Greenbelt Landing Was Built Around Walnut Creek, and Fall Is When You Can See It

"It's really all about water," Brad Hindson told dsm magazine about the sculpture he made for Clive's newest park. His piece, "Aquatic Dance," is three 20-foot steel poles topped with more than 400 small paddles. Each paddle is hand-bent into a slight zigzag so it turns in even a faint breeze. He painted them in blues, greens and an earthy terra cotta to match Walnut Creek, and he calls the piece "a sketch of water." "On a windy day, the piece is quite animated," he said. Windy afternoons are easy to find in October.

Most people who have been to Greenbelt Landing went on opening weekend, when the park debuted during Clive Festival on July 17, 2026, the festival's 50th year. That weekend was about the stage, the lawn and the new playground. The sculpture's quote points to something else. Underneath the amenities, the 14.89-acre site next to the Clive Aquatic Center at 1801 NW 114th St. is a system for handling water. Once the crowds are gone, that system is the main thing you see.

The Creek Shaped the Plan

KCCI reported that Greenbelt Landing cost about $10.5 million and took almost two years to build, after close to a decade of planning. Clive Leisure Services Director Richard Brown told the station why the design started with the creek. "Being along Walnut Creek, where we're vulnerable to lots of flooding and things like that, we were very intentional in how we designed this space," he said.

A large share of the construction work went into features most visitors walk right past.

• Bioretention cells catch runoff from the parking lot and the street and treat it before it reaches the stormwater wetland, according to Clean Water Iowa.
• A restored wetland behind the playground filters stormwater before it flows into Walnut Creek.
• About 1,200 feet of creek bank was stabilized to slow erosion and protect nearby infrastructure.
• Native plantings and restored creekside habitat replaced invasive trees and shrubs, which were cleared to make room for stormwater detention, the boardwalk and the streambank work.

The City of Clive lists four grants and the Clive Community Foundation among the project's funding sources.

1. A Water Quality Initiative grant from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship
2. A Water Quality Projects grant from the Iowa Finance Authority
3. A REAP grant from the Iowa DNR
4. An Iowa Great Places grant from the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs
5. Support from the Clive Community Foundation

Two of the four grants are for water quality. NCMIC sponsored the public art, and MidAmerican Energy sponsored the stage.

Following the Water Through the Park

Since the park is built around runoff, the easiest way to see it is to follow the water's path. Every stop below is part of the design described by the city and in a site visit from Des Moines Parent.

1. The shared parking lot. Greenbelt Landing uses the Aquatic Center lot. Runoff from this pavement and the street feeds the bioretention cells.
2. "Aquatic Dance." This is the sculpture from the opening. Its colors come from the creek you are about to reach.
3. The play stream. Kids work a hand pump to start a small stream that runs toward the wetland. It is a play feature, not a splash pad, so it is the one piece of the playground designed around moving water.
4. The wetland. This is the restored wetland behind the playground, where stormwater is filtered on its way to the creek.
5. The boardwalk. An ADA-accessible wetland boardwalk with seating leads to Walnut Creek and connects directly to the Clive Greenbelt Trail.
6. Walnut Creek. KCCI lists fishing access and access to Walnut Creek through the ICON Water Trails network among the park's features. ICON's own Walnut Creek page still lists the Aquatic Center access, Site 53, as a future carry-down site for waders, tubers, paddlers and anglers. If you plan to paddle, check that page before loading a kayak.

From the boardwalk, the Greenbelt Trail continues in both directions, so the park can be the start or the middle of a longer walk or ride.

The Playground Is Built for Mixed Ages

The Ashley Okland Variety Star Playground came out of a partnership between Variety – the Children's Charity of Iowa and the city. Variety built it and gave it to Clive, and the city now maintains it. It is the second playground to carry the Ashley Okland Variety Star name. The first is at Ewing Park in Des Moines.

The design is meant to work for a family with children of different ages and abilities:

• Separate play areas for ages 2 to 5 and 5 to 12
• Ramps throughout, poured-in-place rubber surfacing and shade canopies
• Sensory play elements and musical instruments
• Standard swings, an adult-and-toddler swing, a bucket-seat friendship swing and a saucer swing. Variety's project description also includes harnessed swings.

Drinking fountains are near the playground and near the restrooms.

Why Late October Works

Fall takes the pressure off the spaces the park shares with its neighbors. The table shows how the park's shared spaces work once summer is over.

The park's summer pressures have now passed. The pool-season parking crunch the city warns about is over, and the shelter rental season ended October 15. What is left is the wetland in its fall colors, the creek at whatever level the week's rain has left it, and a sculpture built to show the wind.

The Listening Field sound walk that ran along the trail this summer ended in September. The next large city gathering is the Mayor's Tree Lighting on Friday, December 4, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. It takes place at the City Hall and Public Library complex, a few blocks from the Landing.

Two More Projects on the Same Creek

Greenbelt Landing is the first of three "Greenbelt Triad" projects in Clive's Greenbelt Master Plan. The city commissioned that plan in 2015 and adopted it in October 2016 after 18 months of public input. The other two projects follow the same approach: improve recreation and handle Walnut Creek's water at the same time.

Porter Shelter, on Maddox Parkway just west of 100th Street, is one of the original recreation areas from the bond referendum in the late 1970s that started the Greenbelt. The city notes that it often floods when Walnut Creek rises. Plans call for:

• a relocated shelter and restroom
• a nature-themed playground
• more parking
• a realigned trail
• streambank stabilization and stormwater improvements
• better creek access

The Campbell Park Trail Bridge would replace one of the oldest bridges on the trail with a new one set higher above the creek. Plans add public art, overlooks, creek access and a new trail connection to Campbell Park.

The city has not published dates for either project. Its Triad page says all three were partly funded through the city's capital budget, with grants and private donations sought for the rest. The Landing shows what that plan looks like once it is built: a playground, a stage and a sculpture set on top of wetland, bioretention cells and a stabilized creek bank.

The Greenbelt is a big part of what makes Clive feel like home, and at Megan Mitchum + CO we love seeing it improve one stretch of Walnut Creek at a time. If you're thinking about a home near the Greenbelt trail system, or just want to talk about which parts of Clive suit how you spend your weekends, we'd be glad to help. Contact Us.