Gillham Park

The park has a great walking path and is a nice park to have near your house. I love the stairs and how close it is to other great parks like the Kaufmann gardens and conservation center.
There are no lights and the park is probably not worth visiting if you don’t live nearby. It’s more for the local residents looking to have a nice walk or picnic.

During the daylight hours, I love playing here with my daughter and walking through this park. It’s not the cleanest in the world, but the two large playgrounds at 41^st and Gillham are well built and normally frequented by lots of families and kids.
The park has lots and lots of open space as it spans quite a number of blocks running North-​South. Great for quiet walks or laying out a picnic blanket to hang out when the weather is great. I’ve never used the «pool» area they have as it’s normally so busy with kids in the summer that it doesn’t like very enjoyable.
My only concerns about the park would be your safety at night, as the corridor it runs through is also a pretty busy corridor for the less-​than-​safe neighborhoods just to the east of here, and the cleanliness of the place. You can often find cigarettes and empty booze bottles scattered throughout the park, including up to the edge of and sometimes on the playground area. I wish the city put more effort into keeping it clean, but as a patron and citizen of KC, you do what you can to help.

this is my hood, Gillham Park.
I love it, but…
the jogging path is nice, but it’s not for bikes
the park is not a dogpark, put it on a leash please
there are no lights, and that’s crazy.
after dark, and i’m not kidding, stay the hell away from here
and that’s too bad, because the identical park next to the plaza has lights
and people use it ²⁴⁄₇.
the newish playground equipment is pretty sweet
the free wading pool is pretty gross
the giant ball field is full of everything from kickball to rugby
there you go.

I have never used the water bath during summer nor any other amenities here. I do however run the stairs and jog the path. The park itself is beautifully green. When the leaves fall the colors are wonderful. But then no one is picking up the leaves… Leaves EVERYWHERE!!!
The path is made out of that bouncy composite rubber material… Which is excellent on the knees… But bad if you have bad ankles. The path has excellent terrain which helps push people so its not so mundane! The people who run are those who live close and Ive never seen any shady things going on here as of late. Ive come at night and there are couples walking and seems not to bad.
The stairs at the south part of the park is where I make my $$$. Up. Down. Up. Down. Rest. Repeat until youre dead. LOL
The North side of the park is flat and good for group sports… The south side is more uneven and good for dogs and picnics!

Nice place to come to read and people watch!

Growing up in Kansas City, three things were absolutes when it came to the holidays. The Plaza Lights would be turned on Thanksgiving night, all KC raised natives would also turn their holiday lights on Thanksgiving night, and Gillham Park would have Santa’s Workshop. Gillham was a winter joy. There was a workshop you could go through and see Santa’s elves making toys, a big Santa slide, and lot’s of other holiday play toys. In the summer there was the pool to play in and lots of open green space to fly kites, play frisbee, or run with your pet dog. That was then.
Over the years, Gillham Park, along with the neighborhood, fell on rough times (partially thanks to the murderer Bob Berdella). The park fell into a minor state of disrepair (the city closed the nearest public works outpost that housed the winter toys) and crime crept in. But now, the neighborhood has bounced back from the ravages of the 90s, and Gillham park with it.
Gone are the dilapidated bow legged woman and rundown teddy bear. A new state of the art play area has been installed, the grounds cleaned up and all sorts of sports teams (even a kick ball and rugby leagues) play there on the weekends and the pool is back in business during the summer (Tuesday — Friday 1 – 6, Saturday and Sunday 1 — 5, Closed Monday’s for cleaning). The pool has life guards and is still a little rough for wear, but still in great shape for swimmers of all age. It’s max depth is 3 feet. There are some dress code issues (Only white t-​shirts are allowed into the pool and men must wear swim trunks and not sport or basketball shorts, city rules). A word of warning, take flip flops and be careful on the concrete, It is uncoated and excessively hot to walk on during our Missouri summers.
I can’t wait for winter and I will update this review for the parks winter festivities.

Don’t go here at night. During the day it is peaceful and tons of people playing there. But at night… weirdos roam the streets, I am pretty sure I saw/​heard gunfire … three times. Hardly any lights. Day = GOOD. Night = BAD.

What a huge, nice park! Very dog friendly, and the people seem very friendly, as well. It seems well-​maintained, and parking along the road (s) is easy, as well. No parking lot, which I actually see as a positive, because some of the other parks can be VERY busy on beautiful days (like we had one of this past weekend).
I’m a fan.

Love this park, love this neighborhood… it is the true quintessential KC hood. Tons of bungalows, four square houses and some really great old apartment buildings throughout.
The city has added new asphalt paths for walking, there are a couple of baseball diamonds and during the summer and fall you can find anything from softball to kickball to rugby. I feel totally safe and comfortable in this park and walk my dogs and play fetch with them here most days.
It’s my «Home Sweet Home».

This park is really beautiful for a drive. Yeah, if you want to get out and actually use the park… you might see that it could use a little TLC, but it’s not that bad. (People from KS can be so snobby) The neighborhoods surrounding the park are really great and have some awesome houses. It’s a classic KC park with some great boulevards running through it. Check it out. (Great for sledding in the winter!)

Gilham Park scares me. One of my friends lives across the street from the park, so I have to drive by it every time I visit her.
The reason I fear this park? A gigantic bear with big staring eyes… a big-​chested, bow-​legged cement woman with a giant sombrero…*shudders*
There’s always empty beer bottles and cans littering the place, and twice now I have seen a guy peeing on the jungle gym.
Ick.