If you’re looking for a day or weekend trip to the Kansas City area but are looking for something new — consider spending time in Overland Park. With so many options for both indoor and outdoor fun, kid food, and free parking, you can keep the little one’s busy without the stress of navigating downtown.
For your first stop, head to the Overland Park Arboretum. This hidden gem has a brand new welcome center. After the enter, you’ll head straight to the kid-centric Train Garden. You’ll find extensive displays of model trains, as well as a real train car kids can climb inside. Nearby you’ll find a natural playground with logs, stumps and stones to leapfrog between.
For the afternoon, head to Kidscape at the Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center. On the first floor, you’ll find Kidscape, a imaginative community that features different aspects of a town including the baby hospital, diner, fishing boat, schoolhouse, theater, farmer’s market and farm. You’ll find a visual schedule to help your kiddos prepare for a visit here.
You’re probably hungry by now. Head to our favorite pizza joint – Dewey’s Pizza! After ordering your pizzas, head back to the front where kids can watch through the window as the dough is thrown in the air, the fresh toppings are placed and finally the pie goes into the oven. We recommend the house salad, meatball pizza and the impressive beer and wine selection.
Day 2
Day 2 is just as good as Day 1!
Get off to a great start with the hot, fresh donuts – Duck Donuts. An East Coast tradition, and we’re grateful Duck made their way to the middle of the map. Create your own donut or choose from their seasonal creations (strawberry shortcake, cookies and cream, s’mores, and French toast to name a few). Kids can peek over the counter to watch the donuts being made and dressed with toppings. Not in the mood for donuts? Check out AR’s Breakfast and Brunch where you can choose from crepes, scrambles, omelets and a build-your-own kid’s menu.
Now that you have that energy up, head to Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead for one of the best attractions in all of KC. This farm is
affordable (just a few dollars per person). You won’t want to miss feeding baby goats with milk bottles, the baby animals in the big red barn, farm-themed playgrounds, the blacksmith shop, pony rides and the old fashioned general store. Bring quarters to feed the animals! The farm is open early April through end of October.
While there are concession stand options at the farm, we recommend heading to Q39 South to experience some real Kansas City barbecue. You really can’t go wrong here and the kids menu includes something for all tastes. For those with bigger appetites, try the sampler plates and don’t miss out on burnt ends – a KC speciality. If barbecue isn’t your thing, we love Magic Noodle, where a robot will deliver your food!
On you way to your afternoon activity, drop by Best Regards Bakery and grab some of their famous cookies (featured on Food Network).
If you need to get wiggles out, you can always check out many parks nearby. Our favorite and a true destination is Meadowbrook Park, which features three playgrounds, a sledding hill, countless trails and bike paths and a coffee shop and restaurant.
Whether you’re visiting for a day or a full weekend, you can find fun destinations for everyone in the family.
