Kansas City showcases an abundance of rolling acres, fragrant gardens, and picturesque scenery. The city also lays claim to an amazing variety of outdoor recreational facilities. It offers cool, sandy beaches and lakes overflowing with sporting amenities as well as one of the largest parks in the country. The city’s dedicated green areas include:

Fleming Park
Located fifteen minutes east of Kansas City, this 7,809-acre expanse contains a native hoofed animal enclosure and the Audubon Nature Center and Library. Three lakes call the park home, attracting boaters, fishermen, and windsurfers. In addition, the park offers a swimming beach, picnic shelters, an archery range, hiking, and camping. Winding through the grounds, visitors will find six trails which offer bluff-top and lakefront vistas.

Hodge Park
The park allows visitors to take a step back in time as they view a realistic reconstruction of an 1850s Missouri village at Shoal Creek Living History Museum. This beautiful park also features an 18-hole golf course, baseball and soccer fields, and particularly scenic picnic areas.

Loose Memorial Park
The 74-acre park attracts visitors with the fragrant Laura Conyers Smith Municipal Rose Garden, scenic walking path, and relaxing wading pool. In addition, a small lake, which underwent restoration in 1993, inhabits the architecturally landscaped grounds along with a tranquil lily pond and duck island.

Swope Park
With its massive expanse of 1,769 acres, Swope Park is the second-largest city park in the United States. It is home to the Kansas City Zoo; two golf courses; the Lakeside Nature Center; sporting areas for softball, soccer, rugby, Frisbee, and more; horseback-riding trails; picnic and fishing areas; and a day camp for kids. In addition, hiking enthusiasts can venture along the hill south of the Lake of the Woods for a scenic hiking adventure.

MetroGreen
MetroGreen is a proposed 1,144-mile interconnected system of public and private open spaces, greenways, and trails designed to link seven counties in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The project will protect natural resources, including water resources, landscapes, and wildlife habitat.