OLATHE, Kan. — Families looking for a place to cool off will be happy to learn that the city opened its beach and sprayground at Lake Olathe on Friday.
This is one of the few places in the metro area where folks might be able to enjoy a couple of hours at the beach this summer.
Beaches are closed for the season in Jackson County, Missouri, and another beach at Shawnee Mission Park in Johnson County, Kansas, requires reservations.
The beach at Lake Olathe also requires online reservations and is limited to Olathe residents only. Capacity is capped at 75 on the beach to allow families room to spread out.
READ: Lake Olathe Beach ready for summer with some restrictions
The nearby sprayground doesn’t have these limitations, but it offers plenty of room for people to keep their distance and use common sense.
“Something we always discuss throughout this whole pandemic is if there is a way we can reopen, let’s figure out how we can do that, how we can do it safely,” Adrienne Lund, of Olathe Parks & Recreation, said. “The plans have always been in place. We are just glad we are able to do it.”
The restrictions at the beach are similar to those already in place at two Olathe swimming pools.
Lund said the city is going to monitor beach usage and if park managers can relax the restrictions further, that could happen later in the summer.
Parents told FOX4 they like the reservation system. They said it’s good that the city is easing into opening summer attractions.
Visitors can sign up and pay on the Olathe Parks & Recreation website.
