Happy Holiday Hiking in Kansas City!
Ho ho hiking holidays! Get outside and enjoy the season in Kansas City
Celebrate, get some exercise and experience the great outdoors – holiday style.
If you’re reading this, you either love the outdoors or are interested – at least to some degree – in health and fitness. The holiday season can toss a lump of coal into both passions. But it doesn’t have to! Why not combine your love of nature and/or fitness with holiday activities. Yes, Virginia, you can have happy hiking holidays. Here, we list nature-oriented and outdoor events in Kansas City to get you out, moving and joyful during this season. Happy holidays and carpe diem!
Outdoor Activities
Brighten your season at the Powell Gardens Festival of Lights
This destination botanical garden pulls out all the stops for the season.
Designated days between Nov. 14-Jan. 4, 5-10 p.m.
A 1.5-mile path winds through 25 acres of illuminated nature, featuring 20 miles of lights on display. Warm beverages are available for sale. In addition, ready-made “selfie-stands” are set up to help you capture holiday memories. Concerts and crafts are scheduled throughout the exhibit’s duration.
Features include:
Conservatory Snow Globe
Aliento a Tequila
Magic Tree
Synchronized Light Display by ScrapHeads 21485
Light Maze
Santa's Workshop
Visit the Powell Gardens Festival of Lights web page to learn more and buy tickets.
New to Powell Gardens? It’s a private botanical garden open to the public. In season, it features 1,000 acres including 175 acres of gardens in addition to nature trails.
Dates Designated days between Nov. 14-Jan. 4, 5-10 p.m.,
Tickets Buy in advance, costs range from $12 to $22. Powell Gardens recommends purchasing online tickets in advance because numbers are limited.
Parking $10 per vehicle
Location Powell Gardens, 1609 N.W. U.S. Highway 50, Kingsville, Mo., 64061
21st Annual Winter Solstice Torch Lit Hike
Facebook: George Owens Nature Park
George Owens Nature Park offers a hike, ice sculptures, refreshments and more.
George Owens Nature Park, in Independence, Mo., offers a wintery outdoor experience for adults and children. In addition to a torch-lit walk, guests will be able to view birds of prey, ice sculptures and more.
Dates Wednesday, Dec. 4, 5-7 p.m.
Admission Free
Location George Owens Nature Park 1601 Speck Rd., Independence, MO 64057
Parkville Holiday Wonder Walk lights up the Northland
This is the first year for the Parkville Holiday Wonder Walk at English Landing Park. An array of lights will decorate one of the park’s looping trails, presenting numerous photo opportunities.
Dates Friday, Dec. 6- Friday, Jan. 3. Open daily beginning at sundown.
Address English Landing Park, 8701 McAfee St, Parkville, MO 64152.
Admission Free
Holiday lights are bright at Sar-Ko-Aglow in Lenexa
A luminous lake and bedazzled buildings are highlights of this Johnson County favorite.
Lenexa, Kan., Dec. 6-Jan. 20, nightly from 6 to 11 p.m.
This annual event, called Sar-Ko Aglow, takes place at Sar-Ko-Par Trails Park in Lenexa. No tickets are required and the event is free (and so is parking!). The park, which is already scenic during daylight, is transformed into a series of lights adorning the outlines of buildings, trees, bridges and walkways that surround a small lake. Walk the half-mile loop as often and long as you want.
Address Sar-Ko-Par Trails Park, 87th Street Parkway & Lackman Road, Lenexa, KS 66215
Parking Free at Sar-Ko Aquatic Center (8801 Greenway Lane, Lenexa, Kan., 66215) and Foundry Church (8835 Lackman Road, Lenexa, Kan., 66219)
Overland Park Arboretum Luminary Walk
Photos courtesy of Overland Park Arboretum
Gardens and woods are enchanted with sights and sounds of the Season.
The Luminary Walk transforms the Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens into a winter wonderland of candlelit pathways, Gnome and Fairy Villages, serene winter woods and a Children's Garden. Thousands of lights are displayed to the backdrop of music of the season. Photos can be taken with Santa from 5-8:30 p.m. Train Garden locomotives run until 8:45 p.m. Free hot cider is offered in the Children's Discovery Garden.
“Trees, buildings, and bridges are all part of the show, with thousands of lights aglow.”
Dates Nov. 29, 30; Dec. 6, 7, 13, 14
5-9 p.m.
Cost is $17 per person; children age 5 and under are free.
Address Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens, 8909 W. 179th Street, Overland Park, Kan., 66013
The Arboretum’s Electric Glow is a quieter show
Luminary Walk photo courtesy of Overland Park Arboretum
Enjoy this subdued version of the Luminary Walk.
The Overland Park Arboretum describes Electric Glow as “a low-key version of the Luminary Walk where only the electric lights are on. No Santa, no candlelit woods, no musicians, no free cider, no trains running, and NO CROWDS. Capacity will be significantly limited on these nights, making them ideal for wandering through the lighted gardens and studying the intricate gnome and fairy houses.”
Dates Nov. 25, 26, 27; Dec. 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 20, 21, 23, 26, 27, 28, 30
5-9 p.m. with final entry at 8 p.m.
Cost is $12 per person.
Address Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens, 8909 W. 179th Street, Overland Park, Kan., 66013
Adults-Only Candlelight Stroll: Holiday Chill Without the Lils
Overland Park Arboretum Luminary Walk (for age 18 and older), photo courtesy of Overland Park Arboretum.
This 18-and-over event is a quiet Luminary Walk experience.
This popular adults-only event features candlelit woods, light displays, live music and unique gnome houses. It’s a popular date night or friends/family night out.
Dates Dec. 5, 12, 19
Cost is $17 per person
Address Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens, 8909 W. 179th Street, Overland Park, Kan., 66013
Missouri Town Living History Museum: A Christmas Celebration
Saturday, Dec. 7, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Missouri Town is an 1855 community of historically preserved buildings adjacent to Lake Jacomo in Lee’s Summit, Mo. It’s an opportunity to experience the Christmas customs, sights and sounds of a mid-19th Century frontier community.
Cost $8 for adults, $4 for youth and seniors
Location
Missouri Town Living History Museum, 8010 East Park Road, Lee's Summit, 64064
Experience Christmas on the frontier at Fort Osage
Jackson County Parks describes this guided candlelit tour as an opportunity to “experience how the holidays were celebrated at the historic fort in the early 19th century. Authentically attired interpreters lead guests through this unique evening event inspired by the winters at Fort Osage. Guests will travel back in time to listen to the issues of the day presented by those who once called Fort Osage home.”
Date Saturday, Dec. 14, 5-9:30 p.m.
Cost $15 for adults; $10 for youth and seniors. Online registration is recommended as participation is limited.
Location Fort Osage National Historic Landmark, 105 Osage Street, Sibley, Mo., 64088