Jacob Loose Memorial Park

Beautiful place to walk your dogs. This is a on-​leash park. This is a great park to run, jog or walk on the path. There are some interesting characters here too– we walked by a guy that was walking his yellow, large pet snake around his neck. There were people taking photo shoots by the rose garden and people getting married near the pond. It’s perfect for people watching for sure!
We bought some cheese and crackers at the cheese shop in the Country Club Plaza, bought a bottle of wine and our dogs for a picnic on a bench overlooking the beautiful Rose Garden. Our dogs enjoyed the people watching, cheese and crackers too. It was a relaxing way to spend a few hours on the weekend.

Love this park. Tons of green space for dogs. A great playground for kids and a nice clean bathroom. Great for a short walk. When we want a long walk (5 miles) we do the loop then get off and wander through the gorgeous neighborhoods and count land rovers. Rose garden is serene. Great place to take pictures.

This park feels like Central Park with a Boston place. The tall apartment buildings in the backdrop coupled with the magnificent houses encircling the park make this area perfect for a lazy weekend picnic and stroll. The paved jogging track around the margin that is excellent for running or walking. There’s a resort area with picnic tables and tennis courts in within the park also. Great comforts and very well kept.

A beautifully kept, clean and relaxing retreat; kudos Kansas City!
Facilities include a tennis court, jogging trail, kids play ground, grassy picnic areas, splash pool, historical postings, duck pond, rose garden and more. Gotta love it for whatever your desire!

If you’ve met me or taken the time to look at any of my profile pictures, you can probably tell that I’m not much of a «park» person. I have nothing against parks, but my leisure and work activities aren’t the types that typically allow a lot of «park time,» however I will say that if you like or want to spend some good quality time in a park then Loose Park should be at the top of your list.
What I like about Loose Park is it appeals to all walks of life. For those of you who work out, there’s a really nice jogging /​running /​biking trail that’s perfect for your exercising needs. The park also features a block of tennis courts if any of you swing that way. You won’t have any problem raising your heart rate or working up a good sweat.
If you have kids (mostly those of the younger variety) Loose Park features a fairly intricate play park that includes a hodgepodge of jungle gyms, slides, sand and other outdoor play activities that will help your kids burn some sugar off and hopefully send them to bed a little earlier than normal. There is also what I think is the crown jewel of the park, THE SPLASH PARK. Yes, it’s that awesome. Basically it’s a small area that includes misters and small fountains that your younger kids (I’d say a good range would be six or younger) can run around and cool themselves off during the hot summer. Trust me, your kids will love it. During one trip with some friends, I literally had to go in and pry my friend’s son from under one of the bird decorations over his best protests because he was having too much fun.
For those of you normal people who don’t really need a reason, there are plenty of options for you too. During the more tolerable months, you’ll find all types including weddings, prom, senior pictures and family pictures trying to capture the moment. There are plenty of scenic spots including a rose garden on the north end where you can set up and snap a couple of good pics. There is also ample space (and depending on your spot, some grills) where you can spread out a blanket and have a picnic.
Like I said, I’m not the most «park-​type» person that’s out there, and I’m probably leaving some things out, but I will say that even I don’t mind getting out and soaking up some Vitamin D in Loose Park. If you have the time and the weather is right, I recommend you spend some of your day at the park. It’s (at least for me) a little different change of pace, but I guarantee you won’t regret it.

Loose Park is a perfect little oasis in the middle of Kansas City. There is a 1.4 mile trail that encircles the park, perfect for walking or jogging. The trail is ususally why I head out to Loose, but there are also other great things to see at Loose Park.
If you’re a Civil War buff, there are memorials to the battle of Westport. If you’re a botanist, there is supposedly one of every native Missouri tree in the park, many are marked with placards. If you just want to sit in luxury, go see the Rose Garden. And then if running/​jogging isn’t your thing, there are seemingly endless fields to fly kites/​play frisbee or free tennis courts and squash courts. For the person with kids, there is a water park or the pond which has very hungry ducks.
All in all, it’s a wonderful place to go spend an hour or an afternoon.

I have lived in the KC Metro area for 15 years. Sunday was my first trip to Loose Park. Kicking myself for not exploring the park previously, but it made the perfect setting for a special day.
The first thing that struck me was how nice everyone was. I get excited when people acknowledge each other. Very few people did not say hi or something similar as we met them on the walking paths.
The park also welcomes people to just stay and enjoy nature. Park benches are plentiful. Shady spots to lay a blanket are easy to find. Although a busy park, it is peaceful.
The park caters to many different types if users. Great trails for walking/​lounging, play areas for children, roses and cute little forest creatures for natures lovers, picnic tables, ample parking for those who do not live nearby, room for a game of Frisbee or catch, places to learn about the history of our great city
I am glad I was able to share my first visit. Loose Park is everything a city park should be and now a special place that I will visit often.

This is such a beautiful park. My hubby and I had the best time skipping rocks with my kiddos over Memorial Day weekend!
We have so many memories from 15 years ago and it is just as beautiful now as it was then. For the ‘out of towners’ or transplants, this park is on par with Golden Gate Park in San Francisco due to its size, flowers and large trees.

Hands down my FAVORITE place to run in the Plaza/​South Plaza/​Brookside neighborhood! I’ve also come here on clear, sunny days to sit on the massive lawn and read a book or have a picnic. The park has a running path that goes around the entire perimeter and, according to my running app, it’s 1.36miles. I find that I don’t mind running around it many times to get my miles in, but I know that might annoy some people. The best time of day to run for me is the early morning to watch the sunrise… perfection! And there are barely any people; middle of the day and you’ll have to dart around folks. The path offers EVERYTHING: uphill, downhill, smooth gradients, steep gradients, curves, and flat sections. About half of it is shaded. There are bathrooms by the Rose Garden and a water fountain by the tennis courts. There’s also a kids playground and fountain/​splash park that’s open in the summer. There’s a «lake» that’s nice to sit by, too. Lots of ducks and geese, and there are fish in the water. I’ve seen people use toy/​motorized boats which looks like fun! But hands down, this is my running happy place :)

I’m here every Sunday with my kid from the BBBS hanging out. There are great trees to climb, geese to bother around the pond, and a variety people taking photos you can photobomb. Seriously, you can’t find a day here without people having a photoshoot. That’s because this place is freaking beautiful.
Give them space at the Rose Garden if they’re having a wedding there, and don’t feed the geese. People who feed geese are tools.

Loose park is awesome! It’s removed from the hustle of downtown and the plaza. If your visiting, be sure to see the rose garden, pond, and Japanese tea room.
I particularly like doing laps around the pond. The water and vast expanse of lawns is simply relaxing. My wife and I find it an awesome place to spend an hour before a night out.

A park they has become synonymous with Kansas City and I will own up to loving it. Rich in history, prime location, rose garden, fountain, tennis court, huge playground, bathrooms, covered sitting area, stunning duck pond, spray water park, expertly landscaped, 2 walk/​run/​jog paths, big wide open grass spaces perfect for picnics or kite flying

Tons of space for group activities as well as private areas. The track around the park is the perfect length: not short enough to get bored while running your 5^th lap in 10 minutes, but not long enough to make you dread another time around.

I love Loose Park! I am a runner and really enjoy parks with relatively large loops. The loops are paved and are wide enough for 2 people. I live in South KC, so I jump on Wornall and get there in 15ish minutes. The park spans from 55^th to 51^st street.
Tips about this park:
–Parking is located between 52^nd and 51^st street. Every time I have been, there has been parking available, but side streets are probably fine if the lot is full.
–The park has a map online of the loops. The curb line is 1.48 miles, large loop is 1.16 miles, and small loop is 1.04 miles.
–There are several benches along the loops for relaxing and people-​watching.
–There is a playground, gardens, lake, tennis courts, and Battle of Westport memorial information throughout the park.
–There are both walkers and runners moseying around the park. If you are an elite runner, you may be annoyed with the other park-​goers. In my experience, people do not really pay attention, get in the way, etc. So expect to dodge pedestrian obstacles during your run!
–There is a lot of grassy open space available for sports, frisbee, weddings, picnics, etc.
–The shelter can be rented for a fee. See the website!

This park feels like Central Park with a Boston location. The tall apartment buildings in the background coupled with the gorgeous houses surrounding the park make this place ideal for a lazy weekend picnic and stroll. The paved running track around the perimeter that’s great for running or walking. There is a playground with picnic tables and tennis courts in within the park also. Great amenities and very well maintained.

I’m writing this review as temperatures are in the single digits in honor of Loose Park on those warm and sunny days.
Loose Park is one of the best gems in Kansas City. It is nestled into a beautiful neighborhood, surrounded by old, amazing looking homes. It’s seemingly perched on top of the Plaza, and almost has a mini-​Central Park vibe.
I love running a few laps around the cushy outer track (~1.40 miles per lap), or heading up there on a Sunday with a book and grabbing a spot under one of the hundreds of trees.
Tennis players swarm the tennis courts on the west end, kids take over the playground on the north end, and the pond is full of people walking around and taking pictures.
Loose Park is as close as I’ve seen to one of France’s many beautiful parks, and the simplicity of it makes it a weekly spot during the warm months. On the best days of the year (think when it hits 70 degrees in February, or a perfect fall day), the parking spaces all around the park are full to the brim with people who were just waiting to get out there.

This review is strictly for the spray park.
We headed there on Friday as a great alternative to going to a pool. My three-​year-​old son had a wonderful time playing in the water and just interacting with the other kids there. It was a nice, manageable crowd for about an hour.
Then a few ladies arrived with their group of 25+ kids of varying ages who were all fully clothed (poor kids, wandering around in soaking wet clothes the rest of the day) and proceed to just sit on a bench and not really supervise them. It was a good excuse to leave and go grab some lunch at that point.
I also like that they have an area with tables sheltered from the sun. The only negative is that there isn’t parking directly by the spray park. We parked near the tennis courts and walked through an area with a lot of broken glass to get over to the spray park.
That being said, we will definitely be heading back there again soon!

Now that the outside track is complete… my fave park in KC! There is something for all people of all ages! Oops almost done! Maybe one more week?

This by far one of the best city parks to visit. It’s well maintained and the park has nice accessories, from a running trail around the perimeter, a waking trail, ducks and geese in the pond, fountains, a waking trail around the park and what sells the park is it’s rose garden. Truly a well kept gem.
Saturdays in the south lawn has dog classes. Be sure to only being your dog if he is registered with the city, as the police will walk around distributing citations to those dogs who are not registered, I might add that it’s pretty pricey. They caught a former neighbor and it was quite upsetting.
I try to avoid the crowds and go when it is sparsely occupied. Just a word to the wise…

There is no place like Loose Park in the early summer time when the Rose Garden is in bloom. To sit among the roses and listen to the fountain splash is one of the simple pleasures of life, and a true perk of living in Kansas City is to live close enough to enjoy such a place. While the park has many other amenities that I like such as the walking path and the fish pond, it’s the Rose Garden that is unique. And while I have criss-​crossed America and seen many a park, few rival the visual splendor of the Rose Garden in full bloom.
5 Stars… without any hesitation. When my mother was alive this was one of her favorite places. When she was diagnosed with lymphoma, the park is where we went to talk… and the roses helped her find peace and inner strength. And when I went back to KC recently after she passed, this is a place I went to find comfort. And even in fall or early winter, the park is still a beautiful place.
While Unilocal only lets one go to 5 Stars, I created a special list called «The Mythical 6^th Star» for places that are above and beyond or exceed expectations. Loose Park… with it’s Rose Garden… warrants inclusion on that list.