Ankeny’s Glow Trail is open, while Experience Park’s next features remain in development

Image: AI-generated illustrative photograph of generic evening-walk preparations; not the Glow Trail, its surface, brightness, opening hours or current lighting.

A short side path can give a familiar corridor a different character. Ankeny’s Glow Trail is now open within the High Trestle Trail Experience Park, according to the city, adding a 425-foot path just east of Southwest Walnut Street that glows at night.

The larger park stretches fourteen acres along the trail between West First Street and the South Ankeny Boulevard underpass. The city lists 350 Southwest Ordnance Road as its location and describes completed landscaping, new trees, stormwater features and trail lighting as part of the first phase.

Future features should be distinguished from what is open. A separate phase-two project page describes a coaster-style side path and natural play areas with construction scheduled to begin in 2026; it does not confirm those additions are ready to use. Follow current signs and ask parks staff about permitted visiting hours before planning a nighttime stop.

Look at how the side path and landscaping change the experience of moving through the area. A park can become somewhere to pause as well as somewhere to pass through. Staying attentive to the parts already complete lets visitors enjoy the evolving space without treating a long-term plan as today’s map.

Sources and visit details

• City of Ankeny: Experience Park completed first phase and open Glow Trail
• City of Ankeny: phase-two features and planned construction status