How to Spend a Family Weekend in Overland Park Like a Local
Steam lifts with a curtain of haze as we roll onto the I-35 toward Kansas. We’re in the single digit days of August and it’s the southerly route jackknifing us straight outta Iowa and into the barbecue capitol of the Midwest.
Kansas City is just shy of three hours south of Des Moines, but we’re extending this family road trip southish into the suburbs. We’ll spend a family weekend in Overland Park where we can easily hop between the ponds of Overland Park, Olathe, and Kansas City without getting sucked into the downtown bustle.
What You Need To Know
How Far Is Overland Park From Kansas City?
If you’ve never been to the Kansas City metro before, you’ll likely want to know how far is Overland Park from Kansas City? Think of Overland Park as the little sister to Kansas City, it’s just 6 miles west along I-35 before trailing south another 5 miles via Highway 69. A little quieter and greener than KC, it’s also a bit smaller, cozier, and calmer with half the population, traffic, and big city buzz.
Is Overland Park, Kansas Safe?
Before a family weekend in Overland Park, every parent needs to know, is it safe to travel there? Especially near a large regional metropolis like Kansas City, asking is Overland Park, Kansas safe, is a reasonable inquiry. Overland Park is known for its affluent, close-knit community, and vigilance for neighborhood safety. Overland Park is also regarded as a family-friendly city with low crime rates (less than the national average) and lots of family activities, parks, and family-friendly restaurants.
Which Overland Park Hotel Is Best For Families?
Overland Park currently boasts 15 major hotels, from major brands, all of which are suitable for families. Our family prefers to stay in heritage hotels and we love a roomy 2-bedroom suite, so we stayed at Overland Park Embassy Suites.
What Is An Embassy Suites Heritage Hotel?
Heritage hotels are hotels with a historical or cultural link to the neighborhoods where they exist, usually they have been around for at least 25 years. Heritage hotels within a hotel group like Embassy Suites by Hilton often feature unique elements setting them apart from sister hotels in the same hospitality group. This Overland Park hotel is the first Embassy Suites ever built. It’s celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2025.
If I were an Overland Park local, I’m certain this Embassy Suites is the hotel I would recommend for friends and family visiting the area.
Why Is Overland Park Embassy Suites The Best Overland Park Hotel For Families?
The Overland Park Embassy Suites had three key elements traveling families usually look for: large suites, an indoor pool with hot tub, and a buffet-style hot breakfast. Many of the other guests we saw staying at Overland Park Embassy Suites were families traveling with kids.
We also appreciated the unique design elements of this heritage hotel. The interior has a triangular floorplan with 7 floors of rooms looking down over an open courtyard with a dining area and bar. It lends a cozy neighborhood vibe to the hotel, and allowed us to comfortably let our kids walk ahead to the pool and breakfast. We could easily see them and they felt like they had a little independence.
Additionally, the views from the Presidential Suite were surprising, looking out over an impressive urban canopy, a gold domed building next door, and a spectacular sunset.
What to do with Kids
Wondering what to do Overland Park, KS with kids? We lean towards outdoorsy activities, independent, locally-owned businesses, and ways to shop local. If that sounds like you, keep digging in to discover our recommendations for the best ways to experience Overland Park like a local.
Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens + Café Celeste
The first stop on a Overland Park weekend should be the Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens. And it was for us! Incredibly, these gardens are open all year. Summer is the prime season for wildflower and butterfly viewing, but there are also many wonderful family-friendly events at the Overland Park Arboretum in every season.
The Overland Park Arboretum is a 300-acre urban green space with gardens, fountains, sculptures, hiking trails, nature playgrounds, forests, and ponds, plus a phenomenal outdoor train display. The train garden offers a wonderful nod to Kansas history through a huge, immersive garden with extensive miniature train rails, a historic Kansas city replica, and a full-size caboose. The area is surrounded by grassy knolls, natural play installments, shade trees, and picnic shelters.
We also appreciated Café Celeste, a small cafe inside the Longhouse Visitor Center. It was well over 95 degrees on the day we visited in August, so it was the perfect place to retreat into the air conditioning. We also grabbed iced coffees and smoothies before heading out to explore the gardens.
Historic City Market In Kansas City
Part of our intent for staying in Overland Park was to visit Kansas City on a day trip. We scheduled our weekend so we could spend Saturday in downtown Kansas City at the Historic City Market.
The Historic City Market in Kansas City is among the most extensive and diverse city farmer’s markets we’ve experienced in the Midwest. It’s so much more than local, seasonal produce (although that’s great, too), it’s also an international food mecca, and a massive vendor space for small business in Kansas City. Additionally, there are museums and boutique shops (with air conditioning) for a well-rounded experience.
We spent a half day here with a huge emphasis on eating authentic international foods and exploring international heritage shops. Our favorite shopping spots at the City Market included The Candy Wizard (with a dragon made out of jelly beans), a pop-up record shop selling tons of Beatles vinyl, Chinatown Food Market (located behind the street trolley), Yōki (a Japanese goods store), and Africa 2000 (an African dress shop).
The best things we ate and drank at the City Market were bubble tea at Dragonfly Tea Zone, shrimp street tacos at Burrito Bros, and soda floats at the KC Soda Co.
Biking The Heritage Riverfront Trail In Kansas City
Now for a little outdoor adventure in the heart of downtown Kansas City! Just steps from the Historic City Market, Kansas City is years deep into a riverfront revitalization project. Part of the urban beautification program involves developing better urban access to the outdoors with 15 miles of pathways along the Riverfront Heritage Trail.
We didn’t bring our bikes on this trip, so we borrowed a pack from Cycle City, an independent bike shop across the street from the Town of Kansas bridge. The storefront is also part of the Historic City Market and within walking distance of the parking lot.
This bike shop offers bicycle repair services, plus used and new bicycles, as well as bike rentals based on availability. They also organize community bike rides, a free program that leads locals on leisurely rides through Kansas City while seeking out independent coffee shops.
We hopped on the trail at the Town of Kansas bridge, a beautiful and unique industrial style bridge connecting Kansas City to the Missouri Riverfront. There’s even a bicycle elevator that dropped us down to the paved trail. Upon exiting, we were greeted with walls of graffiti-style street art opening up into riverfront parks with beach volleyball and a playground.
The Heritage Riverfront Trail in Kansas City is on the most fascinating urban biking trails we’ve encountered! We didn’t want to stop and play, but instead kept pedaling through the industrial pedestrian bridges, below the Heart of America Bridge, past the Berkley Riverfront and onto CPKC Stadium (the first world-class stadium for women’s national soccer).
See The Kansas City Skyline From The KC Wheel
On our way back to our hotel in Overland Park, we made one last stop to ride the KC Wheel. This was the perfect end cap to our Kansas City day trip, as we had already been admiring the big white Ferris wheel from the car while passing by on I-35.
A fairly new addition to the Kansas City skyline, the KC Wheel is a 150-ft tall Ferris wheel that opened during Christmas 2025. It’s as tall as the Statue of Liberty and offers unparalleled 360-degree views of Kansas City and the Missouri River. Choose to ride day or night, with extended hours from noon to 11pm on Saturdays.
Top Picks for Family Restaurants
As you might imagine, we didn’t spend a whole family weekend in Overland Park without experiencing some iconic eats! Our favorite family restaurants in Overland Park include a mix of Kansas City barbecue, Chinese takeout, an inspiring Overland Park ice cream shop, and the best pizza in KC!
Q39 South Overland Park
If you ask for the best BBQ in Kansas City, this is where the locals will send you! Fortunately, there is also an OP location, so Q39 South Overland Park was our pick.
Q39 is a locally-owned, chef-operated barbecue restaurant that’s been a staple in the KC community for over a decade. The owners are a mix of classically trained chef and championship BBQ masters. The menu features wood-fired barbeque, smoked brisket, and Angus burgers. Our favorite dishes that made it to our table were the Q Nachos, Burnt Ends, and Banana Cream Parfait.
Magic Noodle, Chinese Hand-Pulled Noodles
There are noodles. And then there is Magic Noodle! We ordered takeout and had it delivered straight to our suite at Overland Park Embassy Suites. I heard about this independent, authentic Chinese restaurant upon arrival and my kids couldn’t get it out of their minds either. So after a long, hot day in KC, we ordered in. The small menu featured masterfully crafted dishes, but we all wished we had what my daughter did, The Magic Soup. Beef stock with ramen noodles, sliced beef, fried egg, pickled radish, and cilantro. The crab rangoons were also the best we’ve ever had, and no one could stop giggling over the mile-long lo mein noodles.
1889 Pizza Napoletana
When it comes to pizza, it can feel like the easy way out when it comes to feeding kids. I’m secretly hoping to influence their tastebuds with more regionally relevant flavors. But when there’s a place like 1889 Pizza Napolentana, even a discerning mom will take a second glance. This was our last meal in Kansas City and it left a lasting impression! 1889 Pizza Napoletana was named Best Pizza in KC which was likely influenced by the swoony boutique location. The pizza is ultra fresh with local, seasonal ingredients all made to order in a delightful open kitchen. It’s honestly divine. But the crystal chandeliers, blue velvet booths, and copper oven left us wanting to order more just to cherish the concept of pizza opulence.
The Golden Scoop
It’s hot in Kansas in August, and ice cream is all but a necessity. After our day exploring the Overland Park Arboretum, we were looking for an all-natural, made daily, hand scooped ice cream shop. And we found it! This is the good stuff only filled with the best ingredients we want for our kids. Plus it comes with a hearty dose of community, diversity education, and a mouthful of flavor.
The Golden Scoop is a non-profit ice cream and coffee shop that employs and mentors very talented individuals who happen to live with a disability. And the ice cream is made from scratch daily with no dyes or artificial flavors. The menu changes seasonally and offers unique creations you can’t find anywhere else. Crowd favorites include Cinnamon Crunch and pie-filled flavors.
What To Do On A Rainy Day
With so much heat during our family weekend in Overland Park, it was inevitable that the weather would break with a good ol’ summer storm. So on the last day, when we were scheduled to play at Lake Olathe all day, we had to figure out what to do in Overland Park, KS on a rainy day. We were pleasantly surprised by the long list of indoor activities suitable for an active family, but we couldn’t resist the invite to get active at Activate.
Activate Overland Park
Activate Overland Park is located just minutes from Overland Park Embassy Suites, but it’s best to book ahead online, especially on a rainy day in Overland Park. The indoor gaming facility is an epic family activity that involves healthy team competition, physical exertion, and puzzle games all in one. Dress like you’re going to the gym, prepare to sweat, giggle, delegate, and sleuth your way through dozens of dark rooms lit with laser and glowing floors.
We came with the intent to explore Kansas City like locals, and it turned out the best way to do that was to stay in Overland Park. And do what the locals do. From the Historic City Market to the KC Wheel to the Overland Park Arboretum and takeout from Magic Noodle, our stay in the suburbs felt like home away from home. We can pull away as Overland Park super fans (thanks to Visit OP) knowing two things for sure: always arrive in OP hungry and never underestimate the suburbs. We’ll be back soon!
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