05.20.2024

Today’s Forecast

83º | 60% chance of precipitation
Sunrise 6:00 a.m. | Sunset 8:29 p.m.

🥾 It’s adventure time

Happy trails: Our guide to hiking around Kansas City

Politely — take a hike. | Photo by KCtoday | Photo by the KCtoday Team.

From quick and easy loops around town to drives that take you to fantastic lakes and limestone bluffs, our city has so many options to hit the trail. So lace up your hiking boots, because we’ve compiled a hiking guide for the KC area with nine routes and trails to help you plan your next adventure and experience breathtaking views.

Note: While parks and trails may be listed as open, we recommend checking Urban Trail Co. for further info and current trail conditions.

Key: Easy = 🥾| Moderate = 🥾🥾 | Hard = 🥾🥾🥾

KCMO proper

Fall foliage along Cliff Drive, Kansas City, Missouri. — *Imagine what this view IRL...*| Photo by Eric L Bowers, via KC Parks + Recreation
|
Eric L Bowers

Cliff Drive, Kansas City, MO

Difficulty: 🥾
Length: 4.27 miles
Pet friendly: Yes, leash required

This paved scenic byway is closed to traffic. Part of Kessler Park, this pathway through the bluffs of the Historic Northeast provide access to massive limestone cliffs and views of the East Bottoms. Plus, don’t sleep on the disc golf course.

Blue River Parkway, Kansas City, MO

Difficulty: 🥾🥾
Length: 30+ miles
Pet friendly: Yes, leash required

The Blue River Greenway Trail is a 5.5-mile paved pathway, and the dirt trail system explores 26 miles of rock features, native plant life, river access points, and ridges. Trail builders have recently connected this system with Swope — use a trail app to explore the Underworld path.

Eastside stops

KCtoday_Blue Springs Lake — Expect greener pastures during your summertime visits. | Photo via Wikimedia Commons

Fleming Park at Lake Jacomo + Blue Springs Lake, Blue Springs, MO

Difficulty: 🥾🥾
Length: 27.5 miles
Pet friendly: Yes, leash required

This trail is made out of natural earth + packed aggregate, 7,800+ acres of recreational parkland, and is located ~15 minutes from KC. Check out additional maps for hiking trails.

Burr Oak Woods Conservation Area, Blue Springs, MO

Difficulty: 🥾🥾
Length: ~6 miles
Pet friendly: No

Its longest trail takes ~1.5 hours to complete through steep forested hillsides, large limestone boulders, restored prairies, and woodlands.

8 more hikes

Asked

What is most important to you when choosing a hike?

A. Level of difficulty
B. Time to complete/number of miles
C. Unmatched views
D. It’s all about the hiking location

Happy trails or hard hikes?

Events

Monday, May 20

Colm Tóibín Presents “Long Island” | Monday, May 20 | 7-9 p.m. | Unity Temple on The Plaza, 707 W. 47th St., KCMO | $32 | The New York Times bestselling author of “Brooklyn” and “The Magician” will present his newest novel — and your ticket gets you a copy.

Tuesday, May 21

9th & Van Brunt Athletic Field Community Open House | Tuesday, May 21 | 5:30-7 p.m. | Gregg/ Klice Community Center, 1600 E. 17th Ter., KCMO | Free | Hear plans + weigh in on the planned $3 million park renovations.
A Royal Affair | Tuesday, May 21 | 6-9:30 p.m. | Filipino Cultural Center Foundation, 9810 W. 79th St., Overland Park, KS | $35-$45 | Kick off Heartland International Fashion Week at this black-tie (or native traditional attire) event with light bites and live entertainment.

Wednesday, May 22

Summer Socials | Wednesday, May 22 | 6-9 p.m. | Kansas City Power & Light District, KCMO | Free | The theme for this month’s free neighborhood gathering at PNC Plaza: Tacos & Tequila.
Jammin’ on the Green | Wednesday, May 22 | 7-8:30 p.m. | Shawnee Town 1929, 11501 W. 57th St., Shawnee, KS | Free | Bring a chair and hear Vine Street Rumble Jazz Orchestra perform at this summer concert series.

Thursday, May 23

Boulevard Comedy Series: Spring Showcase | Thursday, May 23 | 7 p.m. | Boulevard Tours & Rec Center, 2534 Madison Ave., KCMO | $10-$15 | Local comedians including Brittany Tilander and Curtis Braxdale will perform on the Rec Deck for a night of laughs + drafts.

Events calendar here

Click here to have your event featured.

News Notes

Outdoors

Kansas City Parks & Recreation is seeking ~$7 million from the city council to overhaul the Swope Memorial golf course. If approved, the over 100-year-old golf course will shut down for 15 months while renovations are completed. (Kansas City Star)

Coming Soon

California-based Mochinut plans to soft open in Overland Park on Thursday, May 30 at 7414 W. 119th St. This will be the chain’s first metro location, selling mochi donuts and Korean battered hot dogs. (Johnson County Post)

Civic

The Overland Park City Council voted to recommend a property tax rebate pilot for the 2025 fiscal year. Other JoCo cities, like Olathe and Mission, already have similar programs, which are aimed at lessening the burden of property taxes on residents below the median income. (Johnson County Post)

Art

Going... going... gone. “Mill at Limetz, 1888,” an original Monet partly owned by the Nelson, sold at auction for $21,685,000 — just shy of the $25.6 million its sister painting commanded at auction in 2023. The buyer has not been announced. (Flatland)

Home

You deserve beautiful, energy-efficient windows and doors. Renewal by Andersen^® is offering buy one, get one 40% off + $200 off your order for a limited time.*

Answered

✔️ Our readers’ neighborhood project wishlists

Answered: Our readers’ neighborhood project wish-lists

Picture of KC skyline at sunset with fall colors

We sure do love this place. | Photo by @mikedayphotography

With the Neighborhood Empowerment Grant’s latest round of funding up for grabs, we asked readers what projects they’d hypothetically spend the money on.

It was a pretty even split between public safety and crime reduction + quality of life enhancements:

“Buy the lots behind our neighborhood so no apartment complexes would go up + result in the removal of trees and wildlife habitats.” — Diane H.

“Public areas like parks and cleanup that will improve property values.” — Phil E.

“Pocket parks.” — Ryan J.

“Street lights, crime watch neighborhood signs, more patrols.” — Marie

“More police presence and patrol of the neighborhood.” — Pam T.

That said, nothing topped KCtoday reader’s community wishlists like... wait for it.... sidewalk repairs.

Over 50% of participants bemoaned the state of their community walkways. That sounds like the perfect project to pitch for grant funding, just saying.

What's top of your to-dos?

The Buy

Group A, The Buy 5.20.24 (Affiliate + Six & Main)

An excellent summer hydration bottle: Hydro Flask’s 32-oz. stainless bottle with a flex straw lid. Color “Sugar Crush” is only available for a limited time, and it’s so cute and summery, we’ve got all the heart eyes for it.

The Wrap

Today’s edition by:
Madison

From the editor

Some bittersweet goodbyes. Friday was Dayten’s last day helping out at KCtoday before Editor Charmaine returns — and we got to cheers to his time with a little happy hour celebration at Casual Animal.

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