At 1,805 acres, Swope Park is one of the largest urban parks in the United States — larger than Central Park in New York. It sits in the southeast quadrant of the city and holds the Kansas City Zoo, a public golf course, the Starlight Theatre (an outdoor amphitheater with summer concerts), a lagoon for fishing and boating, and extensive trails through second-growth woodland. The park was donated to the city by Thomas Swope in 1896 on the condition that it remain free and public forever.
The Kansas City Repertory Theatre's outdoor Shakespeare in the Park performances take place here in summer, free to the public. The lagoon attracts birders throughout the year. On a clear day the park's rolling terrain gives long views across the Missouri side of the metro area. For urban green space of this quality and scale, it is remarkable that it is so little known outside the region.