Best-Kept Nature Secret

Camp Lake of the Woods, 360 acres of forest in the middle of Swope Park, has grown wild since before old man Swope gave the park to the city in the 1890s. It's so pristine, in fact, that it's designated an Environmental Study Area by the U.S. Department of the Interior. The Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department doesn't market this gem, and people have an irrational fear of Swope Park at night -- all the better for those who want a lonely piece of woods in the center of the city. It is the perfect place for a family getaway, reunion, party, or picnic. Reservations for any use of the camp are mandatory, but it's such a deal: Rustic Lake of the Woods Lodge, with its two giant stone fireplaces, seats 150 (folding tables and chairs are there already) and goes for $100 for four hours, (with an extra $25 for use of the attached kitchen) -- about the cheapest banquet facility in the city. Cabins ($5 to $10 per person, depending on day, overnight, or weekend use) are spare and accent the forest. Wide open camping areas accommodate individual campers and groups ($3 per person with the use of picnic shelters, showers, and bathrooms). And a real treat is the large, wide-open hogan, with its fireplace, kitchen area, and plenty of floor space for $40 a day. The camp's pool is available for $25 an hour. Trails lace various forest environments, leading through wildflower-studded glades and rocky outcrops down to riparian bottoms at creekside.