The Johnston 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 on the wrong side of town for anyone driving in from Johnston. 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 State Capitol lot is the closest intercept from Johnston. 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 Johnston is up on the northwest side of the metro. Driving from here to Southridge means crossing the whole metro to the south edge and then busing back north to the grounds. You would save $10 in parking and spend a good chunk of the evening doing it.
Coming from Johnston, the sensible intercept is the DART park-and-ride at the State Capitol, which sits right off I-235 on the way in. Take I-235 to the Exit 9 / E 14th St area and follow the signs to the Capitol; you board on E 12th St on the building's east side. Or just pay the $10 and park on the grounds, which is often the better trade.
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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.
One-way fares are available on request. For a family of four with two adults and two young kids, DART from the Capitol 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.
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 from Johnston, take I-35/80 east to I-235 eastbound, then follow the fair's signs to Exit 10A and head east on E University Avenue to the fairgrounds, about a 15-to-20-minute trip. If you would rather not park on the grounds, the DART park-and-ride at the State Capitol is the closest intercept coming from Johnston - the free Southridge Mall lot is on the opposite, south side of Des Moines, so it is well out of your way.
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