial Park packs volleyball courts, baseball diamonds, a disc golf course, playgrounds, picnic spots, and a creek into 33 acres. The bigger draw is the Raccoon River Valley Trail, which Waukee shares a trailhead for on Hickman Road near 10th Street. At 107.7 miles, it's billed as America's longest paved loop trail, following an old 19th-century railroad line, and it connects with the High Trestle Trail for a combined 120 miles through several towns. With a gentle 1-2% grade, it's rated moderate and suits most fitness levels — rent a bike or just walk a scenic stretch.
If the weather turns, shopping fills the gap. Fleet Farm's Waukee location is the kind of sprawling hardware-and-outdoors emporium where shoppers joke about walking in for one item and leaving with bird seed, a wrench set, and beef jerky. Buff City Soap, also in Waukee, makes plant-based soaps and household products fresh in-store daily.
Waukee won't replace Des Moines as the reason you visit central Iowa, but it's exactly the kind of place that rewards a half-day detour — good food, an easy trail ride, and a small-town feel that's growing fast enough to stay interesting. It pairs naturally with a longer capital-city itinerary, or as a stop on a wider Iowa road trip that could take in quieter spots like Springbrook State Park, just over an hour from Des Moines.
