Hidden, weird date ideas in Des Moines

28 genuinely offbeat spots — like The Atlas Room, The Haunt, Drake Municipal Observatory — the local secrets even locals miss, hand-vetted and sourced. You didn't hear it from us.

Explore them as a swipe deck →

The Atlas Room West Des Moines' newest speakeasy is hidden inside Serenity Couture Salon & Spa in the old Wells Fargo buildi… Valley Junction (West Des Moines)
The Haunt Billed as the only bar in the world inside a haunted-attraction space, The Haunt is a speakeasy tucked in the… Downtown / Western Gateway
Drake Municipal Observatory A 1921 limestone observatory hidden inside a public golf course, where the cremated ashes of astronomer Danie… Drake
South Des Moines Sculpture Park A self-built roadside art environment that locals call 'a poor man's Pappajohn's' — about 18 homemade sculptu… McKinley Park (south side)
Ratt's Underground Records Buried in the east end of Merle Hay Mall, Des Moines's oldest and emptiest mall, this is described as one of… Merle Hay
Ecstatic Dance Des Moines A substance-free, no-talking dance gathering held in a real ballroom studio tucked behind Gateway Market, whe… River Bend / Downtown (behind Gateway Market)
Kays Spiritual Ways A tiny owner-run metaphysical shop tucked at the corner of 5th & Euclid in Highland Park, created by Kayla Ca… Highland Park
Ancient Ways An eclectic 'ancient mysteries' shop on University Ave near Drake, open since 1997, packed with ethnic drums,… Drake
CUUPS Sacred Bridges (Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans) An earth-centered Pagan worship group profiled by Drake University's Comparison Project, meeting for the full… Des Moines
Inner Space — ZeroBody Dry Float & Salt Lounge A 6,000-sq-ft clinical 'gym for your insides' whose strangest offering is the ZeroBody Dry Float: you stay fu… Sherman Hill / Downtown edge (Keosauqua Way)
CENTER ME NOW A tucked-away holistic studio in a suburban office park that runs immersive Wednesday-evening sound baths and… Woodland Office Park, West Des Moines
Enchanted (Enchanted Mystical Boutique) A family-owned New Age boutique on Ingersoll billed as home to 'Des Moines' only Tarot Salon,' where readings… Ingersoll / The Avenues
Curioso Antiques & Uniquities A Beaverdale house quietly converted into an antiques-and-oddities shop where owners Matt and Shawna lean int… Beaverdale
Good News, Darling A tiny, moody, no-signage cocktail parlor hidden directly behind Hello, Marjorie. With only 26 seats and its… Downtown (Locust St)
Ken's - a not so secret speakeasy Named for 1920s Des Moines society bootlegger Kenneth Sonderleiter, Ken's hides in the basement under the Iow… East Village
Alleged Lee's A funky little East Village speakeasy decorated with art from Iowa's Prohibition years and anchored by an orn… East Village
In Confidence A blind-tiger speakeasy in the basement of the historic Hotel Fort Des Moines. The entrance is the trick: a c… Downtown (Hotel Fort Des Moines)
The Dust Collective An artist-run 'neighborhood clubhouse' of curated vintage, antiques, handmade goods and ice-cold soda pop tha… East Village
'Nature's Algorithm' Augmented-Reality Mural by Leon Keer An 8,000+ sq ft hyper-realistic mural by Dutch street artist Leon Keer depicting Iowa landscapes playing on a… Downtown / Walnut District
Woodland Cemetery — City Receiving Vault & Baby Hill Des Moines' oldest cemetery, established in 1848 on land donated by five farmers, holds more than 80,000 grav… Sherman Hill / Woodland Heights
Valley Junction's Hidden Red-Light History (5th Street) Today's tidy antique-and-gift district along 5th Street was, after its 1893 founding as a busy railroad switc… Valley Junction (West Des Moines)
Skylabs A vintage hi-fi temple tucked into Historic Valley Junction that reimagines stereo shopping from the golden e… Valley Junction (West Des Moines)
Divine Times Vintage Two floors of rotating vintage vendors in up-and-coming Highland Park, built around owner Jerrica Yasumura's… Highland Park
Heartland Sound Healing (Gong Bath) A roving sound-healing practitioner who stages immersive gong baths using a symphonic gong plus Tibetan and c… Drake / 42nd St area, Des Moines
Rogue Planet Music A founder-run record shop tucked into the Roosevelt Shopping Center just off I-235, started in 2017 by two De… Roosevelt / Ingersoll
Fadeaway Floatation Center Iowa's first sensory-deprivation float center, opened in 2015, with three private Samadhi tank rooms each wit… West Des Moines (Village View Dr)
Huston Cemetery A tiny pioneer graveyard of about 11 graves, established 1847, that became locally legendary for sitting maro… West Des Moines (S 88th St & Mills Civic Pkwy)
Goldeneye Curations An East Village vintage and streetwear shop that grew from a single retail rack inside outdoor store Stoked i… East Village