50 Fun Things to Do in Kansas City in the Fall and Winter

Enjoy these family-friendly Kansas City area activities!

• Attend a Kansas City area fall festival. 
• Walk the Country Club Plaza and admire the art and fountains. Three favorite events in the fall and winter are the Plaza Art Fair, the Waterfire Festival, and the Plaza Lights.
• Attend one of Shoal Creek Living History Museum's FREE events.
• Paint faces and play pretend at Paradise Park.
• Ride a horse drawn stagecoach or sleigh at Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop.
• Take a FREE tour of the Roasterie and learn about coffee.
• Stroll through a KC Area farmers market and find one new food to try.
• Tour the Truman home in Independence.
• Ride the Pumpkin Express or Santa Train aboard the Belton, Grandview and Kansas City Railroad.

• Take a tour of Watkins Woolen Mill Historic Site, the only 19th-century textile mill in the United States with its original machinery still intact.
• Attend GLOW: A Jack-o’-Lantern Festival at Powell Gardens (Oct. 17-18). Walk a jack-o’-lantern trail featuring more than 700 pumpkins.
• Stroll through Kauffman Memorial Gardens.
• Explore the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
• Buy a caramel apple at Sweet Caroline's (7723 W. 151st St., Overland Park, KS, 913.495.9993).
• Visit the Overland Park Arboretum.
• Share a Skyscraper at Winstead’s.
• Create a masterpiece at Kaleidoscope.
• Imagine and play at KidScape at the Johnson County Museum.
• Cheer for your favorite bull rider at the American Royal Rodeo.

• Tour Cedar Cove Feline Sanctuary in Louisburg and learn about big cats up close and personal.
• Marvel at modern art at the Nerman Museum, where admission is FREE.
• Take a tour of the Kansas City, MO, City Hall and go to the roof for amazing views of downtown.
• Hike at Ernie Miller Nature Center.
• Visit the National Archives of Kansas City and explore their FREE exhibits.
• Discover a masterpiece at the FREE Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art.
• Get FREE money at the Money Museum.
• Taste test every flavor of Glace ice cream until you find your favorite.
• Learn about the Santa Fe Trail at Cave Springs Nature Center.
• Explore the Central Branch of the Kansas City Library, because any library with a parking garage painted with classic books has to be cool.
• Tour the Harley-Davidson Factory, a favorite activity for ages 12 and up.
• Bike Trolley Trail.
• Tour the FREE Hallmark Visitors Center.
• Imagine you’re in the Wild West at Antioch Park.
• Eat delicious barbecue on a quest to find the very best.
• Take a photo from the top of the National WWI Museum at Liberty Memorial.
• Tailgate at Kauffman Stadium or Arrowhead Stadium.

• Ride all seven roller coasters at Worlds of Fun.
• Build a giant Lego tower at Legoland Discovery Center.
• Bottle feed baby goats at Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead.
• Touch a sea star at Sea Life Kansas City.
• Cheer for Sporting KC.
• Delight in delectable gourmet chocolates at Andre’s or Christopher Elbow’s.
• Rent a paddleboat at Lake Jacomo.
• Learn about Lewis and Clark at Fort Osage.
• Sleep with penguins at the Kansas City Zoo.
• Ride a bicycle across a high wire at Science City.
• Watch a NASCAR race at Kansas Speedway.
• Applaud the Kansas City Ballet at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

• Find faces in the woodwork at Vaile Mansion.
• Visit the Fairy Princess at Christmas at the Kansas City Museum.