DES MOINES, Iowa — Easter Lake Park held the grand opening of its new adaptive park on Sunday, and the park was packed with people excited for the endless, inclusive opportunities.
The Athene North Shore Recreation Area at Easter Lake has been deemed the "most universally accessible park" in the entire country. Leaders of the initiative say the park is a "game changer".
Renewal efforts for the park began in 2018. It started as a small idea to give veterans an accessible way to fish, but eventually turned into something much larger.
“They saw a need," said Jessica Lown, community outreach supervisor for Polk County Conservation. "Once they had this one idea, they saw a need, they started talking to the community and the community said 'This is what we need, there isn’t a place like this and it’s really important.'”
The park has a wide variety of adaptive activities, including an adaptive pontoon, an adaptive kayak launch, chairs that work to wheel through the sand and water and a brand-new adaptive playground.
“This space is showing Iowa, the Des Moines community and honestly across the nation, that it is possible, and it can be done," said Devon Boes, program and outreach coordinator for the Athene North Shore Recreation Area.
The park is paving the way for inclusivity, especially for Isaac Schreier, who uses a wheelchair.
“We’ve had a blast here," said Jake Schreier, Isaac's dad. "It's been really fun to just kind of be able to take him where his brother goes, who is not maybe on the wheelchair. We can get down to the beach, we can get on the sand, or he was able to get into the water a little bit today, so overall it’s been a really, really fun day."
With summer just over the horizon, the recreation area is looking forward to a season of programs and other new plans.
“This is just the beginning, and it will continue to expand and grow, and we also invite feedback," Lown said.
Isaac Schreier says his favorite part of the park was the chair that allowed him to play in the sand with his brother, truly showing the impact the Athene North Shore Recreation Area is leaving.
“This has been a huge experience for us to just be able to have a little bit more fun and be able to get him to places that he maybe can’t get to on other parks," Schreier said. "So it’s been huge, we hope to see a lot more of this in the Des Moines metro area.”
The park is now open for anybody to come and visit. Adaptive equipment rentals and concessions will officially become regularly available on Memorial Day weekend.