Leawood, KS Outdoor Activities

Overland Park Racquet Club lets members play tennis year-round with 14 courts inside a climate-controlled facility and eight out in the sun. A staff of experienced instructors—including former collegians and top-ranked amateur players—imparts skills and fundamentals during clinics, lessons, and Quickstart programs, which feature a scaled-down version of tennis for racketeers younger than 10. Off the courts, the club offers a full set of amenities including a fitness room, full-service restaurant and bar, and Olympic-sized outdoor pool where you can test out the buoyancy of your new suit sewn from tennis balls.

The ice in Kansas City Ice Center's newly renovated rink accumulates blade scratches from skaters of all stripes, including hockey players and two of the most revered figure-skating clubs in the U.S. Throughout the year, the facility acts as a practice arena for those clubs as well as a classroom for nonprofessional skaters. Both children and adults master techniques during Learn to Skate programs, and aspiring slap shooters strengthen their grasp on competitive fundamentals during Learn To Play Hockey programs. In addition to lessons, the center also hosts special events, such as birthday parties and on-ice reenactments of The Great Banana Peel Spill of 1908.

In 2005, the racehorse known as St. Croix was crowned Ohio's Horse of the Year, completing the season with one third-place, one second-place, and five first-place finishes. None of this would be possible without the tireless efforts of Saddle Creek Stables' trainers, who saved St. Croix from his early vacation plans to horse heaven. After the equine instructors retrained and bonded with him, St. Croix returned the favor with an awe-inspiring racing career. Now enjoying his retirement, St. Croix carries guests on leisurely trail rides across 160 acres of forest trails, outcroppings, cliffs, and flowing streams.

Saddle Creek Stables is a premier racehorse facility operated by trainers dedicated to making their thoroughbreds happy and healthy. The team leads trail rides for all ages and organizes parties with hayrides and bonfires for children. Their forested ranch also provides an excellent venue for hikers, campers, anglers, and deprived houseplants looking to reconnect with their natural habitat.

Boasting a combined resumé of 75 years of experience and more than 16,000 jumps, the members of Falcon Skydiving Team show off their aerial skills at exhibitions all over the states. They kicked off the US promotion of the latest Pokémon products with a whirling dive and perform as a highlight of the Richards-Gebaur air show. When not free-falling for audiences, they take up passengers with them and teach them the basics during low-altitude tandem dives.

At 280 Paintball, players who can combine speed and stealth will prove most formidable on the indoor and outdoor battlefields. Bracketed by towering trees, the outdoor theatre fills a field with wooden spindles, massive drums, and small platforms, favoring those who can turn the obstacles to their tactical advantage. Inside, splotches of paint blot the red and blue cover bags that serve as shelter for retreating platoons to hide from ambushes or pause to glue festive glitter onto their markers. 280 Paintball hands out both traditional and smaller, .50-caliber paintballs, which hit their mark with less impact and are a favorable alternative for young paintball warriors.