King Jack Park in Webb City, MO

This afternoon I decided to check out a local park that is close to home.  One of my friends had mentioned that King Jack Park in Webb City had some pleasant walking trails, so with an hour or so to spend, I made the five minute drive and parked near the street car station which is east of the praying hands sculpture.

Even though there is a lot of construction going on in that area, and the road work interfered with some of the normal trails, I found it to be a good place to walk with options for hikes of various lengths, depending on how much time you want to spend.  Most of the trail was paved, though on the return trip I opted to walk on an old railroad bed and even in the street of an adjoining subdivision for a ways.  It was not a secluded location, yet there was enough nature to make it pleasant.

Until this afternoon, I had no idea there was a very large body of water southeast of the praying hands!  It appears to be an old strip mining pit.  An amphitheater tops the hill on the south side of the pit which looks like a great place for a group to meet for an evening vespers meeting, nature lesson, or whatever.  There is also a clubhouse next to the amphitheater that can be reserved and rented by groups also.

There is another small lake with a steel bridge spanning one end where a couple of guys were fishing.  The paved trail encircled this lake.  Baseball fields were located to the south across the park.  I don't yet know if there are actually any fish in the lake or not.  If so, it would be a great place to take the kids or grandchildren for an fishing expedition if you only had a couple of hours to spend.  I didn't see any evidence of success, but did not stop my walk to watch or ask either.

My walk lasted about one hour.  I estimate that I traveled about three miles or more without walking the same path twice, except when the construction disrupted the normal trail and I had to back track.  It was a pleasant hike.