If you are expecting open spaces, fresh air, comfortable places to relax, and the splendor of…read morenature, then the Lawrence Rotary Arboretum is just the place. The arboretum is set in the southwest corner of the Lawrence area and nestled up against the (finally) evolving Lawrence Youth Sports Complex and the dam of Clinton Lake. A lovely pond is encircled with a wide walking path, a broad variety of native trees and grasses, and a gazebo that overlooks the water. Each different tree species is marked and identified, helping young and old to appreciate the vagary differences of the flora. There is also an area designated as a 'butterfly habitat' in conjunction with another Lawrence attraction called Monarch Watch. Who doesn't love watching the majestic and delicate beauty of butterflies? There is a sidewalk that leaves the arboretum and winds through a grassy meadow along the dam and terminates out at Clinton Lake. Pro tip: from the parking lot of the arboretum to the dam is right at 1.5 miles, so if you have an hour or so to kill, it makes for a leisurely three-mile walk. Bikers, dog walkers, and others frequent the arboretum and the path. It's really one of Lawrence's 'hidden' treasures and it will continue to evolve.

Everytime I'm in the area I go here and truly enjoy a walk. The garden and fountains and walking…read morepaths make for a wonderful sight to see.

Kansas is one of the "blue bloods" of college basketball. The definition of college basketball's…read moreblue bloods depends on who you ask. My definition is below. Five teams, ranked by number of NCAA tournament titles won (number of Final Four appearances in parenthesis). Blue Bloods 1. UCLA - 11 (20) 2. Kentucky 8 (17) 3. North Carolina - 6 (20) 4. Duke - 5 (16) 5. Kansas - 3 (15) Notables * Indiana - 5 (8) * UConn - 4 (5) * Villanova - 3 (6) It's coincidence that the blue bloods - UCLA, UK, UNC, Duke, and KU - all wear some shade of the color blue. So do UConn and Villanova. While Indiana has more national championships than Kansas, Kansas has many more Final Four appearances and I believe an overall better and more consistent body of work. Indiana's right there, though. Regardless, the programs listed above are among the greatest in college basketball history. Kansas' three titles came in 1952 (Phog Allen, for home Allen Fieldhouse is named after), 1988 (Larry Brown), and 2008 (Bill Self). Roy Williams, who coached KU from 1988-2003, never led Kansas to a national championship despite having stellar, highly-talented, and highly-ranked teams year-in and year-out. In his 15 years at the helm, Williams led the Jayhawks to 14-straight NCAA tournament appearances including four Final Fours and two national championship game appearances. I remember his heavily-favored, No.-1-seeded Kansas teams, featuring the star-studded duo of Paul Pierce and Raef LaFrentz, getting bounced early from the 1997 and 1998 NCAA tournaments. And I remember, on live TV, after Kansas lost the 2003 title game to Jim Boeheim, Carmelo Anthony, and Syracuse, Williams telling CBS reporter Bonnie Bernstein, "I could give a sh*t about North Carolina right now." That was Roy Williams' last game at Kansas. He just announced his retirement from UNC on April 1, 2021 after 18 years leading the Tar Heels. Williams led the Heels to national championships in 2005, 2009, and 2017. A native North Carolinian who attended UNC, played basketball on the Heels' JV team, and an 11-year assistant to another coaching legend, Dean Smith, it was inevitable Williams would return to North Carolina. Williams' replacement, current coach Bill Self, has done well at Kansas. He led the Jayhawks to 16-straight NCAA tournament appearances. That included the 2008 national championship. It was an overtime thriller against a John-Calipari-coached Memphis team that had future NBA players Derrick Rose, Joey Dorsey, and Chris Douglas-Roberts. For Kansas, future NBA players included Mario Chalmers, Darrell Arthur, and Brandon Rush. The day after Williams announced his retirement, Kansas announced they had signed Self to a lifetime contract. My favorite team and alma mater, Georgia Tech, eliminated Bill Self's first Kansas team in the 2004 NCAA tournament. It was an Elite Eight game that went to overtime and sent Tech to just our second Final Four (a big deal for us). I was a student then and we welcomed the team back to campus in Atlanta that night (from the St. Louis regional). Bill Self's 2019-20 team was favored to win the 2020 NCAA tournament before the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled it.

Unbelievable season ending with an incredible NCAA tourney romp though the Midwest region, semis,…read morethen the finals....FTW! What's not to love - deep bench, solid coach, talented players, first Big 12 BBall team to win it all.

cameron was by far the most helpful and supportive employee I've met in my 15 years of living. out…read moreof this experience I recover one giant alien plush and a light up minecraft sword. I do recommend this establishment to any kid or adult searching for a rush. if you see Cameron give him a kiss.

Awesome Rink, Great staff…read more AJ does an amazing job of running this rink, whenever I visit family in the area, I am sure to stop in

Cross the train tracks and the road takes you right to a parking lot for the Disc Golf and Off…read moreLeash Dog Park area right by the river! Make sure to wear your snow boots if you're out and about mid-January like we were. Nice natural paths with a water view!

It's a child hood staple. Now my son gets to enjoy this place with family fun. reasonable price.read more

This place is simple fun and I give it a 10/10 at time of writing. A well managed place offering…read moregreat outdoor fun and very affordable. Took my family of four here (kids 2 and 5) and enjoyed go carts, mini golf, and it's just 50¢ to feed the fish near the 18th hole.

This small park features some picnic areas (none under structures that I could see) and a bunch of…read moredifferent playground installations. There's also a drinking fountain. There is some street parking along SW 14th Street and SW Belle Ave. [Review 11402 overall, 1179 of 2019.]

Very nice small park, a lot of beautiful view and trees, were a lot of people here, and it was good…read moreto see people and children wearing mask, and i seen parents handing out hand sanitizer to their children and other parents as well. It's parking on the side street and lots of drinking fountains and i see someone cleaning them with bleach so that was good. Overall nice park only down side was that it wasn't to much to do their. They need to add more seats and have someone come and spray for bugs.

This is an excellent park and zoo, such a wonderful attraction in Topeka. It's a real gem of a…read moreplace.

Thanks to the sunflower summer app, kids and their parents can enjoy the zoo once per summer for…read morefree. We were invited to a party in Topeka, and if we were going to drive the hour from KC, we might as well make a day of it! This zoo is the perfect size for younger children like we have (ages 2, and almost 4). We saw a bear, giraffes, hippos, elephants, moneys, and more! The new giraffe house is really awesome! It puts you really close to the giraffes. When my daughter got in the giraffe house she had this huge face of excitement and said, "woh!" It was also my favorite exhibit. We like that the zoo is small, and doesn't take all day. I also like that a lot of exhibits are in door because the Midwest has a lot of months with unbearable weather. There needs to be a lot more updates to the zoo, and that's why a 4/5. We will be back I am sure. When we left we paid to go in the miniature train and the kids loved that. Lastly, we went to the discovery center which is only a couple of minutes away. There is so much to do in such close proximity for kids.

Nice park friendly patrons lots of trails for hiking. River access and fairly clean placeread more

Very pretty park with some nice trails through woods and some through tall grasses. Also can walk…read morearound the lake.