A few minutes past Ward Meade Historic Park, there’s Gage Park, 635 SW Gage Blvd., a great place for families to enjoy the colors while riding on a historic mini-train or taking a spin on the Herschell-Spillman carousel (circa 1908). You’ll find the inexpensive Topeka Zoo on the northeast corner of Gage Park — a destination for kid-approved leaf peeping. If you’re vying for caregiver of the year, check out the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center, 4400 SW 10th Ave., which maintains an incredible outdoor space for curious young guests.
Continue west to MacLennan Park, SW Fairlawn and Cedar Crest Drive, in northwest Topeka. There are multiple places to park, including along Sixth Street, just west of Fairlawn Road. I’d recommend starting up north, though, near the Governor’s Mansion, aka Cedar Crest, a castle-like estate built on a 244-acre wildlife refuge overlooking the Kansas River.
You’ll see some spectacular color from the moment you step out of your vehicle. From here, hikers gain access to the Cedar Crest, Governor’s Mansion and MacLennan trails, offering miles of looping dirt and limestone singletrack that drop you into the colorful timber. The terrain is mild by Colorado hiking standards, but still enjoyable and drop-dead gorgeous this time of the year. Since the Kansas River is currently experiencing low water levels, it’s possible to walk onto the riverbed and explore the sandbars.
While you’re on this side of town, continue down SW Sixth Avenue to reach the Kansas Museum of History, 6425 SW Sixth Ave. The museum is currently closed to the public through January as it undergoes a major redevelopment. But the building sits on an 80-acre lot featuring a modest, absolutely lovely trail system bypassing the historic one-room Stach School from 1877.
Colorful trees and foliage change color at the Ted Ensley Gardens at Lake Shawnee on Sept. 30, 2024. (Courtesy of Evert Nelson)
You’ll have to drive across town to reach the Ted Ensley Gardens, 3650 SE West Edge Road, a 37-plus-acre free botanical garden featuring panoramic views of Lake Shawnee. With more than 450 trees in its arboretum, including 87 varieties rare to Kansas, it’s hard to image a better place to stroll through fall foliage. Golfers can do their leaf peeping from the links since the Lake Shawnee Golf Course, 4141 SE East Edge Road, is surrounded by trees. Cyclists, meanwhile, might want to enjoy the colors from the Shunga Trail, an 8.5-mile concrete path beginning at SW 29th and SW McClure, continuing to the Deer Creek Trail, which offers another 3.7 miles of riding in East Topeka.
If you’re up for a side trip, Echo Cliff Park, 24927 Echo Cliff Road, located near Dover, Kansas, is only about 30 minutes west of Topeka. You won’t regret the stunning country drive to the site’s 50-foot cliffs. For a taste of Kansas, picnickers can grab a sandwich or salad at Somerset Hall Café, 5701 SW Douglas Road, open daily until 2 p.m. Housed in a can’t-miss-it white building that opened as the Sage General Store in the late 1800s, the homestyle restaurant dishes up one of the best pies in America, I’m told. You can also order chicken fried steak, and you’re in the Midwest, so why not?
About 30 miles east of Topeka, the college town of Lawrence is another fun pit stop. Grab lunch at one of the many restaurants lining Massachusetts Street before renting a SUP or kayak for some leaf-peeping on the river. Great Blue Heron Outdoors, 823 Massachusetts St., is a reputable local outfitter.
Cedar Crest, the official governor’s residence in Kansas, is situated on more than 200 acres of public park land. (Provided by Visit Topeka)
In Colorado, fall isn’t quite complete without a little agritourism, and Topeka has that base covered, too. Located off Highway 24, between Topeka and Lawrence, Gary’s Farm, 5991 17th St., Grantville, runs its annual Fall Festival through October. There are more than 30 attractions to explore on the farm, including a pumpkin patch, corn maze and petting zoo, to name just a few.
The Maple Leaf Festival, held on Oct. 19 and 20 in the nearby town of Baldwin City — which looks like something straight out of a Hallmark movie — is another seasonal offering with more than 300 craft exhibits, quilt shows and displays, performing arts, music and activities.
What are you waiting for? Grab the car keys, and don’t believe for one second that leaf season is nearly over.
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Publish date : 2024-10-06 01:00:00
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