Parkville Nature Sanctuary

We had a lovely hike here recently (Spring 2016). The ravine floors were covered with wildflowers and we spotted a herd of deer. The gravel underfoot wasn’t my favorite, and finding the entrance was slightly challenging (though now we know to park by the track), but overall, it was just what we wanted for an afternoon hike.

Holy schnikes, this place is so cool. How had I never explored this until this summer? It’s only a few blocks away from the main downtown drag in Parkville.
During my fiancée’s summer week break, I worked from Parkville Coffeehouse and then went over for a quick hike through this mile trail.
As you enter the cave of trees, it unfolds with well-​kept trails and then a roaring waterfall. Well it was roaring this summer, as it has rained almost literally everyday.
Speaking of rain, it’s nice that some of their trails are gravel and most are woodchips. That keeps it from being a soggy, muddy mess like some other bridal trails during a rainy month.
Look I’ll be honest and tell you my pictures of this spot will be worth way more than this review. So check them out and you get a good feel for this cool nature sanctuary. Hats off to the volunteers and groups who help maintain this.

Hmm. where to begin. This park was beautiful and very well kept. First time being here and I must say this is probably one of my favorite parks so far that I have come across. The paths are marked and clean, a bit muddy after it rains in spots. There are benches everywhere so if you feel like taking a breather, sit back and enjoy the creeks and waterfalls. It was also be a good place to come sit and read a good book.
Seen lots of animals locusts, ran into quite a few spider webs (I seem to be a web magnet, luckily no spiders were residing in those webs… that I had seen), checked out a large bullfrog that was enjoying the water by the waterfall, came across a small snake sun bathing on a tree limb over the creek, had a butterfly land on my nose and also got to see a carp that had jumped out of the water and croaked on the side of the bank. Got to see quite a few neat things today. Will definitely be going back to check out more of the park.

Went for a nice solo hike on a Thursday afternoon. Not too challenging, I added the two longest trails together. It’s definitely a place you can just float around for the day. There are plenty of areas to sit and just take it all in or pull out a book to read. Overall, time well spent.

I was looking for a moderate skill hiking trail near the city when i tumbled upon the Parkville Nature conservation area. It is a fairly midsized are with river and lake views on either side. One can hop on the Bluebierd (0.45 miles) Kate trail (0.9 miles), or the White tail trail (1.2 miles). I ended up taking the longer one and was not disappointed, it has a fairly respectable vertical climb as well. expect huge cover of trees in the summer times of the year. Overland park to Parkville makes an amazing 25 minute state highway drive and equally fruitful afternoon out in nature.
Make double sure of the address you put in the GPS, and lookout for a Parkville Health Center and a big baseball ground along the walls of the sanctuary for easy spotting of the entrance.

My favorite trail near Kansas City. Good terrain. Very woodsy with wildlife. The waterfall is a pleasant surprise. I didn’t expect this kind of scenery in Kansas.

I really like this area. It has a lovely trail and the deer are quite friendly and used to people. I even managed to pet a small buck a few years ago. Nicely maintained and quaint. This area has a lot of different types of areas as well, from a marshy area to hills and dales and a waterfall. It’s very neat to experience such a range of Missouri’s finest natural parts in one area.

I came hiking here on a Wednesday afternoon. We actually drove past it, not sure where to turn — note, you have to turn into the driveway where the Health Department is and drive down that road. It was very nice, very peaceful, and great to just be outdoors. The Whitetail Trail is the longest, and also had a few big hills. While not that challenging for the casual (read: slow) hiker, like myself, I saw some people running the trail and I can imagine that would be a much bigger challenge for someone trying to get a real workout in.
We ended up going around the Whitetail and Old Kate trails, to get a longer hike in. The Old Kate trail has a big shelter with a fireplace available for reservation (what I think is the Jeannette Robbins Meeting Place on the trail map). It’s bigger than I thought it would be!
The overlook doesn’t really overlook a whole lot, but it’s a nice spot to sit and look out over the nearby trees anyway. We tried to see the water on the map, but maybe the growth blocked our view. The waterfall was pretty neat. Not huge, but it’s pretty. We hiked up the hill to see how far it went, and took a little longer getting back down. Some people were climbing down right down the center of the water, which seemed like a terrible idea — the whole area was slippery rock. Sooo, maybe don’t do that when you go. :)
Although they don’t allow dogs, I think I’d definitely come back here. It was a great little walk through nature and could be a great spot for a picnic.

A lovely walk in the woods!
The trails are well maintained, and range from flat and easy to moderately hilly.
I combined several to get a nice three-​mile (ish) hike.
On 10÷21÷13 there was water in the fall (lovely!) but it smelled *very* sulfurous (lovely…from a distance!). don’t know if it was the actual water, or if something in the mud around it was decomposing, but something was decidedly less-​than-​pleasant. Still, nice to look at.
There are well-​built benches placed at scenic points along the trails.
If you decide to go, just be sure that you know what Poison Ivy looks like. It’s lovely in the Fall, but you don’t want to be taking home any of the leaves. There was quite a bit around, but not much near the trails.

I read the other reviews yesterday and set out. We just had heavy rains and there was abundant running water making the falls gorgeous. Honeysuckle was in bloom. ABSOLUTELY gorgeous. The trail was just enough of a challenge when you add on the white tail trail and finish up at English Landing nearby. This made for a great Saturday morning. This trail will become part of my regular routine.

This hike was a bit away from KC downtown where we stayed. However, it was worth checking out. I think this was not bad but expected a bit more. Last time, I visited KC there was a nice lake view on KS side. I would rate this as easy/​moderate for all. There are some porta-​potties towards the end near the stadium so that’s nice:)

One of my favorite hikes in the area! Very scenic trail and actually gives you a bit of elevation to climb. Great scenery and well maintained trail! Love the little creek, great photo ops. There isn’t much else I can tell you about Parkville Nature Sanctuary! Stop looking at the pics, just go out and experience it!

Yeah, this place is pretty great!
In terms of getting your nature on while still being somewhat close to civilization, the Parkville Nature Sanctuary is top notch! A short (maybe 15 minute) drive from downtown and you can be in the woods, with waterfalls and streams and hills and rabbits and deers and wild turkeys and it’s awesome!
It’s good for both a hike, or for when I feel like getting some trail running practice in. I imagine that it’d be good for picnics, if you chose your spot thoughtfully. I know that there are a couple of shelters which are available for rent, if you wanted to have some sort of wholesome get-​togther. Maybe a play day for your kid’s little league team? Or a church thing. I can definitely see church things happening here. Moral of the story, this place is really multi-​purpose, so long as your purpose is getting out in the woods for an afternoon.
I’m Matt E and I approve this message.

Did I seriously not review this place before I left KC?
Definitely 5 stars — as good as it gets — for the KC metro. This was the best nature area I was able to find in the area and believe me I looked. I looked hard and found a whole lot of crap. But I digress. Even here there are parts where you don’t feel completely isolated in nature, whether on the skirts of Park University or houses near the trail (s), but there are parts that are fairly secluded.
As with many things KC, this place is actually very nice, hardly anyone seems to know about it, it’s not exactly easy to find and does not stand out, but damn it’s worth it.
Seek the waterfall!

I do agree with Mike, this is one of the better hiking trails that I have been on. There is a lot of variety and not a lot of strain for novice hikers. Waterfalls, deers, and other animals are abound as well as some well marked trails with tree identifications. I highly recommend the Old Kate trail if you are short on time but all the trails are excellent.
The Sanctuary is a bit hard to find if you are not familiar with Parkville. It is located behind the board of heath building next to a large athletic field off of East Street.

Went back today after not going for about 3 years. On our hike we saw 21 deer, 3 wild turkeys and 1 salamander. We hit both the Katy Trail and White Tail Trail. The Katy is ideal for a leisurely stroll with kids. White Trail is a big more strenuous a trail. Nothing major, but mostly uphill and will likely be too much for kids less than around 8. Still one of the best unknown places around.