Cedar Lake Park

You wouldn't necessarily know this place exists except maybe an Internet search or Yelp, perhaps, because the entrance to the park and Cedar Lake isn't very noticeable; it's brown and seemingly small compared to other parks in Johnson County Kansas.That being said though, it's not a bad little out of the way place with a park for the kids and a lake for fishing or enjoying a sunset. You'll likely see some cool birds too--like the great blue heron, kill deer, and the ubiquitous Canada geese and mallard ducks. They have a couple sand volleyball courts, 3 shelters and a few Johnny-on-the-spots. There's a play area for kids with the typical playground equipment. There is a "special surprise" from the other access road, south of the main entrance.There's a stone building to the right and if you go left to the end turn around you'll have access to Cedar Lake Falls!

You know, I don't really like this place. It feels a little too alleyway if you get my drift. There's a lot of trash, though it does seem clear someone is trying to keep it nice and tidy they can't keep up with the riff Raff constantly adding trash to the pretty little lake. It's not a very large lake but it's big enough that you could probably catch some good fish in there if you wanted. The shelters are also not too bad, a little old but not too old. Pretty sturdy. I've had quite a few cookouts there. The boat ramp is barely one, and there's always some car without a headlight loitering on either side. It seems like a very popular place for loiters. I think that's why I don't like it, just seems like you're being watched by someone that's not there for the recreation of the parks intended purpose. So, seems a little creepy to me, I figure why not go park at a Walmart or something? Why just sit with your car running?There are certainly better parks in the city, lake Olathe is not super far from this and lake Olathe is significantly better. They put so much money in the lake Olathe that it's worth a trip no matter what you're doing out there. Cedar lake though, it's just so close to all of the trucking companies and all the heavy machinery places out there near Gardner, I just would rather not have this place existing if I had a choice. But to the credit of the people that care for it, it still looks like a lake with some shelters so if you find it well enough, it'll do just fine.

Fun park with plenty of space for family events and your typical park activities for the kids. Fun little trails where you can find yourself next to a calming waterfall. Definitely a nice spot to avoid some of the busier parks.