A nice date in the KC area for less than $15? We explored this massive garden
Botanical gardens around Kansas City offer residents the opportunity to explore the vibrant sights that nature has to offer, giving them a look at plant and flower species they wouldn’t otherwise see around town.
It’s a different scene from the gray and black buildings and roads found all around the city, or the empty green grass found on drives roaming highways I-70 or I-435.
Many of these gardens are free or cheap to visit, giving you another option to go somewhere and get outside when the weather is nice while saving some money.
In the latest edition of The Star’s On the Budget, a series in which Star reporter Joseph Hernandez checks out activities and restaurants around Kansas City to see what fun can be had on a $25 budget, we went to the Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens to get some fresh air Wednesday, June 4.
If you have ideas for things to do for under $25, drop me a note at jhernandez@kcstar.com.
This marks my second time visiting the garden. Way back in the glory days of summer 2021, I worked for the Linwood YMCA, and for one of the field trips we took the kids on a field trip here, and I think they had fun. At least they enjoyed me reading one of the storybooks to them before we loaded back on the bus.
So can you enjoy the sweet smells of flowers on a tight budget? Here’s what I found out.
Cost of going to the Overland Park Arboretum & Garden
The Overland Park Arboretum & Garden is huge, with 6 miles of trails winding through the area. But it’s not free, except for one day out of the month.
Passes to the arboretum cost $7 for visitors ages 18 and up, $3 for kids aged 6-17 and free for guests under the age of 5. Memberships to the garden start at $50 and offer amenities like free admission while it’s open.
You can also rent out spaces inside the garden to host parties, weddings, corporate events or large family picnics.
The garden is free only on the first Tuesday of each month, and the original plan saw me and my girlfriend visiting the garden on the afternoon of June 3, which was the first Tuesday of June.
Unfortunately, the weather had other plans.
Strong to severe storms rolled through the Kansas City area on this day, spawning two confirmed tornadoes. The storm dumped between 1.5 and 3 inches of rain across the region, and some areas in Kansas and Missouri received between 3 and 5 inches of rain.
I wasn’t the only one with plans to visit the garden on this day, as the comment section on their Facebook post was flooded with people asking them to host another free visit this month.
So instead of wandering the gardens with my loved one, I was stuck inside in the basement of our house with our new cat, Mr. Mittens (my name suggestion of “The Animal” Dave Paw-tista was overruled), and she found herself hiding with her mom and aunt inside a prom dress store near Top Golf in Overland Park.
So we waited a day to venture to 8909 W 179th St. in Overland Park. Waiting ended up in our favor, as her family bought us the great pork tenderloin sandwiches from Kitty’s Cafe before we left.
Inside the Overland Park Arboretum
It’s around a 35-40 minute drive from Kansas City to the Overland Park Arboretum, so you have to be committed to going. We weren’t the only ones visiting at 1:30 p.m., as the parking lot was quite full.
At the garden, you can see over 1,700 species across themed gardens and natural landscapes. In our two-hour adventure, we saw an estimated one-tenth of the flowers, trees and trails found inside (outside, technically).
The entrance we came in at started us near the education center, which also acts a lounge area for people looking to take a break from the sun. From there, we walked towards Margaret’s pond and took a lap around the pond, which takes you through Byrd’s Grove, a quiet place to view the amphitheater from the west side. The path along the pond also took us through Dickinson Garden, where we saw some blooming peonies.
A full lap around the pond gets you to the entrance for Monet Garden, modeled after the original in Giverny, France, with its soft-colored flowers. We didn’t look at a map for our time here and decided to go wherever our hearts desired, which then took us to part of the Legacy Garden, showcasing plants seen on Kansas homesteads and a stone display donated to the garden in 2016.
It’s a long path and at some point, we ended up at a bird-watching station where being quiet is emphasized. It’s nestled deep in the Legacy Garden and offers a break from walking while enjoying the outdoors.
Our journey then took us to the medicine wheel, created by Chief Lee Yelloweyes of the Southern Cheyenne Nation. The wheel is 60 feet in diameter and asks you to reflect on your life in four aspects: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.
The path after the medicine wheel led us to Children’s Hill, designed for young visitors to to explore with a shrinking tunnel, frog pond and a nature play area. Right by Children’s Hill is the Train Garden, where shrubs and flowers blend right in with a real railroad caboose, a full-size railroad crossing and a large model train display that winds through the area.
Since it had just rained, the grass was still damp, so it didn’t make for the best opportunity to have a picnic surrounded by the flowers. That didn’t stop a family we walked by on our way out from enjoying their sandwiches, fruits and chips by the pond.
With two hours of nonstop walking and at least four miles covered, it felt like we spent a good amount of time inside the garden. If you’re a fan of the outdoors and seeing over 1,700 plant species in one area. It can be a chill date, but it can also get sweaty with the temperatures forecast in the future.
How much did I spend at the arboretum?
The visitor’s center has a cafe and a gift shop, where you can indulge in $11 chicken Caesar wraps, $12 four-cheese flatbreads, $6 supergreen smoothies or $4.50 cold brews.
It was tempting to get a Jack Stack pulled pork sandwich ($12) for the road, but I held off. Nothing inside the gift shop was intriguing since most of the items were designed for kids and to be educational.
My total cost was $14 and that was only for the two tickets. If only it didn’t rain on Tuesday.
For how much we saw, there’s a lot more to explore.
Share your tips for fun on a budget in KC
We’ll be continuing this series, looking for food and entertainment in the Kansas City area for $25 or less — whether it’s at an event like Thirsty Thursday or just a normal night out at your favorite spot in town.
Let us know about any deals you love around town or anything you’d like to read about doing on a budget.
