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Gezer Park - Leawood, Kansas

By Lacy Carpenter - Field Writer May 30, 2018

Gezer Park has been on my list of parks I want to go to for a while. I was just waiting for the perfect hot day to check it out. Who knew that day would come so soon and in May!

Gezer Park is one for all the ages.

We met my sister and our playdate this day consisted of two preschoolers and a one-year-old. I can honestly say though that this park is one of those that is great for a range of ages. All of our crew had fun, I observed kids of all ages on the playground, and there were teenagers walking the trail. The actual playground was more on the tall side. I was impressed though with how the design had shorter platforms, tunnels, and slides for the younger ones. That is what made it such a perfect playground; the older kids had challenges and the younger ones still had the lower level that they could enjoy. There are also baby swings so even the smallest kids still have equipment they can play on.


With all the nature play elements, you might not even need the playground.

Gezer Park does have a really cool and unique playground, but that being said we barely spent any time on there. They have a sandbox with digging tools that the kids can dig for fossils in. The water feature here is why I was waiting for a hot day to check out this park. There is a manmade stream that flows throughout. My one-year-old niece had a blast splashing in the water, while my son and nephew had fun walking through the water and looking for tadpoles. They also made a game of floating things down the stream. We were not as impressed when they chose to turn their flip-flops into speedboats, but we all ended up leaving with all of our shoes.


Check out the fruit growing at Gezer Park.

This is a unique twist to nature play that I had not encountered before. Gezer Park is a big scattered garden. I noticed vegetables in the landscaping as we were walking. Then we encountered a mini vineyard. This park was growing grapes! Close to the shelter we also noticed several strawberry plants. Nothing was ripe while we were there, but it was still neat to look at the growing fruit and talk about how our food grows. It created a unique science lesson in the middle of our park day.


It is easy to incorporate learning into your day at Gezer Park.

Not only can you incorporate science at Gezer Park with the agriculture and tadpoles, but there is also the opportunity to discuss culture and social studies. I enjoy moments where learning can be incorporated into our play. Gezer Park is a park built to honor Leawood’s sister city with the Gezer region in Israel. You can learn about the Gezer region and culture on plaques throughout the park. We were able to learn about both Havdalah and Shabbat. Even the water feature is actually a geography lesson. The water represents the Sea of Galilee on one end and the Dead Sea on the other.


Gezer Park is a great spot for a playdate or a party.

With bathrooms, two shelters, a big parking lot, and plenty of shaded spots Gezer makes for a great playdate spot. Everything a parent needs during a park trip is right there. Something that makes this park unique though is there is a nice fire pit area that is available to rent out for a party. This park would make a really awesome venue for a birthday party!

If you would like to check out Gezer Park for yourself it is located at 133rd and Mission in South Leawood. 13251 Mission Road. Leawood, KS

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