photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

A community member talks with Clinton State Park staff at the visitor center on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026.

Clinton State Park’s visitor center officially opened to the public Friday afternoon, with staff also offering a preview of the park’s next major project — a new and inclusive playground.

The new visitor center is 6,400 square feet, and it is four times larger than the previous park office building that is near the gate where motorists purchase their pass to enter the park. The visitor center is anticipated to be used for activities like school field trips and it even has a catering kitchen available for community events, as the Journal-World reported.

Conner O’Flannagan, state parks director, told the Journal-World that the new visitor center is an enhancement of programs the park already offers.

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

The Clinton State Park visitor center is pictured on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026.

“It’s going to give us the ability to have more personal connections with the community, with visitors, with children and how to connect them with the park itself,” O’Flannagan said. ” … Now we have an indoor facility where we if we want to host certain events inside, we can.”

He added that the new building will also give community members an opportunity to host their own events, like weddings and family reunions. Park staff are currently in the process of making applications for those events available.

The visitor center will also be a new office space for Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks staff and the headquarters for the Kansas Recreation and Park Association. The association represents the parks and recreation departments of cities and counties throughout Kansas.

The cost to build the facility was estimated to be about $3.5 million. The project was also one of several that was funded by a $10 million grant that KDWP received from the Kansas Department of Commerce. The grant was designed to fund unique pieces of tourism infrastructure in the state.

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Several people attend an open house for Clinton State Park’s new visitor center on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026.

Erika Devore, executive director of the Kansas Recreation and Park Association, said it’s been a journey to make the visitor center a reality and open to the public. Linda Lanterman, the former state parks director, had been working on the idea for a new visitors center at Clinton State Park since 2019 as a part of a way to capitalize on the park’s lake and its unique location.

“The whole point of all of this is to attract visitors and show people that, especially in Lawrence, that they do have this in their backyard,” Devore said. ” … We don’t hide. We don’t think a lot of people know that they have this wide open space in their backyard … We need to shout from the treetops to make sure everyone knows that they have this.”

The Kansas Recreation and Park Association is also beginning fundraising efforts for Clinton State Park to have a fully accessible playground for children with all abilities, O’Flannagan said.

Devore said the park will probably need to raise close to $1 million for the playground to come to fruition because inclusive playgrounds for children with physical disabilities have surfacing and other equipment that is unique.

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

A kitchen inside the Clinton State Park visitor center.

“It’s a bigger playground than most playgrounds together,” Devore said. “Anything from swings, to teeter totters, to slides, to structures, monkey bars, and then there’s a completely separate structure that is all inclusive. And then the two teeter totters that go up are actually all inclusive as well.”

Devore said there will be features in the playground that most places don’t include because it can be expensive. There will also be a walking trail surrounding the playground as well as a sensory garden, Devore said.

“But this is really going to be a destination that we want people from all over the state to consider,” Devore said.

The construction timeline will be based on how quickly money can be raised to fund the project, O’Flannagan said.

Devore said for people interested in following along or donating to keep an eye on www.krpa.org for future updates.

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

From left to right, Assistant City Manager Brandon McGuire and County Commissioners Erica Anderson and Gene Dorsey attend an open house for the new visitor center at Clinton State Park on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026.

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Several people attend an open house for Clinton State Park’s new visitor center on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026.

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

A conference room inside the Clinton State Park visitor center.

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

The Clinton State Park visitor center is pictured on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026.

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

A construction rendering of a playground that will be at Clinton State Park.

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

A construction rendering of a playground that will be at Clinton State Park.

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

A construction rendering of a playground that will be at Clinton State Park.

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

A construction rendering of a playground that will be at Clinton State Park.