News Flash

Summer Camp registration opens at midnight March 7

Registration for Shawnee County Parks + Recreation summer camps opens at midnight March 7. Register here for camps including:

Back to Nature -- Gage Park

Passport to Adventure -- Crestview Park

Camp Connections Lake -- Lake Shawnee

Camp Connections North -- S...

Swim lesson registration opens March 1

Registration for swim lessons at Shawnee County Parks + Recreation pools and aquatic centers opens March 1. The online link to register will go live on March 1. 

Lessons begin at age 2 years, 9 months and range up to 18 year of age. Lessons are av...

Shawnee County Parks + Recreation to hire hundreds for warm-weather positions

TOPEKA, KAN. – Shawnee County Parks + Recreation is already recruiting for the warm weather season as it looks to fill 400 seasonal positions. Positions range from camp counselors to lifeguards, horticulture staff to work in gardens, park mainte...

Ceremony to celebrate new Gage Park mini-train set for March 13

WHAT:           Ceremony to celebrate first run of new Gage Park mini-train

•            Opening remarks by Tim Laurent, Shawnee County Parks + Recrea...

Lake Shawnee trout stocking set for Feb. 24; lake closed to fishing Feb. 24-March 3

TOPEKA, KAN. – Weather permitting, the winter stocking of trout at Lake Shawnee is set for Feb. 24. The public may view the trout stocking at 3 p.m., Fri., Feb. 24 at the main boat ramp at Lake Shawnee as 7,000 pounds of rainbow trout will be re...

Jerold Binkley Tulip Time set for April 7-23

TOPEKA, KAN. – Jerold Binkley Tulip Time 2023 is set for April 7-23. The event features tens of thousands of multi-colored tulips and flowering bulbs in Shawnee County Parks + Recreation’s three featured gardens – Ted Ensley ...

Winter/Spring issue of The Guide now online

The Winter/Spring issue of The Guide is now online. The issue features Jerold Binkley Tulip Time, summer camp registration, seasonal jobs, recreation programs, sports league registration and more.

John Bell named Parks Superintendent

John Bell named Parks Superintendent for Shawnee County Parks + Recreation

TOPEKA, KAN. – John Bell has been appointed Parks Superintendent for Shawnee County Parks + Recreation. Bell brings to the position 25 years of knowledge of SCP+R’s parks and facili...

Cory Hollar joins Shawnee County Parks + Recreation

TOPEKA, KAN. – Cory Hollar has joined Shawnee County Parks + Recreation as multi-media coordinator. Hollar will be responsible for social media, managing the department’s website, and photography and video production. He has spent the past 1.5 years with ...

John Boyd to retire from Shawnee County Parks + Recreation as director of planning and development

TOPEKA, KAN. – John Boyd is retiring as director of planning and development for Shawnee County Parks + Recreation. His last day with the department is Dec. 30. A retirement celebration is set for Wednesday, Dec. 21 from 1-3 p.m. at Rey...

Adam Cordero-Steele joins Shawnee County Parks + Recreation

TOPEKA, KAN. – Adam Cordero-Steele has joined Shawnee County Parks + Recreation as a recreation leader. He will oversee Hillcrest Community Center and develop recreation programs for the community. Cordero-Steele previously worked as a seasonal e...

Pinecrest Park renamed Nellie Hogan Park

TOPEKA, KAN. – Shawnee County commissioners at their Aug. 29 Board of County Commissioners meeting, renamed Pinecrest Park Nellie Hogan Park to honor an unsung heroine who dedicated decades of her life to serving the Hi-Crest community,...