Hidden Valley Park — Attraction in Kansas City

It’s a beautiful place to hike and get in touch with nature without having to leave the greater metro area. A real hidden gem in north Kansas City. Just make sure to stay safe, alert and lock your cars if you will be venturing into the woods for a decent amount of time. The city is not known for its safety but this area seemed good enough, I had no issues on this visit. I did the entire yellow loop trail. It was probably a bit over 3 miles, I didn’t keep track. It took over an hour and a half to complete but was worth it. It’s a curvy trail and for this part of the country, it had some decent ups and downs, but nothing crazy. Just bring water and be prepared for a long hike if you choose to do the long loop trail because in the summertime I can imagine it gets hot. I was here in February on a nice day in the upper 50’s and it was pleasant and easy. If you don’t hike very often I wouldn’t do the long loop trail. Mountain bikers will frequent this trail so make sure to watch out for them. There was a cool old crashed vehicle and some other seemingly old “trash” scattered throughout the trail. Not sure what that is about. I need to research what this area used to be. Towards the end of the yellow loop trail it nears MO highway 201 and you hear loud vehicle noise and encounter modern trash in that section. The vast majority of the trail was clean of trash and highway noise. Just beware of the area near the highway. Have fun and happy...

This is a beautiful park with many options. Near the parking, you will find an open field with paved walking trail and frisbee golf. Picnic area, porta-potty, and play area. This large field is great for flying kites or enjoying the fresh air. Wintertime, this is a go to sledding area. On the south side, you will find three dirt hiking trails. The main trail is about 3.5 miles round trip. There are two smaller paths off the primary trail. This is an easy to medium trail with a few steep hills, but it is not strenuous. On a busy day, you may find mountain bikes, possibly a horse rider or two, forager’s, and dog lovers on the trail. It is easy to follow. Shaded. And takes about an hour at a...

Hidden Valley Park is home to one of our favorite Kansas City trail systems! The terrain is smooth, but undulating with lots of elevation change.

It’s a great spot for mountain biking, hiking, trail running, foraging for edibles and finding peace in the company of some really big, really old trees.

A forest of red and white oak, sugar maple, basswood and shagbark hickory gives way to a steep, rugged valley in the middle. The slopes are home to native ferns, delicate spring wildflowers, paw paw and persimmon trees.

Thanks to KCMO Parks, Bridging the Gap, Missouri Sierra Club and MO Dept of Conservation for protecting this remnant forest for...