Wilder Bluff Park

Wilder Bluff Park

Shawnee, Kansas

Confluence was engaged by the City of Shawnee to envision a unique and captivating concept for their new 40-acre park in the western portion of the city.

The Confluence team worked with City staff to develop a public outreach plan that engaged surrounding residents and school-aged children to envision how the park could be developed. Using a series of public input sessions as well as a “Plan the Park” workshop with the neighboring elementary school, our team was able to develop a palette of thoughts and ideas that informed the final design.

The Master Plan includes a winding park entry sequence passing through the “Bluffs” by the park green into the heart of the park. Within this area is a water play feature where children can engage with two water streams and numerous boulders sending water into the air for the children to frolic in. Adjacent to the water play area is a treetop playground where the kids can climb into rope tunnels, pass over the pathway below, and experience being within the existing tree canopy before sliding out into the existing wooded area.

From the central gathering area, pathways lead visitors around the formal green either south or  north through the existing tree canopy into the high “bluffs” - where they are surrounded by native prairie and rewarded with a view toward the Kansas River valley. A park shelter, complete with a wood-burning fireplace and restroom, is provided for visitor use. A series of BMP’s capture stormwater while allowing it to naturally filter back into the water table.