One of my favorite things to do on those rare beautiful weather, no plans weekend days that comes around once in a blue moon is explore this beautiful city that we call home. Although we live in the ‘burbs, our family enjoys the urban scene in all of its glory. We have our favorite places that are staples, but that list is ever growing and evolving because a free weekend day, beautiful weather and a preschooler who loves adventures mean that we are always adding to it.
The best way we have found to adventure around Kansas City is to start with one thing we want to do and go from there. Happy Gillis in the Columbus Park neighborhood for breakfast one Sunday morning was our place and is the perfect starting out point for a day of exploring the City Market and River Market areas, and of course riding the free Kansas City Streetcar. If you park around 8th and Main you can catch the Financial District stop really easily with great street and free lot parking. Then it’s just a short walk to a stop either northbound or southbound. This time, we rode south to Union Station and then got back on and rode north to City Market where we found an awesome Sunday flea market. We listened to street musicians and found an amazing deal on children’s books from a teacher who was retiring, tons of great eats, a beautiful $10 bouquet and some serious macarons at Bloom Bakery.
Recently two separate friends have reached out to me for help planning various Kansas City adventures for themselves and their families, and I have to tell you that playing virtual tour guide in my own city has been so much fun. Here are some of my best tips to have your own perfect day in Kansas City:
- Pick a starting off point or a solid destination point and go from there. Having a set area of town to stick to or make your way to helps narrow down the possibilities.
- Make yourself try out one new to you place on your adventures. Most of the places we hit on our Sunday out were places we had been before and love. But the flea market and a few stores we checked out were new places and we had a blast. I find myself returning to the same places I’ve been before because it’s comfortable for me, but I’m always glad when I branch out whether it’s to a new area of town, a new kind of food or a new style of music.
- Utilize social media to find new adventures. I like to follow all sorts of different Kansas City themed pages on social media, including an amazing 25,000 member restaurant review page that has turned me on to places I would have never found on my own. I also follow all of the smaller cities that surround Kansas City proper because they host any number of free events, especially in the summer. There are also Facebook groups dedicated to free family events around town where I get some awesome ideas. Mom groups are also a great way to find out about family friendly spots that may otherwise get overlooked.
- Don’t feel like you have to spend a lot of money either. Crown Center has great free activities including an exhibit that changes throughout the year and Kaleidoscope. The public libraries, especially the amazing Kansas City Public Library offers children’s programming that should not be missed. Several spots around town boast great free splash parks for both kids and adults to cool off in. Pack a picnic or pick one up at your favorite grocery store and pick one of Kansas City’s amazing park areas. We love to spend time exploring the Line Creek Trail in Kansas City North and finding small tucked away parks.
- Ask for recommendations! I love giving people fun Kansas City ideas, but I love hearing new ones even more. No matter that both my husband and I, and all of our families, are life long Kansas Citians I am still hearing about new great places to check out around the city, and I absolutely love it. Whenever we explore a new city the very best recommendations we get are always from a local while we are in town. The Midwest has a reputation for being too nice, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Take advantage of that and ask us for ideas, we love to give them and show off our town!
What are your ideas for a great way to spend a perfect Kansas City day? Share them with us, and if I can give you any tips or ideas let me know!
