Lowenstein Park/Children's Memorial Butterfly Garden - Lee's Summit

It was a sunny 65 degrees outside, so I drug the baby out to Lowenstein Park. Sharing the same park is also the Children's Memorial Butterfly Garden. It was such a beautiful day to be outside, we stayed out, *gasp*, past the baby's naptime!

Location:
1901 NW Lowenstein Dr
Lees Summit, MO 64081
It's across from the Chipman Mall Complex off of Pryor Road - so fairly easy to get to, although you cannot see the playground from Pryor Road.
As always, you can't go wrong with Google Maps!
Amenities: The playgrounds here are some of the larger selection that Lee's Summit offers with 2 seperate playground structures; one for ages 2-5 and one for 5-12 (much like Burrus Old Mill). The are in very good shape and have a plenty of things to keep kids playing (and not bugging you!). In addition, the playsets offer lots of interactive playing, like tic-tac-toe and dinosaur number walls. The ground cover for the playground is wood chips, and seem to do a good job of keeping the place from turning into a mud pit.
This park also offers a swingset though, unlike Burrus. They have two swings for babies/toddlers and then two normal ones - so not a huge swingset by any means, but ample for the amount of traffic this park gets. You may end up having to wait to swing though, as we did as the park got busier throughout the morning.
Also in the playground, for some reason, is a giant, green, plastic frog. It doens't do anything. It's just a frog - and the kids *love* it. It's the strangest thing. I've included a picture of Peanut on said frog, in case my "giant, green and plastic" description doesn't cut it.
The lone bench the playground offers is right next to the frog, because your kids will play on it that much. There really isn't any other seating on the playground, however the sheltered picnic area is very close and you can watch the kids from there quite easily. So if you count the shelter, than there is plenty of seating. When I usually head out to this park, I end up bringing a picnic blanket with me and camp out under one of the trees, since there is shade there. The playground area is not shaded unless you are there in the late afternoon, and even then there is only one tree's worth of shade - so bring sunscreen with you here and dunk the kids in it.
There is also walking trails, water fountains (but sadly, no bathrooms), and 2 wooden bridges! The bridges are also entertaining for my kid because she can play 'Billy Goats Gruff' - fun times for all!
Down the walking trail from the playground is the Children's Memorial Garden which houses a beautiful rock waterfall and botanical flowers with benches for resting. It's surprisingly quiet for being so close to the playground, and also makes a great place for a picnic if your kids are able to understand not running into the waterfall area or trampling the botanical flowers.


The Results:
Pros: Beautiful Park with good parking, and lots of opportunity for picnics, walks, or enjoying then serene calmness of the butterfly garden. The parking is great; there are always enough places to park every time I have been here.
Cons: There isn't much shade on the playground equipment, so extra sunscreen is a requirement if it's moderately sunny. There also is only one bench for the playground, but this is a minor flaw since sitting in the grass or at the shelter is a very viable option. My biggest con would probably be... no bathrooms! The shame...
Overall, one of the larger parks in Lee's Summit, and one of the better ones in my opinion. Very fun overall experience and it keeps the kids happy for a long time so you can relax on a picnic blanket and take a nap (I wish!!).