diff --git a/lenskit/lenskit/data/collection.py b/lenskit/lenskit/data/collection.py
index 665e2f004..c98e24e86 100644
--- a/lenskit/lenskit/data/collection.py
+++ b/lenskit/lenskit/data/collection.py
@@ -225,6 +225,7 @@ def save_parquet(
         layout: Literal["native", "flat"] = "native",
         batch_size: int = 5000,
         compression: Literal["zstd", "gzip", "snappy", "lz4"] | None = "zstd",
+        mkdir: bool = True,
     ) -> None:
         """
         Save this item list collection to a Parquet file.  This supports two
@@ -241,7 +242,12 @@ def save_parquet(
                 The Arrow record batch size.
             compression:
                 The compression scheme to use.
+            mkdir:
+                Whether to create the parent directories if they don't exist.
         """
+        if mkdir:
+            Path(path).parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+
         if layout == "flat":
             self.to_df().to_parquet(path, compression=compression)
             return
diff --git a/lenskit/tests/data/test_collection.py b/lenskit/tests/data/test_collection.py
index e57824e5e..cb932e908 100644
--- a/lenskit/tests/data/test_collection.py
+++ b/lenskit/tests/data/test_collection.py
@@ -248,6 +248,18 @@ def test_save_parquet_with_empty(ml_ds: Dataset, tmpdir: Path):
     assert sum(len(l1) for l1 in ilc2.lists()) == sum(len(l2) for l2 in ilc.lists())
 
 
+def test_save_parquet_with_mkdir(tmpdir: Path):
+    ilc = ItemListCollection(["user_id"])
+
+    f = tmpdir / "subdir" / "items.parquet"
+    ilc.save_parquet(f, mkdir=True)
+    assert (tmpdir / "subdir").exists()
+
+    f_no_mkdir = tmpdir / "no_mkdir" / "items.parquet"
+    ilc.save_parquet(f_no_mkdir, mkdir=False)
+    assert not (tmpdir / "no_mkdir").exists()
+
+
 def test_write_recs_parquet(demo_recs, tmpdir: Path):
     split, recs = demo_recs