Happy Holiday Hiking in Kansas City!
Ho ho hiking holidays! Get outside and enjoy the season in Kansas City
Celebrate, get some exercise and enjoy the great outdoors – holiday style.
If you’re reading this article, 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 11 nature-oriented and outdoor events to get you out, moving and joyful during this season (you may see fewer of them as we update this calendar). I can hear “bah-humbug!” Scrooges saying, “Well these aren’t technically hikes. Walking through a beautifully lit park isn’t a hike.” No worries! You can skip all these and tangle with bears, lions, thorns and thistles until you’re heart is full of joy. But as for the rest of us: Happy holidays and carpe diem!
Brighten your season at the Powell Gardens Festival of Lights
This destination botanical garden pulls out all the stops for the season.
Nov. 16-Dec. 30, Wednesdays-Sundays, 5-10 p.m.
A mile-long path winds through 25 acres of illuminated nature. Twenty miles of lights are displayed along the walkway. Warm beverages are available for sale throughout the display. In addition, ready-made “selfie-stands” are set up to help you capture holiday memories.
New this year
Neon Magic Tree
Crystal Chambers by Quixotic
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 Nov. 16-Dec. 30, Wednesdays-Sundays, 5-10 p.m.,
Tickets Buy in advance, costs range from $8 to $16; attendance is limited so purchase tickets before you go.
Parking $10 per vehicle
Location Powell Gardens, 1609 N.W. U.S. Highway 50, Kingsville, Mo., 64061
Cyclists: “Trip the Light Fantastic” at Longview Lake
Sunday, Nov. 19, 6-7 p.m.
Before Jackson County’s Christmas in the Park display opens to automotive traffic, cyclists get the first crack. Begin at the Frank White Jr. Sports Complex (adjacent to MCC-Longview) for this 4.5-miler through dazzling holiday lights. Park at the Lee's Summit Community Center parking lot, 3801 SW Longview Road, and follow signs to the course. There will not be a group launch party; you simply show up and ride. This course is not recommended for children under age 10. Adult cyclists begin at 6 p.m. and families with children at 6:30 P.M. Lights and helmets are required.
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., Friday, Dec. 1, 2023 - Friday, Jan. 15, 2024, 6 to 11 p.m. nightly
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.
Official lighting ceremony Friday, Dec. 1, 2023, at 6 p.m. at the park’s Grand Pavilion
Address Sar-Ko-Par Trails Park, 87th Street Parkway & Lackman Road, Lenexa, KS 66215
Parking Free at Indian Trails 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. Other features include music of the season, thousands of lights and Santa in his Woodland Depot.
“Trees, buildings, and bridges are all part of the show, with thousands of lights aglow.”
Dates When purchasing tickets, you’ll need to select an arrival time.
Nov. 24-25 • 5-9 p.m.
Dec. 1-2 • 5-9 p.m.
Dec. 7, 8, 9 • 5-9 p.m.
Dec. 15-16 • 5-9 p.m.
Cost is $15 per person with free parking (overflow parking is available at Wolf Springs Elementary school); children age 5 and under are free.
Address Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens, 8909 W. 179th Street, Overland Park, Kan., 66013
Overland Park Arboretum Electric Glow
Luminary Walk photo courtesy of Overland Park Arboretum
Enjoy this quieter version of the Luminary Walk on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Nov. 28-Dec. 20.
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 When purchasing tickets, you’ll need to select an arrival time.
Tuesday, Nov. 28, 4:30-8 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 29, 4:30-8 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 5, 4:30-8 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 6, 4:30-8 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 12, 4:30-8 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 13, 4:30-8 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 19, 4:30-8 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 20, 4:30-8 p.m.
Cost is $10 per person with free parking (overflow parking is available at Wolf Springs Elementary school); children age 5 and under are free.
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: Two nights only
Thursday, Nov. 30, 5-8 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 14, 5-8 p.m.
Cost is $16 per person with free parking (overflow parking is available at Wolf Springs Elementary school).
Address Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens, 8909 W. 179th Street, Overland Park, Kan., 66013
Missouri Town Living History Museum: A Christmas Celebration
Saturday, Dec. 2, 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 customs, sights and sounds of a mid-19th Century frontier community.
Cost $8 for adults, $4 for youth and seniors, children under 5 are free
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. 9, 5-9 p.m.
Cost $10 per person; online registration recommended
Location Fort Osage National Historic Landmark, 105 Osage Street, Sibley, Mo., 64088
Learn to make holiday tea from local plants
This is not technically a holiday event, but who can pass up winter tea and some recipes?
Sip tea and learn how to make your own teas from native plants found in and around Kansas City.
Date Saturday, Dec. 16, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Cost This event is free and for all ages. Registration is not required.
Address Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center, 4750 Troost Ave, Kansas City, Mo., 64110
Create organic holiday decor with “Boughs of Natives”
The Missouri Department of Conservation will teach you how to “deck the halls” with native plants and more.
Want your holiday décor to be more organic? Join the Missouri Department of Conservation and “deck the halls with boughs of native trees and plants.” Learn to build a wreath or other decorations with native evergreens, prairie grasses, nuts, berries, seed pods, game bird feathers and more. Seating is limited.
Location
Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center, 4750 Troost Ave, Kansas City, MO 64110
Saturday, Dec. 9 @ 10 a.m. Click to reserve.
Saturday, Dec. 9 @ 11:30 a.m. Click to reserve.
Saturday, Dec. 9 @ 1 p.m. Click to reserve.