The Ernie Miller Park & Nature Center in Johnson County near Overland Park is an excellent place to go for a day out in nature. Soak up the sun on a nice, warm day and pay the park and nature center a visit. You’ll love exploring all there is to see.
The Ernie Miller Park sits atop 116 acres of land that encompasses a wide variety of habitats. If you visit this park, you’ll get the opportunity to see and trek through tallgrass prairies, upland meadows, bottomland forest, and a breathtaking stream. If you’re interested in having yourself a picnic on the property, no problem. The park has a picnic shelter so you and your family or friends can sit down and enjoy a meal during the nice day. The park also contains an outdoor amphitheater that can seat 80 people, miles of beautiful nature trails, and a nature center.
Ernie Miller Parks give patrons the opportunity to rent out shelter space to hold any kind of events you may be planning. Birthday parties, weddings, family reunions, or whatever else you have coming up is welcomed to be thrown at the park. They do however recommend renting a shelter space to ensure you have a place to throw your event.
There are a multitude of fun activities to indulge in when visiting the Ernie Miller Park & Nature Center. Every November, the nature center hosts an “Owl Prowl” showcasing the different types of owls that call Ernie Miller Park home. The breeds of owls that inhabit the park include Barred, Great Horned, and Screech owls. The Owl Prowl provides educational talks about the various owls and even hosts a nature hike in the evening where patrons will be encouraged to join in with leaders to call for owls.
The park also hosts an Enchanted Fairytale Forest experience that leads groups through the trails to find fairy friends, real and make believe. Guests that embark on this journey will get the pleasure of creating and designing a fairy house to leave in the forest for the fairy folk. They will also be able to take home their very own wand and get to participate in music as well as a trip to and through the Wish Tree. This is a two hour journey and both kids and adults must pay to participate.
The Ernie Miller Park & Nature Center offers summer camps for children between the ages of four and 16. These camps are great for kids to learn all about life, science, and nature while in an environment that showcases it all. There are sailing camps, photography camps, fishing & boating camps, and even climbing & rappelling camps. These are offered only to certain age groups as some activities might not be safe for children.
Bring your family to the park to participate in a nature scavenger hunt for the whole family. A list of things to find is provided on the Ernie Miller Park & Nature Center website. It prompts families to find water, animal tracks & scat, a squirrel’s nest, prairie grasses, an insect or a spider, an animal with fur, and more. The scavenger hunt encourages players to listen for a bird’s song and find flowers as well as fungi growing on trees.
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Map from Ernie Miller Park & Nature Center to WilsonHaag:
Map from Ernie Miller Park & Nature Center to Guinevere Art Museum of Kansas City: