Primitive camping is much more common in areas with vast acres of public land than it is in the Kansas City area. Yet, if this is your goal, it can happen. Here are highlights of a few places where you can experience true primitive camping within a few hours’ drive.

As the leaves turn, make plans to explore these local expressions of autumn.

In this episode of the Kansas City Hiker podcast, host Roy Harryman interviews Chris Blunk, District Supervisor with the Missouri Department of Conservation, about how hikers can safely navigate Missouri Conservation and other public areas during hunting seasons. Can hunters and hikers safely co-exist, or even thrive? The answer may surprise you.

Once fall hits, Missouri's bustling lake country fades to quiet as nature moves toward a hibernating state. Many summer visitors miss out on this rugged region’s fall color and wonder. And that’s OK with us! Ready for some great fall Missouri lake country destinations? Let’s do this.

This fall, get lost in the Loess Hills. What are they? This range of hills runs from Missouri to South Dakota and from Kansas to Nebraska. Rising up to 300 feet above the Missouri River Valley, they provide spectacular views of fall foliage and stunning scenery year round.

Get off the interstate and explore 200-foot limestone bluffs, rocky spires and natural bridges only two hours from Kansas City.

With an extra day and temperatures slowly receding, how can you make the most of Labor Day weekend? Although the Kansas City area offers numerous parks and trails worth enjoying, we offer these five options for anyone who may be undecided.

Most hikers are friendly, but are in pursuit of solitude and lonely places. Using data from state and national parks, we've ranked the quietest and busiest state parks for Missouri and Kansas, as well as national parks.

Kansas City Hiker speaks with Seth Brooks, author of the recently released Falcon Guide "Hiking Kansas." Seth discusses the unique ecosystems and hidden gems that Kansas offers, challenging its common perception as merely flyover country.

Prairie doesn’t deliver the quick fix of Rocky Mountain National Park or the Grand Canyon. But give it time, and it can deliver its own unique brand of beauty. Ready to explore? Here’s a “starter kit” of six local and regional prairie hikes in Greater Kansas City that won’t disappoint.

While Kansas City is short on mountains and beaches, we’re home to an abundance of stunning wildflowers. They populate our prairies and forests. Here are some of the best locations to view them in their natural environment.

The urban Art and Nature Walk in Kansas City connects Anita Gorman Conservation Discovery Center, Kauffman Legacy Park, Theis Park and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

Travel from east to west in Clay County, Mo., visiting Watkins Mill State Park, Tryst Falls and finishing up at Smithville Lake. These destinations are only 30 minutes drive time from start to finish, with the waterfall right in the middle. It’s a scenic trifecta.

We had a great response to our first post about shady walks in Greater KC. But there are many more to list. And of course we want to cover as wide of a geographic territory as we can. With that in mind, we hope you can catch a break from the heat on some of these shaded hikes in Kansas City.

Summer in Kansas City can be glorious, but it can also be sweltering. What are the area’s best shaded hikes? Read on to find out.

Hiking in the small towns surrounding Kansas City introduces you to new trails. In addition to hiking, it also opens opportunities to explore rural culture and history. Here are seven small town hikes to expand your hiking horizons in Greater Kansas City.

This trip, only two hours from Kansas City, offers a Flint Hills trifecta. Visit The Nature Conservancy’s Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, a ghost town and a 40-foot waterfall – all in Kansas!

Kansas City is a river town. But few experience our waterways except when speeding across a highway bridge. There’s more to see – and learn – than meets the eye.

In Kansas City, there are ample options to get in a few thousand steps and observe wildlife – all while keeping the Downtown skyline in sight. Here is a roundup of our favorite urban hiking trails and destinations.

Kansas City is not the epicenter of outdoor adventure or natural beauty. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing here to enjoy. In fact, there’s more than we have time to experience. Changing the way we think about our hometown can yield unexpected discoveries.