Altoona is a city in Polk County, Iowa and a part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 10,345 at the 2000 census; a special census taken in August 2005 counted 13,301 residents. Altoona is home of Adventureland, an amusement park, Prairie Meadows, a horse racing track and casino, and a Bass Pro Shops retail store, the first one in central Iowa.