All in all, this time of the year probably isn't the best time of the year to enjoy the great outdoors, but I would encourage anyone who wants to get in their steps in a familiar setting to begin thinking about giving the Prairie Restoration Walking Trail at Ensor Park and Museum a try once winter is behind us and next year's native grasses and wild flowers have grown tall enough to justify the cutting of various trails through them.
This past spring the City of Olathe created two trails in the rectangular pasture that lies directly to the east of the public parking area for Ensorfest, another two trails in the rectangular pasture immediately to the south of the east pasture, and still another two trails in the rectangular pasture that occupies the southeast corner of the 40-acre tract of land at 18995 W. 183rd Street the city owns. In each pasture there was a trail that basically ran along the perimeter of the field and another that twisted and turned its way through the interior.
I first walked the Prairie Restoration Walking Trail in mid-May about a week after Ensorfest '25 and managed to navigate my way around each of the perimeter trails at that time. It was then that I came across a curious two-wall, L-shaped log structure in the northwest corner of the southeast pasture I have since dubbed Fort Ensor, and shortly after that in the same pasture a patch of wild blackberry shrubs. I dutifully made a mental note of the wild blackberry shrubs and returned to the site more than once some two months later to pick as many of these delicious berries as I could reach without getting my hands cut up by thorns too much despite wearing garden gloves. The berries went well with a bowl of cereal in the morning and they really added a lot to a bowl of ice cream in the evening at the end of a long, hot day.
But I digress. Back to the Prairie Restoration Walking Trail. Come May when the weather should be more agreeable, if you need to exercise your legs a bit while giving your mind a well-deserved break amid the beauty of God's creation, then slip your feet into some sturdy but comfortable walking shoes and head for Ensor Park and Museum. Got a dog? Then feel free to bring him (or her) along by all means. Your four-legged friend will enjoy the hike, too!