The neighborhood
Living in Ankeny
Ankeny is the fastest-growing city in Iowa, and people who move here tend to stay. The Pines sits in the north end of it, a block off North Ankeny Boulevard. Here is what is actually around you, measured in miles.
Where The Pines sits
The neighborhood is on NW 18th Street, one block west of North Ankeny Boulevard. That puts the everyday things — groceries, the middle school, the sports complex — inside about a mile, and the I-35 on-ramp 2.3 miles east. It is a quiet street that happens to be close to everything, which is a harder combination to find than it sounds.
| Place | Distance | What is there |
|---|---|---|
| Northview Middle School | 0.3 miles | Grades 8–9, essentially across the neighborhood. |
| Prairie Ridge Middle School | 1.0 miles | Grades 6–7, with the sports complex beside it. |
| Prairie Ridge Sports Complex & Aquatic Center | 1.0 miles | Ball fields, courts and the city aquatic center. |
| Hy-Vee on N. Ankeny Blvd | 1.1 miles | Full grocery, one block off North Ankeny Boulevard. |
| Ankeny Centennial High School | 1.3 miles | Grades 10–12, the north feeder high school. |
| High Trestle Trail head at the AMP | 1.6 miles | Where the High Trestle Trail starts, at the Ankeny Market & Pavilion. |
| Northwest Elementary School | 2.1 miles | Grades K–5 in the north feeder. |
| DMACC Ankeny campus | 2.7 miles | Des Moines Area Community College’s largest campus. |
| The District at Prairie Trail | 3.4 miles | Restaurants, shops and the Ankeny farmers market scene. |
| Saylorville Lake | 6.1 miles | Beaches, boat ramps, campgrounds and the Neal Smith Trail. |
| Downtown Des Moines | 14.5 miles | I-35 south from the on-ramp 2.3 miles east of here. |
| Des Moines International Airport | 18.9 miles | Des Moines International. |
Distances measured by road from our address using OpenStreetMap, September 2026. Drive times change with the hour, so we publish the distance instead.
Schools you can walk to
Northview Middle School is 0.3 miles from the front door, which is a walk rather than a drive. Prairie Ridge Middle School and the sports complex are about a mile off, and Ankeny Centennial High School is 1.3 miles.
Ankeny runs two complete feeder systems, north and south, on a K–5, 6–7, 8–9, 10–12 structure. We are in the north. The full picture is on the Ankeny schools guide, including the one thing every family should do before signing anything.
Groceries and errands
The Hy-Vee on North Ankeny Boulevard is 1.1 miles away, and the boulevard itself carries most of what you need day to day. The District at Prairie Trail, 3.4 miles south, is where people go when they want to make an evening of it.
The trail, and the bridge
The High Trestle Trail starts 1.6 miles from here, at the Ankeny Market & Pavilion on West First Street, and runs about 25 paved miles northwest to Woodward. Partway along it crosses the Des Moines River valley on a half-mile former railroad trestle wrapped in a blue steel art installation that lights up after dark. People drive across the state to ride it. You would be starting from the near end.
Closer in, Ankeny’s own trail network connects to the Neal Smith Trail up to Saylorville Lake, 6.1 miles away, where the beaches, boat ramps and campgrounds are.
Getting to work
The I-35 on-ramp is 2.3 miles east of here, and downtown Des Moines is 14.5 miles, most of it interstate. Des Moines International Airport is 18.9 miles. The DMACC Ankeny campus, the college’s largest, is 2.7 miles down the boulevard.
Why Ankeny keeps growing
The 2024 Special Census confirmed 76,207 residents, up 12.25 percent in four years, which makes Ankeny the fifth largest city in Iowa and the fastest growing in the state. Growth like that is usually a story about jobs and schools, and here it is both: the Des Moines metro is a short drive, the school district keeps building, and the trail network and parks got built out alongside the neighborhoods rather than after them.
What that means for a renter is simple enough. You are not moving to the edge of something. You are moving into a town that is still filling in around you.