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Some of the best childhood memories begin at a playground.
They're the places where confidence grows with every climb, friendships are made on the swings, imaginations run wild, and families spend just a little longer outside together. Long after the equipment has been replaced, the memories created there remain.
That's why destination playgrounds are so much more than places to play.
They become reasons for families to visit, gather, and explore. They encourage children to connect with nature, inspire healthy outdoor activity, and often become the centerpiece of a community or park. They create opportunities for grandparents, parents, and children to experience the outdoors together while strengthening the connections that parks naturally foster.
At Clinton State Park, that vision is beginning to take shape.
Plans are underway for a destination playground that will welcome families from across Kansas and beyond. It will be located within one of the state's most visited parks (and right outside the KRPA office window).
The playground is envisioned as a place where adventure, exploration, and outdoor recreation come together to encourage visitors to extend their stay, discover more of the park, and create lasting memories along the way.
Projects like this don't happen overnight. They become reality through partnerships, vision, and the generosity of people who believe in the value of parks and recreation.
To learn more about the project, visit the playground website.
If you'd like to be part of bringing this project to life, there are two ways to contribute:
Donate directly to the Destination Playground project through the Douglas County Community Foundation by visiting the project page.
Give through the Douglas County Community Foundation's Mid-Year Giving Catalog, where the Destination Playground has been selected as one of this year's featured community projects. Visit the webpage link for more information.
Every contribution—regardless of size—helps move the project one step closer to becoming a place where children can play, families can gather, and memories can be made for generations to come.
At KRPA, we believe parks are more than amenities. They foster community engagement, instill local pride, connect people with nature, and create experiences that strengthen communities for years to come. The Clinton State Park Destination Playground is a reminder of what's possible when a community invests in places that bring people together.
To learn more about the project or make a contribution, visit the Destination Playground webpage or explore the Douglas County Community Foundation's Mid-Year Giving Catalog.
All summer long, parks and recreation professionals create unforgettable camp experiences. They teach new skills, build confidence, encourage friendships, and help kids discover what they're capable of.
This September, it's your turn.
The 2026 Tomorrow's Leaders Institute isn't your typical workshop or conference. It's an immersive leadership experience that brings together emerging parks and recreation professionals from across Kansas for three days of learning, team-building, collaboration, and personal growth.
If you're wondering what it's really like, just ask someone who's been there.
Madeline Becker of Johnson County Park and Recreation District, a member of the 2025 Tomorrow's Leaders Institute class, described her experience this way:
"This multi-day camp experience brought Park and Recreation professionals from all over the state together to learn more about our profession, each other and by the end of the camp, even more about ourselves."
Tomorrow's Leaders Institute is designed to stretch participants in ways that traditional conferences can't. Through leadership discussions, hands-on team challenges, outdoor activities, and collaborative problem-solving, participants build practical skills while forming relationships with peers from agencies across Kansas. Along the way, they'll hear from experienced leaders, tackle real-world scenarios, and gain fresh perspectives they can bring back to their own organizations.
For Madeline, one of the most memorable parts of the experience wasn't just what she learned, it was the people she met along the way.
"Getting to know folks in my field that share the same passion as I do for the world of Parks and Recreation was a unique experience."
You can read Madeline's complete article featured in the KRPA Today spring magazine. Whether you're looking to grow as a leader, expand your professional network, or challenge yourself in new ways, Tomorrow's Leaders Institute offers an experience unlike any other.
The kids have had camp all summer. Now it's your turn.
Join the 2026 Tomorrow's Leaders Institute this September and experience three days of learning, connection, and leadership that can shape your career for years to come.
Reserve your spot at Tomorrow's Leaders Institute 2026.
Registration is now open for the 2026 KRPA Golf Tournament on Friday, October 9, 2026, in Garden City, Kansas!
This year’s tournament will take place at the nationally recognized Buffalo Dunes Golf Course—a course that has earned attention across the country for its unique links-style layout, rolling dunes, natural prairie landscape, and outstanding playing experience. If you’ve never had the opportunity to golf Buffalo Dunes, this is the year to add it to your bucket list.
We’re also planning a unique educational opportunity at the golf course, along with a fun social gathering the evening before the tournament. More details on both will be coming soon.
To help make travel and lodging easier, we have two room block options available for attendees:
Option 1 – Garden City Room block at the Clarion Inn under KRPA GOLF TOURNAMENT for Thursday, October 8.
Clarion Inn (620) 275-7471 Room Rate: $110/night
Option 2 – HorseThief Reservoir Experience Looking for something a little more adventurous and memorable? Horsethief Reservoir, located about 50 miles outside of Garden City, is offering KRPA attendees a special discounted lodging rate for Thursday, October 8.
The room block expires on September 15, 2026. To reserve a unit, please call the HorseThief office directly. Attendees staying at HorseThief will need to bring their own bedding.
Click here for a flyer that showcases the different cabin and yurt options available at HorseThief Reservoir.
We hope you’ll join us for a great day of golf, networking, and a little western Kansas adventure.
Celebrate Great Outdoors Month: Discover, Explore, and Connect
* Sponsored by ATHCO
June is Great Outdoors Month, a nationwide celebration that encourages people of all ages to get outside and enjoy the parks, trails, playgrounds, lakes, and natural spaces that make our communities special.
Established to highlight the importance of outdoor recreation and conservation, Great Outdoors Month reminds us that some of life's best experiences happen outside. Whether it's taking a walk on a local trail, enjoying a picnic in the park, paddling on a lake, playing a round of pickleball, or simply spending time with family at a playground, outdoor experiences help us stay active, reduce stress, connect with nature, and strengthen relationships with those around us.
Kansas is fortunate to have an incredible network of parks and recreation opportunities that make outdoor adventures accessible close to home. These spaces do more than provide recreation. They foster community engagement, instill local pride, support conservation efforts, contribute to economic development, and create places where lifelong memories are made.
As we celebrate Great Outdoors Month, KRPA encourages everyone to challenge themselves to spend a little more time outside. Visit a park you've never explored, take a family bike ride, try a new outdoor activity, or simply enjoy a sunset from a favorite local green space. Every outdoor experience helps build a deeper appreciation for the places that enhance our quality of life.
Great Outdoors Month is also an opportunity to celebrate the investments communities make in creating exceptional outdoor spaces. One recent example is the exciting transformation of High Park in Derby, Kansas.
Thanks to the Derby's commitment to getting their community outdoors, families will enjoy a variety of new amenities and upgrades for years to come. Amenities include innovative upgrades to the existing Darrell Zimmerman Family shelter like the new pergola, pickleball courts, restrooms, splash pad, shades, and playground equipment. Whether you’re climbing to the top of the 25’ tall 3-Tower Hedra, taking a spin on the Global Motion, or enjoying the Hedra Scout for the littles, there is something for everyone on this freshly turfed playground. The splash pad offers a variety of water play experiences from a variable depth runnel to the AquaHedra mister or even the Canopy Cluster dumping buckets. High Park also has plenty of shade for your upcoming events or taking a needed rest from all the fun! There truly is something for every patron to enjoy!
KRPA thanks ATHCO for sponsoring our Great Outdoors Month celebration and for their continued partnership in helping communities create engaging outdoor spaces where families can play, connect, and make memories together.
This June, take advantage of everything Kansas parks and recreation has to offer. Whether you're exploring a neighborhood playground, hiking a trail, casting a line, or enjoying a community park, Great Outdoors Month is the perfect reminder that adventure is waiting just outside your door.
By Scott Roschi, Creative Director at Landscape Structures
(This content is brought to you by our sponsor, Landscape Structures Inc.)There may be no better refuge for kids from screen time than their local playground. With today’s larger, more colorful and more engaging equipment, playgrounds offer richer opportunities for movement, imagination and connection than ever before.
Building a successful playground, however, requires more than selecting equipment from a catalog. Communities are increasingly asking for play spaces that feel distinctive, reflect local identity and serve a broad range of users. In doing so, park and recreation agencies are creating not only better playgrounds but also stronger community gathering places.
Spaces That Reflect the Community
Across the country, communities are designing playgrounds that reflect who they are and what they value. Strang Park in Overland Park, Kansas, offers a strong example of how inclusive design can bring those priorities to life while serving children of all abilities.
The playground provides multiple, intuitive ways for kids to access and move through the space with ramps, climbing elements and sensory-rich features. Separate areas support different age groups, allowing younger and older children to play at a pace and scale that feels comfortable. One especially impactful feature is the inclusion of a communication board, which helps ensure every individual can communicate with family members and friends.
Taking Play to New Heights
Playgrounds are also growing upward. Where structures once topped out around 8 feet, today’s designs often reach much higher, creating layered play experiences. Taller structures allow communities with limited space to build vertically while offering graduated challenges that let kids choose how adventurous they want to be.
Playgrounds Built Through Collaboration
Collaboration continues to shape modern playgrounds. Equipment providers, designers, landscape architects and community members are working together to integrate play into natural terrain, maximize budgets and expand access. Inclusive play advocates also play a key role, helping close play gaps and ensure playgrounds serve all families.
Together, these approaches are helping communities build play spaces that reflect their identity, welcome everyone and strengthen the places they serve.
Let’s play ball! (Well… let’s watch some incredible college athletes play ball.) Join us for the NCAA Tournament Grid Game — a fun way to stay engaged in every matchup, even if your favorite team doesn’t make it past the first round.
Make this March Madness even more exciting while supporting a great cause. The KRPA Scholarship Fund creates opportunities for parks and recreation professionals across Kansas — and when you play, you’re helping invest in the future of our field.
Bonus: You could win cash prizes along the way.
1️⃣ Claim Your Square – A $20 donation secures a square on our NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament grid. Once you donate, your name is placed on the grid. Here's an example grid:
2️⃣ Numbers Are Assigned Randomly – After all 100 squares are sold, the numbers 0-9 will be randomly assigned to the rows and columns of the grid. These numbers determine the winners for each game based on the final score!
3️⃣ Win on Every Game – Your square is eligible to win in all 67 tournament games! The winning square is determined by the last digit of each team's final score. For example, if the final score is 79-76, the winner would be the square corresponding to Winner-9 and Loser-6.
(Here's an example from a previous year's board- if the final game score is 79-76, then the winner is Betty Zeka with the square Winner-9 and Loser-6 (see below image). An important note to make is that only the last number of the scores are considered, so if the winner's score is 4, 14, 24, 34, 44, 54, or so on, it means the Winner Line is 4.)
4️⃣ Big Payouts for Every Round! Play-In & 1st Round Games – $5 per game 2nd Round Games – $10 per game Sweet 16 Games – $20 per game Elite 8 Games – $40 per game Final Four Games – $80 per game Championship Game – $180!
In honor of the upcoming 2026 KRPA Annual Conference and Trade Show, KRPA is excited to launch our 8th Annual Social Media Photo Contest! This year’s conference theme, Choose Your Own Adventure, celebrates the many ways parks and recreation shape experiences in our communities, and we want to see how your community chooses its adventure.
Submit a creative photo that captures an “adventure” made possible through your parks, programs, facilities, or outdoor spaces. Whether it’s recreation, connection, exploration, play, or discovery, show us what adventure looks like in your community.
The grand prize winner will receive a $100 credit towards a KRPA event*, and the winning image will be featured on the cover of the KRPA Today spring magazine.
How to Enter:
Contest Details: All photos and information will be placed in an album on the KRPA Facebook page from January 12-23, 2026. The photo with the most combined likes and shares by January 23rd will be crowned the winner!
Good luck, and thank you for participating.
2025 Winner: Baldwin City Recreation Commission Description: Cody Anno, one of the Gold Sponsors for the Baldwin City Independence Day Celebration, brought a quintessential slice of Americana to life with a hotdog eating contest. Ten contestants competed in a ten-minute showdown, filling the celebration with excitement and laughter! Location: Baldwin City Independence Day Celebration, Baldwin City, KS - Saturday, July 6th Photo Credit: Shaunacee Wilkinson
2024 Winner: Johnson County Park and Recreation DistrictPhoto Description: Mountain bikers of all ages enjoy the dirt jumps at the Shawnee Mission Park Pump Track. Two new runs within the pump track, called the Snake River Run, were added in late 2023. Photo credit: Mark Van Baale Location of photo: Shawnee Mission Park
2023 Winner: Great Bend Recreation Commission This photo was taken at BlastBall: An introduction to baseball/softball for 3- & 4-year-old boys and girls. On the last day of Blastball, children are taught how to slide by having a fun water day. Location: Westfall West Baseball Field, Great Bend Credit: Paul Zamarripa, Assistant Sports Director for Great Bend Recreation Commission
2022 Winner: Overland Park Park and Recreation Department at This photo was taken at Matt Ross Community Center in Downtown Overland Park by TBL Photography, and the artwork was done by Josie Brems. "I love you berry much" regardless of how we move forward. The world would be a boring place if everyone did the same thing and had the same ideas. Our diversity, respect for differences and connection to each other is what makes the OPFM so special!
2021 Winner: Overland Park Farmers' Market This photo was taken at Matt Ross Community Center in Downtown Overland Park by TBL Photography. The Overland Park Farmers' Market was allowed to open as an essential business. Together, the community, vendors and staff pivoted to allow for a COVID-19 compliant market. We all shared in something that had never been done before to continue to bring farm fresh produce and local goods to this community.
2020 Winner: Swimming into 2020 with a Clear View!!
This photo was taken at Paris Park Pool in Ark City. The photographer Breanna Leake was a swim instructor for the Ark City Recreation Center.
2019 Winner: Paddleboard Yoga at Rock River Rapids water park in Derby, KS.
This unique setting with the Kansas sunset at the water park gave our Paddle Board yoga fans a new change of scenery. All participants got a good workout, while using the board for balance and flexibility. Photographed by Barney Tull.
As we head into a pivotal season for advocacy, we invite you to join two upcoming KRPA Advocacy Webinars designed to keep you informed and equipped to speak up for parks, recreation, and conservation across Kansas.
Kansas for Conservation Update + Toolkit November 18 at 1:00 PM (CT) Join Executive Director Erika Devore and Public Policy Chair Tony Finlay for an update on the Kansas for Conservation bill following the Governor’s Water Conference. They’ll share key takeaways, what’s next, and walk through KRPA’s member toolkit to help you share the message in your community. RSVP for the November 18th Webinar
2026 Legislative Session Preview December 9 at 10:00 AM (CT) Government affairs advisor Steve Kearney will preview the upcoming legislative session, including priority issues that impact parks and recreation. Gain insight into what’s ahead and how KRPA members can make their voices heard. RSVP for the December 9th Webinar
Both webinars are free for KRPA members and will include time for questions and discussion. Your participation helps strengthen our collective voice for Kansas parks and recreation.
Did you miss the last Advocacy webinar on October 21st with the latest update on the Kansas for Conservation bill? Don't worry! A recording is available to watch online- https://youtu.be/-zLYR5x_dVU.
Membership renewals launch October 1st—but before they do, we need your help! A quick profile update ensures your membership is accurate, tailored to your interests, and ready to connect you with the right opportunities. Start by logging into the KRPA website.
Here are the top things to double-check:
Upload a photo – It makes networking easier.
Update your job title and organization – Roles change!
Pick your branch interests – Don’t miss info from your branch (including our new Youth Services Branch).
It only takes a couple of minutes, but it has a big impact—for you, for KRPA, and for our members across Kansas.
Questions? Contact Jamie Reed at jamie@krpa.org
Watch this short video for a quick walk-through on how to update your profile:
Registration is now open for the 2025 KRPA Golf Tournament, and we want you there!
Join us Friday, September 26, 2025, at the beautiful Salina Parks and Recreation Municipal Golf Course (2500 E. Crawford St., Salina, KS) for a day of friendly competition, networking, and fun in support of Kansas parks and recreation professionals.
Tournament Details:
Check-in: 7:30 AM
Shotgun Start: 8:30 AM
Format: 4-person scramble
Entry Fees: $100 per individual or $400 per team
Includes 18 holes of golf, cart, and lunch
Registration Deadline: Monday, September 22, 2025
Special thanks to Salina Parks and Recreation for hosting this year’s event!
Don’t miss out—gather your team, grab your clubs, and sign up today.
Registration available through the Salina website.
If you have any questions, please contact Jeff Hammond at jeff.hammond@salina.org.
