Happy Rock Park

Went on a Sunday morning walk with my dog and friend. She had been there before so we decided to explore the newest addition. It was a wide paved trail with nice bridges and some shaded areas. It was pretty crowded but everyone was nice and we had no problems. I really enjoyed the nice paved path and want to take my bike out here sometime soon. It was clean and had water fountains. I enjoyed my trip here and look forward to many more.

I’m glad I’m finally giving this park more credit! I love it!
In the past I was more privy to Macken Park in NKC but with a 12ish minute drive each way it’d have to be a special occasion for me to make it out there. Then I discovered Happy Rock Park a couple of years ago. I can’t believe it’s so close to my house! With only a 5 minute drive each way, you can find me here on a weekly basis.
Happy Rock is a very unassuming park. If you’re not familiar with the Gladstone area you wouldn’t think there be a park in the center with neighborhoods surrounding it. This place has everything you need in a park and then some, so many different amenities to choose from! There are 2 different running trails, one that is also a bike trail which is what the Northland needed. The trails have recently been repaved which makes it easier on your feet. It’s heavily wooded with lots of shade to run through (also makes for a nice scenic jog).
Other amenities includes: four tennis courts, several baseball fields, quite a plethora of soccer fields, a basketball court, and several playgrounds for the little ones, several public restrooms, shelters with a BBQ grill for picnics, and waste bags scattered throughout the trail when walking your pets! With the new renovations and updated equipment, this park has much to offer. It’s got the neighbor kids become more active!
If you have not been to Happy Rock Park you’re missing out. The new jogging/​bike trail has been a great addition and will attract more to come out!

Happy Rock Park is the best park to run at in all of KC North. There are two trails. The older one is a 1.1 mile loop on the east side of Antioch road. It’s flat, and winds around tennis and basketball courts, baseball diamonds, and soccer fields. Parking is in the center, so on a day where there’s potential for rain, it’s perfect, as your car is never that far away.
On the west side of Antioch is the newer trail, an out-​and-​back that tops out at 4 miles — 2 out, 2 back. The trail is a wide, concrete path suitable for runners, walkers and bicycles. It runs through the woods next to Shoal Creek, and is absolutely beautiful all year ’round. Deer, songbirds, squirrels, insects of all sorts, and wildflowers abound on the mostly-​shaded path. It’s rarely crowded, and is, as far as I’m concerned, one of the best things KC North has to offer.

As parks go, there are not too many amenities that could raise a rating from 4 to 5 stars. Besides a lake or maybe some picturesque cliffs, Happy Rock has about everything you’d expect in a large park. Restrooms, tennis courts, walking trails (flat and woodsy), picnic area, playground, basketball court, soccer, and baseball (most of those are lit) — yep, it has about everything.
About everything. There are two restrooms in this 79 acre park, and they’re not as nice as the rest of the park. Park restrooms irritate me and it’s not the park’s fault. Why are people compelled to trash park restrooms? So the result is that restrooms are these steel and cinder block monuments to humans trashing the very things they demand as non-​negotiables. But yeah, that’s another story.
Happy Rock has shelters you can rent for $ 35 for 4 hours, additional hours are a paltry $ 5. They don’t have grills but you can bring your own.
The park is split by N. Antioch Rd. The West side has the largest of the shelters and the baseball fields, the East side has everything else.
I’ve been here in a lot of types of weather, through out the year and different times of the day and have never been alone. There are private areas you can go and collect your thoughts (remember it’s a 79 acre park) but most likely there will always be someone there. This is a good thing to me, there’s not a lot of things sadder than a park with no people — Happy Rock is definitely not that park.

i love this park, its my favorite place to run!!! great running trail with lots of trees and the park on both sides of the road is fairly new and the one on the east side is brand new and awesome, we take our 4 year old all the time!!!