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.

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.

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.

Even though winter has been mild, there's no substitute for the sights and sounds of spring in the hills and fields of Greater Kansas City. Here are three of our favorite day hikes.

Can you summon courage to join the elite few (many?) who have scaled this (not really) lofty peak?

How to hit the trail without an epic fail: Although it seems like a no-brainer, even a leisurely stroll can be sabotaged.

Sure, right now we’re sitting under a forecast with cold and snow. But soon enough, the season will change and new horizons will open. I enjoy the planning and anticipation as much as the hike itself. In that spirit, here are five epic hikes to put on your 2024 calendar.

Here are our Top 10 most-viewed hiking posts based on views. We appreciate your support and readership! In viewing these popular posts, you may discover a trail to blaze in 2024. Carpe diem!

Here, we list our top five hiking footbridges in Greater Kansas City.

The Kansas Flint Hills and Smoky Hills are some of America’s last wild places. They’re a well-kept, well-preserved secret for Midwestern hikes and outdoors enthusiasts.

Wildflowers are bursting in spring and summer, but there’s still plenty alive and kicking in the fall. While you can see them along roadsides, you can get a more concentrated and diverse view out on the trails in Kansas City.