JoCo Park Tour: Electric Park

This was the last stop on our official tour of Johnson County parks, although I hope to add a few more from our own family outings in the future.  Full disclosure: my child was a hot mess this morning.  Cranky and uncooperative so we didn’t get to spend as much time at the park as I would have liked and my pictures are not fantastic, however you’ll get the gist!

Electric Park

9299 Loiret Blvd Lenexa KS 66219

What we love about Electric Park:  The shaded play structure is awesome!  It was HOT this morning but the shade made this part of the playground enjoyable.  We all eventually migrated over there to play in the shade.  Bonus: the playground equipment did not bake in the sun!  This is a newer playground and another one designed by Landscape Structures.  There is a large covered play area, a robe climbing structure, four swings, and a smaller play structure for younger children, also under a canopy.  My daughter loved the little monkey bars on the smaller structure, just her size!  There is a shelter with several picnic tables here as well as bathrooms nearby.

Other things to know about Electric Park:

– there is a huge community garden right next to it, we didn’t get a chance to go check it out but it would be fun to explore.

– this park is right off of 435 and 95th street.  Very accessible to eastern Johnson County.

– also available at this park are volleyball, basketball, and horseshoes and there is a large open field great for ultimate frisbee (do people still play that?) or soccer.

JoCo Park Tour: Little Mill Creek Park North

Several friends had been raving about this park for a couple of months now and we were so excited to finally check it out.  It did not disappoint!  This is probably the newest playground in Johnson County, constructed in the last year.  It is a Landscape Structures playground, which seems to be the popular manufacturer of playground equipment in Johnson County.  You can also find their playground designs at Arrowhead Park, Antioch Park, Stagecoach Park (Olathe Community Center), Blackhoof Park, and the new playground at the KC Zoo.  A couple of elementary schools in JoCo have also installed these futuristic playground structures,including Mission Trail Elementary School in Leawood and Cottonwood Point Elementary in OP.  I’m going to add those to our list to check out as a family!

Excuse the dark pictures, we were at the park on a very cloudy day but fortunately only felt a couple of raindrops!  This spring has been so rainy!

Little Mill Creek Park North

79th and Cottonwood, Lenexa KS

What we love about Little Mill Creek Park North:  This park offers some really unique playground equipment, including a big disc swing, modern merry go round, and a zip line.  Gretchen was not brave enough to ride the zip line but she loved watching the big kids (and adults!) ride it.  The merry go round and disc swing were a hit with her and other kids her age though.  Gone are the days of hot metal merry go rounds where kids can go flying off.  This one is made of molded plastic with seats on it and it takes some strength to push it.  No where near the speed of a traditional merry go round.  There are four swings in addition to the disc swing, including 2 baby swings and 2 regular ones.  There is a small play structure for toddlers with a little table for playing with mulch, every toddler’s dream!  The large play structure is huge, and from the upper platform kids have to climb a vertical ladder to get to the top where there are two very long slides.  There are also lots of climbing structures made out of cables, typical of the Landscape Structures designs. This is a large park with so many different areas to play that it can keep kids entertained for a long time.  Always great when you are trying to tire them out for nap time!

Other things to know about Little Mill Creek Park North:

– There is a great jogging/walking trail here, perfect for getting some exercise before exploring the playground with your kids.

– As of June 2015 the restroom building is still under construction, but there are several port a potties available.

– This park is out in the open but does have a shaded pavilion in the middle with several picnic tables where you can get out of the sun.

JoCo Park Tour: Blackhoof Park

This park is…wow.  It is ginormous and has so much to offer.  I think we may have found the best park in Johnson County, but our tour isn’t over yet so I will reserve judgement until the end of the summer!  Because this park is so huge I’m going to write this up a little differently than usual so I can cover it all!

Blackhoof Park at Lake Lenexa

9053 Monticello Road, Lenexa, KS

What we love about Blackhoof Park:

The Little Playground: This playground is perfect for the preschool set.   Lots of fun activities like slides, a narrow stationary bridge, and my daughter’s favorite: a steering wheel.  There are also monkey bars and their own set of rings to hang from that aren’t too high off the ground.  This structure also has these hybrid-slides/climbers that are great for kids that want a slide climbing like activity when mom doesn’t actually want them climbing the slides 😉  (recently learned slide climbing is a super hot topic among park moms, lol).  The bathrooms are right next to this little playground, perfect for the frequent potty breaks that 3 year olds need!

The Medium Playground: This playground is not far from the little playground and features 4 baby swings, a sand pit, and another fun play structure.  Here you’ll find your average height slides and climbing structures as well as a cool climbing wall.  The sand area is devoid of any diggers or toys so make sure to bring a sand bucket and a shovel for your kids to play here.

The Big Playground: This playground is at the top of the hill and nearest to the parking lot. There are 4 big kid swings here. The slides on this structure reach heights not often seen at parks these days!  Gretchen went down one and was wide eyed at how fast she went.  I asked if she wanted to go again and she politely said “no thank you!”  I really like when big structures have normal stairs for the little kids to climb since many enjoy the thrill of the tall slides but can’t manage rock walls or tall ladders.  This one had a great variety of ways kids could explore and climb to the top.  For bigger kids that may feel they’ve outgrown the typical playground, this one has a ton to offer that should still excite them.

The Nature Playground: Like Franklin Park and Gezer Park there is a man-made “creek” here for the kids to play in.  Unfortunately we went right before Memorial Day so it was not yet turned on.  We’ll go back in July to check out that feature when it’s nice and hot out!  Even without that feature there is plenty to do over here.  Logs and stumps for the kids to walk on and large rock formations perfect for climbing.  This is a shady and cool area of the park to retreat to in the middle of the day.  Water fountains and the trail connecting to the rest of the walking paths at Lake Lenexa can be found down here.

Other things to know about Blackhoof Park:

– Lake Lenexa is 35 acres and open to non-motorized boats as well as fishing.  They is a really cool damn that you can explore.

– There is another small playground right by the boat ramp that is on the lake.  The large playground that I featured above is just up the road at the north end of the park.

– There are lots of paved trails here perfect for walking, running, and bike riding.  Lots of wildlife to see as well!

JoCo Park Tour: Sar-Ko-Par Trails Park

We visited this park with a large group of friends last week and about melted from the humidity, but fortunately the rain held off until after we left (Gretchen and I got drenched in the HyVee parking lot, uggh).  This is a really large park with plenty to explore but my review is of the large playground right next to the lake that faces Lackman (go here to see a map of the entire park.

Sar-Ko-Par Trails Park

87th and Lackman in Lenexa, KS

What we love about Sar-Ko-Par Trails Park: This park is huge!  There is a large playground right next to the lake with bathrooms right next to it, a little island with a dragon (?) statue that you can get to by walking across the rock bridge, and a trail that circles the lake and then goes on up the hill to the other parts of the park that we have yet to explore.  The Lenexa website says there are 5 playgrounds total, but from what I can tell this playground is the largest.  There is a large playground structure with multiple slides and climbing structures as well as 4 swings (2 baby, 2 regular), and a little ride on frog.  The retaining wall that forms a half circle around the playground is also fun for the kids to walk on: back and forth and back and forth!  There is a picnic table right next to this playground and a couple of shelters nearby that can be reserved as well as other picnic tables and benches scattered along the trail.  The paved trail around the lake is great for kids to explore with their bikes and scooters.

Other things to know about Sar-Ko-Par Trails Park:

– If you park in the lot at Cedar Ridge Christian Church there is a paved path that will take over to the playground.  When you cross the footbridge stop and look around, we saw several frogs/toads and tadpoles!  Gretchen loved scoping them out.

– If barns and historical Kansas artifacts are your thing, check out the Legler Barn Museum at the corner of 87th and Lackman.  There is a train caboose right next to it the kids can check out as well.

– This park also features a pool, disc golf course, and a skate park.

– Lenexa is hosting a concert series at this park in May and June of 2015.

– If you want to check out ALL the parks in Lenexa this summer, go check out their playground passport program.