This park was a pretty cool discovery, thanks to Unilocal.It was in an area of Valley Park that I didn’t even know existed, frankly. The park itself is really big with a soccer field, a large lake, a dock for fishing, lots of trees, a picnic pavilion & a good sized playground. We spent most of our time at the playground, and I will say that it’s not ideal for very small children, as it’s one of those tall ones with high, twisty slides. In fact, I saw a young toddler wipe OUT going down one of the slides. While that was partially the fault of her daddy, it would be nice if they had a separate playground structure for younger kids. This one was full of a family of rowdy, somewhat poorly behaved older kids. And for some reason, their somewhat rowdy, poorly behaved parents insisted on playing frisbee directly on the playground — I was nearly beheaded twice. I also noted that a field trip of kids were there & for some reason, they decided to play cops & robbers pretty much on the playground as well, so their screaming and running around detracted from the nice surroundings. I did like looking at the lake, but found the area around it to be a little dirty — there was some trash laying around & there was a sign stated that you should only eat the fish out of the lake no more than once a month… yikes. Anyway, it was worth a visit, but I didn’t have a terrific experience with the other patrons at the park, so probably won’t be making this one of our top park destinations.
Ben M.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Kansas City, MO
Simpson Park & its lake is nice little place to go for a run, paddle or some fishing. The lake is a no swimming lake but you can paddle on it and fish from small watercraft. As a paddler I go there often. It is a smaller lake that is great for interval work if you don’t mind going in circles and seeing the same thing over and over again. If you are paddling beware of the northwest corner of the lake. It is filled with underwater trees and you have a chance to snag your rudder or damage your hull. The park is maintained well and has a decent bathroom, playground & picnic pavilion. If you are in the area and need to get outside this is a decent place to go.
