KANSAS CITY, Mo. — If you’re looking for last-minute fun with your family for Memorial Day weekend or looking into summer travel plans, there’s a lot to do in Kansas City and the Midwest.
“One of the things that's the best about the Memorial Day weekend is that all of the pools and splash pads open up and the water parks," Amy Eastin said. "Some of my favorite water parks in Kansas City are Oceans of Fun, which actually opened a few weeks ago, I really like Black Bob Bay, Splash Cove and also the aquatic center in Tiffany Springs."
Eastin is a Kansas City mom who’s also a family travel content creator. She told me her favorite road trips have been to the Omaha Zoo and Springfield's Fantastic Caverns. Both of those road trips are under three hours away with lots to do.
Eastin also gave some advice for keeping kids entertained if you’re planning any summer road trips.
“One thing that I'll do is I'll pack a grab bag of toys,” Eastin shared. “I usually hit up Dollar Tree or the Target dollar section or even different thrift stores will have toy grab bags that are super cheap, and I'll put those all into a bag and then slowly throughout the trip every time they get bored, they get a new activity to do.”
If you’re looking to stay close to home or for something free or low cost, Amy had some great ideas in the Kansas City area as well.
“Some of my favorite free options are Lake Olathe’s Sprayground. All of the splash pads in the area are also free and there’s a lot of them, every single city just about has one. I also like Watkins Mill Beach. It’s at Watkins Mill State Park and the beach is free because all Missouri state parks are free,” Eastin said. “For cheap options, there’s Overland Park Arboretum and Deanna Rose Zoo.”
Eastin posts her family travel content on Instagram and Facebook. If you visit her blog, she has a summer Kansas City bucket list with lots of ideas like visiting all the splash pads, waterfalls, or picking up a passport to adventure where you can mark off fun spots in KC as you visit them.
