Waterfall Park - Independence

It was a beautiful spring morning, and when I woke up my daughter was sandwiched in on the couch watching TV. This would not do. It didn't take much persuasion to convince her that her time was better spent outside at the playground with me (she will do just about anything as long as it includes donuts, strawberry milk, and playgrounds). She was especially excited to go when I told her we would go to Waterfall Park. At the moment, she says it's her favorite park ever - it could be because she found a little friend to play with there last time and is always convinced that the friends she makes at the parks will always be there when she goes... or it could be because it's a pretty awesome park.

Location: 4501 S. Bass Pro Drive,
Independence MO 64055
It's very easy to find, especially with that monstrosity of a store called "Bass Pro Shop" dominating the view. I cannot complain too much, Addison loves walking around the store and seeing the dead... I mean "stuffed" animals and the aquariums.



Amenities: This park boasts walking trails, fishing (although, they say the 18 acre lake will be mature enough to fish in 2010 - I have seen a few people fishing here - it must be alright now), a picnic shelter, a "fishing" dock, large playground, and around a dozen or so picnic tables scattered under the tree canopy surrounding the playground.



It's really a beautiful park, very surrounded in nature. When they were developing the land, the added in a few waterfalls that you can drive past on your way to the park. Very beautiful. There is also one that empties into the lake, but is probably better seen from the deck at Bass Pro rather than at the park. I cannot imagine you would have to think very hard to figure out how Waterfall Park got its name.



The playground itself is very nice - modern, and very clean still. I did not see one spec of graffiti anywhere on the playground itself. It is large enough to keep the kids entertained, but small enough to where you can keep an eye on them from pretty much any point around the playground. It also has a few more interesting things, such as a dinosaur skeleton underneath the structure and a log for running (its hard to explain) on.



Right beside the main play structure they have some more physically demanding structures for the kids - a simulated log you can climb through/on, a climbing rock (geared towards younger kids! You don't have to be any climbing expert to scale this one), and a small web-climber. This area is mostly in the sun, so if your kid is going to be spending most of their time there, I suggest bringing the sunscreen.
The whole playground area is covered in rubber mulch - my favorite when it comes to ground cover for playgrounds.



Playing on the playground isn't the only thing at this park to entertain the kids. The fishing dock is quite close to the playground and is always surrounded by Canadian geese and mallards looking for a hand-out. There is some scratching of names carved into the wood that makes the dock, but nothing too bad to read there... yet.
Speaking of Canadian geese - they run this park. Their mob was up on the playground when we got there this morning and they were, lets say, very interested in Addi's doughnut. She was not impressed. One bad thing about the geese venturing this high and away from the lake was the poop - they just pooped everywhere. Better watch your feet carefully. Another bad thing about this - geese are not always known for their kind nature. Thankfully, they descended back into the lake by about mid-morning and continued looking for some sap to feed them there.

I've been there in the later afternoons mostly - we ended up going in the morning this time, and it was very nice and shaded both times that I've gone. The trees end up shaded quite a bit of the jungle gym area of the playground.



There is also a water fountain and bathroom - very clean still as well. As a matter of fact, while we were there, three employees from the Independence Parks and Rec were there cleaning the bathrooms and picking up litter from around the playground and trail area. Hooray for clean parks!

The Results:

Pros: Well shaded, very clean, and lots of mature trees to shade the playground. The playground itself is very entertaining for the kids as well. There was lots of grumbling to be had when it was time to leave. The fishing dock provides a glimpse into watching the water-foul in their own territory and kids love water and docks. It is also a very beautiful park in general, and in touch with the surrounding nature. The rubber mulch and bathroom access also make it very accommodating to parents with young kids.



Cons: The geese mob-mentality of coming up to the playground to pester the patrons for food sucks - as well as their poop and bad attitude. We probably looked quite the crazy couple with my daughter yelling, "NO! My doughnut! Go away!". The biggest con here was those gross birds.