Barnes Family Inclusive Playground

If you’ve got a kid with accessibility needs in Ames, this is genuinely the place locals point you toward first. The soft ground cover makes a real difference — no mulch in shoes, no hard landings — and the climbing structure, slides, and swings are all set up so kids of different abilities can actually play together rather than around each other. It’s enclosed, which parents of runners will appreciate, and the shade trees mean you’re not baking on a bench in July. Clean restrooms, picnic tables, and an open grass field round it out nicely. Right near the trails too, so you can make a whole afternoon of it.