Marina upgrades: Easy access to canoes, kayaks debuted at popular Johnson County park

The popular marina at Johnson County’s Shawnee Mission Park opened Wednesday for the season after undergoing nearly $1.6 million in renovations that began in November.

New features include a massive new ADA-accessible dock, a new ticketing booth, dock-level bathrooms, upgraded security cameras and a storage facility for the marina’s 85 boats. To get out on Shawnee Mission Lake, the public is able to choose from stand up paddleboards, kayaks, tandem kayaks, canoes and pedal boats.

Another new feature is an accessible kayak and canoe launch. The accessible launch provides adaptive paddlers a steady platform to easily enter and exit their boats.

According to Marshall McKinney, the aquatic manager for the Johnson County Park and Recreation District, thousands of boaters utilize the marina’s rental services each season.

“We always want to bring the best to our community,” McKinney said. “We’re excited to bring back the marina and make it even better with all the expanded amenities.”

Boat launches happen six times throughout the day in 90-minute intervals beginning at 10 a.m. The marina will be staffed daily from 10 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. until August 13 when school resumes. The marina will then switch to weekend-only staffing through Labor Day. The public is encouraged to make boat rental reservations online.