Ahrens Park - Ahrens Family Foundation

In 1997, the Ahrens Park Foundation was established as a private operating foundation, which owns and operates Ahrens/Paschall Memorial Park. The Ahrens Park Foundation is dedicated to providing first class recreational and athletic facilities while collaborating with wellness, educational and recreational programs and organizations for the greater good of the community of Grinnell.

The Claude W. and Dolly Ahrens Foundation has provided millions of dollars to Ahrens Park and the Ahrens Park Foundation over the past thirty years to help support the ongoing operations and capital needs of the park.

For more information on the Ahrens Park Foundation, please visit www.ahrensparkfoundation.org

Ahrens/Paschall Memorial Park

The Ahrens/Paschall Memorial Park, opened in 1994, is home to eight youth softball and baseball fields, outdoor basketball courts, a tennis court, four pickleball courts, a sand volleyball court, a golf driving range, several playground areas, three shelter houses, a sledding hill, community gardens, green spaces, dog park, and a one and a half mile outdoor walking path.

The playground areas feature play structures from Miracle Recreation Equipment, the company founded by the late Claude W. Ahrens in Grinnell. Installed in 2018, the playgrounds – one area for 3-5 year-olds and one area for 5-12 year-olds, feature a wide range of play structures and sensory play panels throughout. The younger playground offers handicap accessible features tooffer inclusive play for all children. The accessibility features of this playground include ramped units and transfer points for wheelchair bound children, as well as sensory play panels for kids of all abilities. The transfer points allow kids to use their upper bodies to crawl through play areas. The swing set in the younger children’s unit has an “inclusive seat,” a chair with a high back and shoulder harness.

Surfacing for all of the areas includes rubber poured in place and rubber mulch, considered the #1 safest play surface for playgrounds. The older age appropriate playground area features Miracle’s “biggest and best” Mega Tower with six different slides.

Also located at the park is the Ahrens Family Center, the Grinnell Athletic and Recreation Center, and the offices for the Ahrens Park Foundation, Claude W. and Dolly Ahrens Foundation, Greater Poweshiek Community Foundation, and the Grinnell-Newburg Community School District.

Groundbreaking for the new Grinnell-Newburg elementary school at Ahrens Park occurred in April 2026. Families and community members can find project timelines, renderings, and ongoing construction updates by visiting the school district website at grinnell-k12.org.

parkrun is a place where people can come together to walk, run or volunteer—and feel good—which is why it’s called The Feel Good Movement.

parkrun started in the United Kingdom in 2004 with a mission to make the world healthier and happier through free, inclusive and accessible community events. People of all ages, abilities, backgrounds and walks of life come together every Saturday morning and participate by walking, running or volunteering. There are almost 100 parkruns throughout the United States, and almost half a million people participate in parkruns around the world each week.

Grinnell is the latest community to join the parkrun family. The volunteer-led initiative takes place weekly on Saturday mornings at Ahrens Park at 8:00 a.m. May thru September, and 9:00 a.m. October thru April. Participants are invited to complete a 5K (3.1 mile) double-loop by walking, jogging or running. There are also a variety of volunteer opportunities. Dogs on leashes are welcome as are young children in strollers.

For more information, visit parkrun.com or email grinnellparkrun@gmail.com

Administrative Foundation Offices

The 6,310 square foot administrative foundation offices for the Ahrens Park Foundation and Claude W. and Dolly Ahrens Foundation is comprised of a welcoming lobby, reception desk, fourteen individual office rooms, several large conference rooms and smaller meeting spaces, two kitchens and several restrooms. The foundation offices facility was originally built in 2006 with the completion of a large building expansion in 2011 and a second addition in 2022. Offices for the Greater Poweshiek Community Foundation, and Grinnell-Newburg Community School District are also housed here.