The Waukee Brief
Parking is the part of the fair people get wrong, and 2026 changed the math: there is a brand-new free park-and-ride, and it is not on the way for anyone driving in from the west side of the metro. Here is every option, what it costs, and which one to pick.
On-grounds parking is $10 a vehicle in Lots A, B and C off E University Ave. Southridge Mall park-and-ride is free (new for 2026) but sits on the far south side. DART shuttles are $3 round trip from downtown, and the downtown lots are the natural intercept from Waukee since you pass them on I-235. Bicycle parking is free inside Gate 13. All shuttles drop at Gate 10 off E 30th.
Enter Lot A at Gate 2A (East 33rd and East University Ave) and Lots B and C at Gate 3 (East 36th and East University). A free Blue Line parking shuttle loops from the lots to the admission gates, so the walk from the far end of C is not the ordeal it looks like.
The accessible spaces sit inside the same $10 lots and are first-come, first-served. The fair says plainly that these fill up early each day and there is no guarantee a space will be open. On a Saturday, treat the shuttles as the plan rather than the backup.
This is the biggest change to fair logistics this year. The fair added a completely free park-and-ride at Southridge Mall, run with CIT Transportation - free parking, free bus, no ticket to buy.
Buses run continuously, so there is no schedule to memorize. It is the cheapest way to do the fair, full stop - if you are coming from the right direction.
Southridge Mall is on the far south side of Des Moines. The fairgrounds are on the east side, and Waukee is out on the far west. The direct route from here runs straight east on I-80 and I-235; peeling off south to Southridge and busing back adds real time to the trip. You would save $10 in parking and spend a good chunk of the evening doing it.
Coming from Waukee, the sensible intercepts are the downtown DART park-and-rides, which sit right off I-235 as you come through from the west: the 7th & Center Street garage (830 6th Ave) or the State Capitol lot (board on E 12th St, the Capitol's east side, reached via I-235 Exit 9 toward E 14th St). Or just pay the $10 and park on the grounds, which is often the better trade.
The Waukee Brief is a free weekly email: what's happening this week, event dates, deals, and where to be. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Both run 8 a.m. to midnight and drop at Gate 10 off E 30th, the same stop as the Southridge bus. Return service ends at 9 p.m. on closing Sunday, Aug 23. Both sit downtown on your way in from the west side, so neither is much of a detour.
One-way fares are available on request. For a family of four with two adults and two young kids, DART from a downtown lot runs about $8 round trip against $10 to park on the grounds - close enough that the deciding factor is whether you would rather walk the lot or wait for a bus.
That last one matters more than people expect. Shuttles stop at midnight and the Grandstand shows start at 8 p.m. If a concert runs long, a car in Lot A is a much calmer end to the night than a bus queue, especially with a 25-to-30-minute drive back to Waukee ahead of you.
Parking in the fair's own lots A, B and C off East University Avenue is $10 per vehicle. Motorcycle parking is also $10. Bicycle parking inside Gate 13 off Maple Avenue is free. You can also skip paid parking entirely by using the free Southridge Mall park-and-ride or DART's $3 round-trip shuttles from downtown.
Yes. New for 2026, there is a free park-and-ride at Southridge Mall in south Des Moines. Park in the marked free lot at the southeast corner of the mall near the old cinema, and free CIT Transportation buses run to the fairgrounds continuously from 8 a.m. to midnight, dropping at Gate 10 off East 30th. Bicycle parking inside Gate 13 is also free.
DART runs park-and-ride shuttles from two downtown Des Moines locations: the 7th and Center Street Park & Ride garage at 830 6th Ave, and the Iowa State Capitol, where you board on E 12th Street on the building's east side. Both run 8 a.m. to midnight and drop off at Gate 10 off East 30th.
DART shuttle tickets are $3 round trip for ages 10 and up, and $1 for ages 6-10, seniors 65 and older, Medicare cardholders and riders with disabilities. Children 5 and under ride free. Discounted $2 tickets are available in the MyDART mobile app.
Driving, the simplest route from Waukee's west side is I-80 east to I-235 east through downtown Des Moines, then follow the fairgrounds signs to the East University Avenue and East 30th Street exits; plan on about 25 to 30 minutes. If you would rather not park on the grounds, the downtown DART park-and-rides (the 7th and Center Street garage or the State Capitol lot, both right off I-235 on your way in) are the natural intercepts from the west. The free Southridge Mall lot sits on the far south side of Des Moines, so it is a detour from the direct east route.
Iowa State Fair 2026: tickets, hours & lineup · Getting to Des Moines from Waukee · Day trips · Waukee events calendar