Things to do
Walk and Bike Paths
Kids use bikes to get places and have fun. Adults ride for fitness. But along the Little Arkansas river don’t forget to enjoy the scenery. Don’t let staying fit be the boss of you. Ride for joy and transport—like you used you did when you were a kid.
Share the road, many paths support walking and biking.
Kansas Wildlife Exhibit
Many of the animals kept at the Kansas Wildlife Exhibit are used for educational programming. Thousands of children and adults who might otherwise never get the chance have seen these animals up close through such programs and by viewing them at the exhibit.
Kansas Wildlife Exhibit contains over 25 different species of native mammals, reptiles, and birds in eight displays.
Bird Watching
One reason for Kansas’s bird diversity is the east-meets-west character of its geography. Oak Park and Mead Island represent some of the last bastions of old growth hardwood forests left in Kansas. All that and these urban wildernesses lie under the Central Flyway making for unexpected and extradentary habitats that support shorebirds, waterfowl, raptors, owls, and a colorful song birds. Some are here year round inhabitants but many are migratory. Adequate precipitation sustains the hardwood forests which are hosts to nesting birds, butterflies, bees and much more.
Birding enthusiasts are part of a growing multi-billion dollar ecotourism industry.
Kayaking and Canoeing
Canoeing and Kayaking are low impact activities that can improve your aerobic fitness, strength and flexibility. Specific health benefits include: Improved cardiovascular fitness. Increased muscle strength, particularly in the back, arms, shoulders and chest, from moving the paddle. Enjoy the river and respect the areas that are private property.
