Monkey Mountain Nature Preserve

This area was called "Monkey Mountains," because early settlers deemed the river bluffs too steep for even monkeys to climb.
This place is as close to being out in the wild as you can get in the KC area. A little bit of a drive but worth it if you want a rugged terrain. It's perfect. Reaching the open meadow at the top is wonderful. Use bug spray and check for ticks.

Monkey Mountain is an 855 acre nature preserve in Eastern Jackson County, halfway in-between Grain Valley and Oak Grove. The address I listed is the approximate address of the south entrance to the park, there is another entrance a little over a mile north off Old US 40 Hwy next to a softball field.

The park is mostly undeveloped, which is what I love about it. You get to experience nature instead of a sanitized version of nature.

There are two primary loop trails, one measuring 3.5 miles and one measuring between 2-3 miles depending on the route taken. Numerous smaller trails criss-cross between these main trails and branch out forming various side loops. You can spend hours hiking here and not see everything.

The park caters to hikers and equestrians. I usually encounter a few other people at the park but only between long stretches of complete isolation.

The elevation ranges from about 780 feet on the banks of Sni-a-Bar Creek to about 950 feet at the summit. There is a wide variety of terrain in the park: marshy lowlands in the north and northwest, thick woods and steep terrain covering most of the western half, limestone outcroppings along the ridge and at the south end of the park, a huge roiling meadow in the center, and farmed land along the eastern edges. Several ponds dot the landscape, and numerous tiny streams feed into Sni-a-Bar Creek along the western edge.

There is even a waterfall in the park, but I will not reveal the location since it is both a fragile and a dangerous feature (especially in winter). Finding it can be part of your adventure.

In the spring and early summer the park's meadows are filled with a wide variety of wildflowers, and wildlife can be spotted year-round. I've seen deer, foxes, turkeys, tortoises and turtles, all sorts of birds, and even evidence of some sort of wildcat.

In the first half of the 20th century, much of what is now Monkey Mountain Park was part of a show farm called Sni-a-Bar Farms, owned by William Rockhill Nelson. The hillside and meadow were used for grazing sheep. Evidence of that can still be seen today in the form of farm remnants such as an old boundary fence running east-west through the middle of the park.

If you hike the park, don't do it alone until you are familiar. Even though there are trails they are not always easy to see, and some portions of the trails can be treacherous. If your hike takes you through the northwest portion of the park you can expect to encounter mud pretty much year round so wear appropriate shoes. You will also need to carry your own water, there are no facilities at the park except at the softball field and an outhouse at the south entrance.

This is definately not one of those paved city trails to take a nice stroll on. The paths are difficult to find. Lots of mud and parts torn up from horses. Doubled up on the bug bracelets which was a good idea. Wore tennis shoes but next time will wear my hiking boots. It is more like real hiking than most places in the area.

Let me burst the bubble early. There are no monkeys, and while I may not be a professional geographer or cartographer, but I highly suspect anything here qualifies as a mountain. Yes, it IS a highly misleading name. But don't let that stop you from enjoying a fun day.

I've been here a couple of times, and I really dig it. It's not too far out of a drive from the city, but it feels like full on nature! There are plenty of trails on which to hike, and I've seen quite a few people riding horses. This is, in fact, where I learned that horses scare the hell out of my dog. Anyhow, by my count that means this place is good for at least three species: people, dogs, and horses. Not too shabby, if you ask me.

There are quite a few different terrains, my personal favorite being the hay meadow. We like to take blankets and pack a bit of a picnic. It's great for kite flying, frisbee or a rousing game of catch!

One warning: this place is a bug haven. Check yourself and your animals for ticks. But a little blood sucking parasite is a small price to pay for a nice day out in mother nature!

False advertising, there are no monkeys here. Real bummer. Seriously, no monkeys at monkey mountain. They should change the name to something like. Steep hill park?

Best hike we have found so far in the KC area! Our dog absolutely LOVED exploring the woods. This place was exactly what we have been looking for. It was very beautiful, quiet and serene. The first 10-15 mins are on a horse trail and then you enter into the deep woods. We hiked up to the very top and we were surprised to see a beautiful wide open meadow. So worth the hike up! We only saw one person on the way back down. Took us about 1hr. 45mins but we took some shortcuts and it looked like you could follow a different trail instead of going to the top. We parked at the trail head lot off of RD Mize Rd. and headed up the path to the left.

Trails are plentiful in this crazy and interesting terrain... spilling off a hill into Grain Valley and farmland. Lots of tree types... and more thorny Black Locust trees than I have seen in one place in a long time.