Most of the new things showing up in Raytown's parks this year trace back to one source. Raytown Parks and Recreation received a $3 million federal grant in 2023, and it is paying for upgrades at two parks on the same street. One is C. Lee Kenagy Park at 7834 Raytown Road. The other is Terry Copeland Park at 5330 Raytown Road. This October the work at Kenagy is almost done, and the contractor arrived at Copeland three weeks ago. That gap explains what you'll find open, what's fenced off, and what isn't coming until next year.
How the Money Is Split
The city's January 2026 newsletter lays out the funding. The two federal OMNIBUS grants together make up the $3 million, and an earlier grant paid for the first phase at Copeland.
| Park | Grant | What it pays for | Status as of early October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terry Copeland Park, Phase I | $1M Land and Water Conservation Fund matching grant | Tearing down the old water park and building a dog park | Dog park opened July 2025 |
| C. Lee Kenagy Park | $1M OMNIBUS | New skate park equipment, restroom, accessible playground surface | Final grading and seeding; ribbon cutting Oct. 8 |
| Terry Copeland Park, Phase II | $2M OMNIBUS | Splash pad, playground, shelter house, restroom | Contractor arrived Sept. 16; projected completion May 2027 |
McConnell & Associates is the contractor at both parks. As of the September report, its crews were still doing final work at Kenagy when they moved onto the Copeland site.
Kenagy Is Finishing First
Kenagy is an 18-acre park, and it got the first round of construction. In May, crews tore out the old restroom and built a new one with four stalls and a storage area. They also updated the trail access points and installed a turf surface on the playground, all to bring the park into line with accessibility standards. New skate park equipment went in earlier, in February. American Ramp Company handled the skate park redesign, and the city sold the old ramps to another community so they could keep being used.
The park still needs a little time. The Parks Director's report from Sept. 21 said crews were doing final grading and fence repairs at Kenagy, with grass seed going down soon. The playground turf and all the concrete were already in. Expect fresh seed and a few roped-off patches of lawn into October.
The ribbon cutting is Thursday, Oct. 8, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., with the ceremony at 11:00. The Raytown Area Chamber of Commerce is co-hosting.
"These improvements help to ensure Kenagy is more accessible, inclusive, and welcoming for residents and visitors of all abilities," said Raytown Parks Director Dave Turner.
Copeland Is Just Starting
Head north on Raytown Road to 5330 and the timeline flips. Terry Copeland Park sits on the old SuperSplash USA site. It's named for David "Terry" Copeland, a Raytown resident and Park Board member. The first phase replaced the old water park with Raytown's first dog park, which opened in July 2025 on a 10-acre property. It has separate fenced sections for dogs over and under 25 pounds.
Once Copeland is finished, the original water-park site will have some water play again. When the dog park opened, Turner told KSHB that dog parks and splash pads topped the list of what residents asked for. The dog park was built first. The splash pad is now the main piece of Phase II, along with a playground, a shelter house, and restrooms, all across the parking lot from the dog runs.
The schedule has slipped more than once. In August 2025, KSHB reported that Phase II would arrive "by next summer." The city's Fall 2025 newsletter then said spring. Bids opened May 13, 2026, and the signed contract went back to McConnell in June. In September, the city paid a $265,000 deposit covering the new restroom and engineering. McConnell moved onto the site Sept. 16, and the Parks Department now projects completion in May 2027. May 2027 is a projected finish date. The city hasn't announced an opening date.
If you take a dog to Copeland this fall:
- The city hasn't said how construction affects the dog park. None of the Parks Board reports from July through September mention a closure or limited access. Check with Raytown Parks before you go.
- Hours may have changed. KSHB reported daily hours of 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. when the park opened in 2025. The city's park page currently leaves its hours blank.
- Registration rules came with the opening. That same 2025 report said dogs must be registered with the city and have current vaccination proof.
- The off-leash rule applies only inside the dog park. Raytown's general park rules require leashes everywhere else, and the Copeland page lists the dog park as off-leash.
The city's Copeland page still lists the splash pad and playground as "future plans." The project is further along than that page shows.
Woodson Road Got Its Own Upgrade
Not every new feature came from the federal grant. Kritser Park, at 7515 Woodson Road, was set to have its old playground demolished starting around June 29, according to the Parks Director's June report. The contractor already had the new equipment on hand. The city held the playground reopening and ribbon cutting Aug. 27. For families who used Kenagy's playground while it was under construction, Kritser now offers another new one a few minutes away.
Kritser is on the same road as one of the Rock Island Trail's Raytown trailheads, at 7130 Woodson Road. A second trailhead sits at 6515 Railroad Street. Jackson County also lists a trail access point at the Raytown Chamber, 5909 Raytown Trafficway. Both Woodson Road and Railroad Street are trailheads with parking, built in the trail's second phase, which runs 7.1 miles from the Truman Sports Complex to Brickyard Road.
The Trail Now Reaches Farther North
The Rock Island Trail used to stop at Brickyard Road on its northern side. That changed on Sept. 18, when Jackson County held a ribbon cutting for a connector between the Rock Island Trail and the Little Blue Trace. The project cost $2.87 million. The new segment is a 10-foot-wide concrete path, 0.82 miles long, running north from Brickyard Road to George Road near U.S. 350. The route follows George Road, crosses the Little Blue River on the Noland Road bridge, and then picks up a new trail segment along the river.
At the ceremony, County Executive Phil LeVota said the county has built 15.5 miles of the Little Blue Trace and 13.5 miles of the Rock Island Trail, and that the connector brings the two systems together. The county's corridor page adds a caveat. It says a larger gap still separates the connector from the existing Little Blue Trace, and that the missing segment hasn't been planned or built yet. From a Raytown trailhead, you can now ride or walk past Brickyard Road and up toward U.S. 350. If you plan to keep going beyond George Road, check the county's trail map first.
Raytown Parks has a stake at that end, too. The connector's grand opening took place at Little Blue Trace Park. In September, the department hired Leath & Son's to fix what the director called a "catastrophic failure" at the park's driveway entrance, installing 42 feet of storm water pipe and new concrete for $17,053.75. Staff plan to repair a second sinkhole, farther north on the property, themselves.
Dates for the Rest of the Season
The Rice-Tremonti Home, at 8801 E. 66th St., hosted the Festival of Trails on Sept. 12. Here's what's left on the parks calendar, in order:
- Oct. 8, 10:30 a.m. Kenagy Park ribbon cutting at 7834 Raytown Road. The ceremony starts at 11:00.
- Oct. 17 and Oct. 24, 8 p.m. to midnight. Paranormal investigation nights at the Rice-Tremonti Home. Tickets are paid.
- Oct. 31, noon to 4 p.m. Annual Fall Soup Social and Trunk & Treat at the Rice-Tremonti Home. Meal and take-home soup prices are posted on the Chamber's listing.
- Dec. 13, 3 to 4 p.m. Christmas Open House at the Rice-Tremonti Home.
- May 2027, projected. Copeland Phase II completion, according to the Parks Department's September timeline.
The Parks Director's September report also says another ribbon cutting will need to be scheduled once the Kenagy work is complete.
New playgrounds, a rebuilt skate park, and an upcoming splash pad on Raytown Road can affect what nearby homes are worth. At Murrell Homes, we follow projects like Kenagy and Copeland because buyers ask about them. If you live near either park and want to see where your home stands while the work is underway, Get Your Home Valuation and we'll walk you through the numbers.
