March 30 is Take a Walk in the Park Day. We love the wide variety of scenic places to enjoy in Kansas City. Whether you like wooded trails, waterways or something a bit more urban, Kansas City’s parks offer something for everyone. These are a few of our favorite places to take a walk.
The Coolest Parks in Kansas City
Olivia Bock updated this article in June 9, 2025 to remove outdated COVID-19 quarantine-related closure notices for select parks.
There are over 400 parks in the Kansas City area, so it can be difficult to find the best playgrounds. But after some searching, we’ve made a list of some of the coolest and most unique playgrounds in Kansas City!
Antioch Park, 6501 Antioch Rd., Merriam, KS
Antioch Park’s Dodge Town transports you right into the wild west! Parents can relax in the shade while children explore this mini-town, which includes a bank, blacksmith shop, city hall, general store, pony express, schoolhouse, and train station. Two accessible playgrounds are connected to this play area.
Dagg Park, 2000 Iron St., North Kansas City, MO
Dagg Park contains an ADA-compliant spray ground with an ocean theme, as well as an accessible “woods fountains” for children ages two and under. Two playgrounds are available, with separate areas for older and younger children. Colorful equipment adds a pop to the two adjoining playgrounds, which contain roped climbing structures, saucer swings, and long slides. Parking is accessible and restrooms are available.
Frontier Park, 15501 W. Indian Creek Pkwy., Olathe, KS
For a pirate-themed adventure, head to Frontier Park. The equipment is built around a pirate ship structure with a big flag and steering wheel. This park is also an ideal place for sports, as it contains two softball fields, a soccer field, and a basketball goal.
Harris Park, 601 SW Jefferson St., Lee’s Summit, MO
This park’s castle-themed playground is perfect for young princes and princesses. In addition to offering access to playground equipment, the large castle structure is a great backdrop for playing pretend. An added plus is the park’s nearby amenities, which include the Harris Park Community Center and Summit Waves Waterpark.
Meadowbrook Park, 9101 Nall Ave., Prairie Village, KS
During Meadowbrook Park’s construction, local children voted for their favorite playground design and Treeline Adventure won. This treehouse-inspired structure incorporates various ropes and ladders that lead to different huts. Additional amenities in Meadowbrook Park include the Grove playground, eight pickleball courts, fitness equipment, paved trails, and three lakes.
Penguin Park, 4124 NE Vivion Rd., Kansas City, MO
For over 50 years, Penguin Park has been one of the most beloved playgrounds in Kansas City. Children love the playground equipment, but the star of this park is the 25-foot tall penguin statue. Several other animal statues are positioned around the park, adding a whimsical quality that has charmed visitors for decades.
Roanoke Park, 3601 Roanoke Rd., Kansas City, MO
You can reach this park via Roanoke Road, the only remaining brick road in Kansas City. The highlight of the playground is its enormous roped climbing structure, which offers hours of fun. The park also features additional play equipment, an embankment slide, a nearby community center, and several neighboring sports fields.
The Concourse Park, Benton Blvd. & St. John Ave., Kansas City, MO
If you’re looking for a playground with a fun entrance, then slide down the giant embankment slides that lead to the play equipment in The Concourse Park. Designed by community members of all ages, the playground features a winding slide, a jungle gym, swings, and giant wooden chairs. Neighboring amenities include basketball and futsal courts, as well as fitness equipment for adults. You can also cool off by running through the fountains.
Valley Park, 4000 E 123rd Terr., Grandview, MO
From roped climbing structures to a zip line to a giant slide, this park has something for everyone. Saucer swings provide accessible fun for all children, and shaded canopies keep the park cooler during the summer months.
Do you know of any other cool and unique parks in Kansas City? Please share them in the comments below!
Off the Beaten Path Park Activities
Summer has finally arrived, and what is more fun than hitting the local parks? However, after awhile, the swings can become boring. There are many things to do at park besides the playground, though.
Three area mothers, Sarah Holmes, Kansas City mother of two, Stephanie Martinez, Kearney mother of three, and Laura Sorens, Liberty mother of two, all share some tips for off-the-beaten-path fun at local parks this summer. Try something new next time you hit the park!
- Flip over rocks along the edge of the park. Look for worms, ants and other stuff. Just make sure you flip the rocks back over gently to give the critters underneath a home.
- Give the kids a “treasure” box. Any $1 plastic school box willdo. Hike and let them fill up their boxes and look at the treasures.
- Add some requirements to the treasure box hike and have your kids seek out specific items (depending on their ages), such as something red, an acorn, a leaf larger than their hands, a stick, an insect, etc. Remind them that trash is not a treasure.
- Lay out a blanket and have a cloud watching time, seeing who can find the most object-like shapes in the clouds.
- Play TV tag or book tag for older kids. This is a traditional game of tag, but you can save yourself by saying the name of a TV show or book.
- Create an obstacle course using the playground equipment-go under the bridge, across monkey bars, up stairs, down the slide, etc.
- Fly a kite! See who can keep it up the longest or who can get it the highest.
- Bubbles are always fun.
- Relay races of all kinds are a great activity at the park. Bounce, leap, spin, run, dance, monster walk, etc., from one point to another.
- Take a family hike.
- Play board games on a blanket. Card games are easily portable, or you can bring traditional board games.
- Play catch with a baseball, Frisbee or football, or kick a ball back and forth, soccer passing style.
- Go for a paint chip walk. Grab some paint chips in a variety of colors. Cut them up individually, punch holes in them and put a book ring on them. Then ask the kids to find the colors of the paint chips in nature or on the playground.
- Play “Pooh sticks” if there is a creek nearby. Take a few sticks, drop off one side of the bridge and watch for them to float to the other side.
In addition to the activities listed above, try hitting a local state park, like Weston or Watkins Mill, for some outdoor fun. Or explore Burr Oak Woods in Blue Springs for more nature fun before the weather gets too hot!
Jennifer Higgins is a freelance writer, mother and teacher from Kearney.
Best Picnic Spots in KC
It’s the best time of year in Kansas City! The dreary winter is over, so let’s put down our phones and iPads, pack up a picnic lunch and head out to enjoy the fresh air with our families. Here are some great picnic locations, as well as fun attractions your family can visit.
The Overland Park Arboretum (Overland Park, KS)
If you’ve been in the KC area for a while, you know about the beauty and vastness of our local arboretum. At 300 acres in size, the grounds invite visitors to tour endless gardens and walking paths and enjoy every kind of flower imaginable. Our family’s favorites are the children’s and train gardens. We’ve picnicked here many times and then spent the day touring other areas, such as the Marder Woodland Garden and Joshua’s Story Garden.
Be sure to check out the Enchanted Forest displays of gnome and fairy houses hidden along the paths. The arboretum hosts other summer events, including Sunday concerts in the park, Hot Summer Days, where kids can get wet and cool off, and GeoArboretum, a GeoKids treasure hunt!
Santa Fe Commons Park (Overland Park, KS)
All summer long, you can picnic while enjoying free concerts at Santa Fe Commons Park. The Overland Park Civic Band performs on Sunday evenings, and the KC Concession Food Truck sells food if you’d rather purchase your picnic dinner there. On third Fridays, free concerts from other local bands are held here. Alcohol is not permitted at Santa Fe Commons Park, but dogs are if they are on a leash. A picnic dinner, beautiful weather and free music? Sounds like a great family event in KC!
The Parkville Nature Sanctuary & English Landing Park (Parkville, MO)
Head to Parkville for a picnic this spring or summer! The Parkville Nature Sanctuary and English Landing Park are both ideal picnic locations. Covering 115 acres, the nature sanctuary contains 3 miles of hiking trails and endless opportunities to spy plant life and wildlife native to Missouri. Dogs are not permitted in the sanctuary.
Nearby, you also can picnic at English Landing Park. Local residents rave about the walking, running and biking trails, playground and areas to play sports such as volleyball, soccer and Frisbee. This park provides a great opportunity to picnic along the Missouri River with your family.
Looking for fun Parkville events to enjoy as well? Check out the vintage cars at Parkville Cruise Nights held in downtown Parkville this spring and summer. Also, right there at English Landing Park, you can visit the farmers market on Saturdays from 7:00 to noon and on Wednesdays from noon to 4:00. Grab some local produce to add to your picnic lunch!
Kaw Point Park (Kansas City, MO)
If your family loves to appreciate history while watching planes fly in the sky above, Kaw Point is a perfect destination. Known as a famous stopping point for Lewis and Clark, this area offers a beautiful view of Kansas City across the Kansas and Missouri rivers. Have a picnic lunch under the trees while watching planes land and take off from KC’s downtown Charles B. Wheeler Airport. After lunch, your kids can check out the Lewis and Clark statue and tour the educational pavilion where they’ll learn about the history that took place here. Tired of sitting? Take a walk along the gravel hiking trails to burn off some energy!
Loose Park (Kansas City, MO)
Known for its historic beauty and being one of KC’s largest parks, Jacob L. Loose Park encompasses 75 acres and includes a rose garden of 4,000 roses. If you picnic at Loose Park this summer, you might choose to do so on May 6 or June 10 so you also can enjoy Reading in the Roses. June 4 is another extra-popular popular picnic day for Loose Park, as this is the day of the annual rose show of the Kansas City Rose Society.
Learn a bit of history while you’re here. This park was the location of a major battle between Confederate and Union forces, so don’t forget to check out the Civil War cannon! On a hot day, kids can cool off at Loose Park’s spray ground, so wear your bathing suits and bring a towel. Then later, take a stroll around the lake and feed the ducks. This park has something for everyone.
The Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park at the Nelson-Atkins Museum
There’s no better place to have a family picnic than the Nelson-Atkins Museum grounds-the location for Kansas City’s annual “Big Picnic” held every summer. If you can’t make this picnic, no worries! Any day is good for quality family time at the Nelson-Atkins. The museum’s Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park is described on nelson-atkins.org as a “22-acre oasis” in Kansas City. The park offers endless room to picnic, walk, play sports and visit the many famous sculptures, such as Shuttlecocks and Standing Figures. Also, let your kids get lost in the glass labyrinth and find their way out!
Admission is free at the museum, so there’s no excuse to miss it! The Nelson-Atkins is very kid-friendly, offering activities such as the postcard game where kids can pick up a few postcards and search the museum for the images on the cards. They also can sketch their own artwork in the galleries. The museum offers preschool story times, teen programs and multicultural festivals. Your family is sure to enjoy a picnic and tour of the Nelson-Atkins this summer!
Richard Berkley Riverfront Park (Kansas City, MO)
This 17-acre is park is probably best known for Riverfest, Kansas City’s Independence Day celebration. But it’s a great place for a family picnic any other day as well. After you’ve filled up on lunch, you can burn off some energy while enjoying views of the river on Riverfront Heritage Trail. Also, make sure to walk across the Town of Kansas Pedestrian Bridge. This park offers beautiful views of both the KC skyline and the river.
For a fun event idea, don’t miss the “May the 4th Be with You” showing of Star Wars at Riverfront Park. As diehard Star Wars fans, my family can think of no better picnic idea than this one! Other attractions nearby include the Arabia Steamboat Museum and the downtown KC farmers market.
Swope Park (Kansas City, MO)
Swope Park is one of Kansas City’s time-honored treasures. Said to be the “crown jewel of the KC parks system,” this more than 1,800-acre park is home to a long list of attractions, such as an off-leash dog park, disc golf course, community pool, community gardens and a nature center. It got even better when Go Ape’s Treetop Adventure Course was added recently.
For other event ideas, visit our award-winning zoo (picnics welcome at the zoo) right next door or see The Little Mermaid or Mama Mia! at Starlight Theatre this summer.
The opportunities are endless in KC! Make some sandwiches and get your picnic on!
Black Hoof Park / Lake Lenexa
The Kansas City area is bursting with fabulous parks and playgrounds for families to enjoy. We, at KC Parent, love sharing the Best Parks in KC with our readers and this summer, as part of the 100 Days of Summer Blog, we’ll be exploring individual parks and sharing their amenities with you in photo blogs showcasing the creative spaces that make them special!
This week, we visited Black Hoof Park at Lake Lenexa. The 160-acre park with a 35-acre, deep-water Lake Lenexa, the park is scenic and perfect for a variety of interests – with trails for walking, hiking, or biking, a nice playground, and the centerpiece of the park – the 35-acre Lake Lenexa with a boat launch and fishing dock – this park brings nature to the suburbs. The park is also home to a wide variety of wildlife including deer, coyotes, red foxes, birds, butterflies, rattlesnakes, frogs and lizards.
Black Hoof Park at Lake Lenexa
9054 Monticello Rd.Lenexa, KS
Park Hours of Operation:
- 5 a.m. – 11 p.m.
Boating Hours of Operation:
- November – February 6 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- March, April, September, October 6 a.m. – 7 p.m.
- May – August 5 a.m. – 9 p.m
Our Favorite Things about Black Hoof Park:
- A nearly five-mile trail system surrounding the peaceful lake, traveling through the woods, and to the playground and picnic area. Visitors enjoy both paved and non-paved trails for multiple interests – a great way to exercise and enjoy nature.
- The picnic area overlooking the lake and playground features half a dozen picnic tables with a roofed shelter.
- Clean modern restrooms.
- There are 2 playgrounds! We visited the smaller (of the two) playground by the lake. It is nice and well-maintained. Overlooking the lake, it is really pretty and great fun with climbing features, slides, and swings. (Note: This playground is NOT shaded and this was one complaint on a sunny day). The second play area is about five times as big as the playground by the lake – it features a nature play area that is set into Becker’s Woodland so there is plenty of shade for playing, resting and depending on the time of day it shades the actual playgrounds. Other amenities include three sets of play equipment for all age levels, play stream, sandbox, hide and seek cedars, boulder climbing, exploration areas, restrooms and a shelter for 150+ people that overlooks the lake. This playground is SUPER popular with playgroups! View the Black Hoof Park Brochure and map for details.
- Visitors may fish in the lake. There is a fishing dock next to the boat launch ramp. (However, no swimming!) The park follows Kansas State Fishing Regulations.
- The park is a nature preserve of prairies, wetlands, forest, and streams.
- The dam – “Lake Lenexa’s dam and spillway merge engineering with art. Using innovative and cutting-edge concrete and earthwork practices, the design is an artistic representation of the water cycle that features fountains, sculptures and cascading pools. The pedestrian bridge above the spillway offers an exclusive view of the lake and its imaginative dam and spillway design.”
- This is a community park enjoyed by all generations.
A few of our photos from Black Hoof Park:
The Playground next to Lake Lenexa – beautiful!
Notice the swings – we love playgrounds with swings!
Visitors fishing at Lake Lenexa – bring your own boat and use the boat launch (boat rental is not available).
Lake Lenexa
View of the dam at Lake Lenexa
Rest area along the trail
The view of Lake Lenexa from the picnic area
Enjoying the trails at Black Hoof Park
The trail leads into the woods – some nice shade.
The Second Playground at Black Hoof Park
Nature Play Area
Black Hoof Park Lenexa
We hope you enjoy local parks this season. Tell us, what is your favorite park in the Kansas City area? We’re taking suggestions for upcoming blogs!
Penguin Park
Penguin Park
Kansas City, MO
Located at the intersection of N. Vivian Road & N. Norton Ave.
For information call 816.513.7500.
For months we’ve been asking our readers to let us know about their favorite parks or playgrounds. Since several of you mentioned Penguin Park, I just had to check it out with my two boys and a couple of their friends.
How lucky your child is if this is your neighborhood corner park! Penguin Park is the perfect place to plan your child’s outdoor birthday party, a family picnic or your next play date outing. This fun and playful park includes a 26-foot tall kangaroo slide, a 23-foot penguin to play inside as well as a giant elephant and giraffe. Shorter penguins play host to whimsical drinking fountains. Don’t forget your camera as this playground offers more cute photo opportunities than most.
The playground area has a rubberize ground cover which helps minimize bumps and bruises that often accompany a trip to the park. A large sheltered picnic area covers more than a dozen picnic tables, providing plenty of shade and the perfect location for parents to sit while keeping an eye on the entire play area. Barbeque grills are available for those who would like to grill out, as is a clean washroom facility with a changing table.
If you or the kids need a cool treat after some time in the summer heat, you’ll be happy to know that there is a Sonic located just a half mile down the street. I highly recommend the diet cherry limeade!