outdoor recreation

Whether you're ready to learn how to skate, or eager to show off your axel jump, Kansas City boasts a number of indoor and outdoor rinks ideal for your ice skating adventures.

Leawood, Kansas, native Charlie Janssen has qualified for hiking’s 'Triple Crown' award, which recognizes hikers who have completed three of the country’s longest trails. Janssen joins an elite group of people who have completed all three trails in a calendar year.

With activities like dodgeball, sand volleyball, pickleball, trivia and kickball, Stonewall Sports KC provides a place of queer inclusion for the Kansas City area.

Take a cruise on these leaf-peeping byways and highways near Kansas City.

Also known as the cave state, Missouri boasts nearly 7,500 caverns including the "Devil's Den" and Crystal Cave.

Roger MacBride, the captain of The Kansas City Lady, wants more people to engage with the river he loves. The boat has become a friendly space for friends, artists, musicians and just about anyone hanging around onshore.

Blue-green algae appears in lakes all over the Midwest during the summers and can make both people and animals ill. Few states have routine testing programs to check for the toxic algae, but some local and volunteer groups are stepping in to fill that gap.

Whether by kayak or canoe, the best way to get a close-up view of the region’s lakes and rivers is to paddle them.

Kansas City eased restrictions on outdoor dining to help keep restaurants open during the pandemic. A proposed ordinance would establish fees for street and parking lot cafés, as well as limit the number sidewalk cafes to avoid overcrowding.

When Mitchell Williams first joined the area's bicycle scene, he didn’t see a lot of other people of color. It’s one reason he helped found the Major Taylor Cycling Club of Kansas City, and hosts Monday night rides open to anyone.

The nonprofit works with students living in the Kansas City Public School district to increase awareness of the environment.

After spending most of my free time in parks for a year, I visited St. Louis and saw a city that related to its parks very differently. My attempts to understand why revealed a stark truth: Kansas City's parks were designed to separate people, not bring them together.