Weston Bend State Park, Hiking and Biking over Labor Day

I am really not this vain, but my husband had control of the camera all weekend so unfortunately I’m in all the shots. It was not only Labor Day weekend, but my birthday so we tried to get off the beaten path a little bit and have some fun. My birthday wish was to go hiking so I did some research and discovered Weston Bend State Park, which is located just north of Kansas City near Weston, Missouri. The ‘bend’ in the name refers to the bend in the Missouri River near the Park. From several of the trails and the outlook terrace you have panoramic views of the river. There are many different trails in varying length, scenery, condition (both paved and dirt) – and you can either hike or bike. It is a beautiful park, and an excellent day trip from Kansas City, especially if you throw a visit to the shops and wineries of the quaint little town of Weston. The only warnings I have are: wear bug spray (chiggers!), long pants, and some of the trails we tried were covered in spider webs so maybe wait until the middle of the day when the first hikers have already gone through and suffered through it for you. The photo at the bottom is not in Weston as you may have guessed, it is in front of the Nelson-Atkins Museum… we rode down to Town Topic and stopped for some sightseeing along the way.