By David Markham
When it comes to the rapidly-approaching end of the summer season for JCPRD’s aquatic facilities, a line from a certain song made famous by comedy icon Carol Burnett comes to mind: “seems we just got started and before you know it, comes the time we have to say ‘so long.’”
This is especially true this year for the Shawnee Mission Park Marina, which had a delayed opening on July 12 because of much-needed major renovations. The marina will offer daily hours through Aug. 13, followed by weekend hours on Saturdays and Sundays through Sept. 4. The Shawnee Mission Park Beach will also end its season on Aug. 13, while the Kill Creek Park Beach and Marina will both end their summer seasons on Aug. 4.
Aquatics Manager Marshall McKinney said public reaction to SMP Marina renovations has been very positive.
“The renovation has allowed for the Shawnee Mission Park Marina to be a more positive experience for all our community to experience from start to finish,” he said. “The welcoming ticketing area, the shade structures, all-access restrooms, the lifejacket storage, the expanded dock space, and the accessibility upgrades all make this facility easier to navigate and enjoy.”
Available daily boat rental times at the Shawnee Mission Park Marina, both for the summer season ending Aug. 13 and for weekend rentals through the Labor Day weekend, are 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 4 p.m., and 5:30 p.m. All boat rentals are one hour. Walk-ins are welcome, but will only be processed 30 minutes prior to the set boat launch times, so advance registrations at JCPRD.com/marinas are highly recommended. Reservations can be made up to seven days in advance.
The marina offers rentals of single-person and tandem kayaks, stand up paddle boards, four-person pedal boats, and canoes. Visit the link above for information about the available watercraft, age requirements, facility rules, and fees.
While it is located east of the marina, a new accessible kayak and canoe launch which allows patrons of all abilities to launch their personal watercraft by themselves was also part of the improvements, and will remain available throughout the year.
Renovations of the Shawnee Mission Park Marina began in November 2022. While a Memorial Day Weekend opening was initially anticipated, as with other large projects, the marina renovations experienced delays due to weather and supply chain issues.
The Shawnee Mission Park Beach is open from noon to 4 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, from noon to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, also through Aug. 13. The beach also offers open water swim training on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. through Aug. 3. For more information visit JCPRD.com/1483/Shawnee-Mission-Park-Beach.
At Kill Creek Park, both the beach and marina operations are housed at the beach house. Beach hours are noon to 3 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays through Aug. 4. The Kill Creek Park Marina also operates only on Thursdays and Fridays with boat rental times at noon and 1:30 p.m.
Shawnee Mission Park is located at 7900 Renner Road in Shawnee and Lenexa. Kill Creek Park is located at 11670 Homestead Lane, Olathe.