Cliff Drive

Cliff Drive is a roughly four-mile scenic parkway winding along the limestone bluffs of Kessler Park in Kansas City’s Historic Northeast, from The Paseo on the west to Gladstone Boulevard at Belmont Boulevard on the east.¹² Designed by George E. Kessler as the signature feature of North Terrace Park — the bluff-top park critics dismissed as a “squirrel pasture” — it was graded from 1899, fully opened July 30, 1905, and advertised for decades as one of Kansas City’s premier tourist attractions.¹ After a late-century slide into dumping and disrepair capped by a 1998 landslide, it was designated Missouri’s only urban State Scenic Byway on June 2, 2000 and reopened in 2001.¹³⁴ Its second act inverted its first: the road built for carriages, then surrendered to the automobile, is today closed to motor traffic and given over to walkers and cyclists.⁴⁵⁶

Route and setting

Cliff Drive runs along the Missouri River bluffs through Kessler Park — originally North Terrace Park, renamed for its designer in 1971 — a roughly 300-acre park that is Kansas City’s second-largest after Swope Park.¹³ The route threads the Historic Northeast’s Pendleton Heights, Scarritt Renaissance, and Indian Mound neighborhoods, below the mansion row of Gladstone Boulevard and above the industrial East Bottoms.¹²

Published lengths vary by source and era: “just over three miles” at the 1905 opening, “nearly four” today per the Kansas City Public Library, 4.27 miles in byway listings, 4.5 miles per Wikipedia, and 3.79 miles per the National Scenic Byway Foundation.¹³⁷ The roadbed was cut into solid limestone, with drops exceeding 200 feet in places.³

History

The system-wide story — August Meyer, Kessler, the 1893 Report of the Board of Park Commissioners, the City Beautiful movement — is told at parks-and-boulevards-system and george-kessler and is not restated here. Cliff Drive is that plan’s most dramatic use of the bluff topography Kessler prized.

”Too rugged for a goat to climb” (1893-1899)

Kessler’s 1893 proposed park system included what he then called North View Park, along the bluffs overlooking the East Bottoms and the Missouri River.¹ The land had been homesteaded by the Rev. Nathan Scarritt, a Methodist minister who moved his family there from Westport in 1862 to escape Civil War hostilities; in the mid-1890s the park commission began acquiring the bluff land, much of it deeded by the Scarritt family.¹ Critics called the site a “squirrel pasture” and “too rugged for a goat to climb,” and property owners challenged the city’s authority to condemn park land — a challenge the Missouri Supreme Court ultimately rejected. Construction of North Terrace Park began in 1899.¹

Construction and opening (1899-1905)

Cliff Drive was designed as the park’s signature feature: a road that both showcased the scenery and connected the park’s east and west sections across a large ravine.¹ Grading of the eastern section was completed in 1900; west Cliff Drive opened five years later, and a grand opening was held July 30, 1905. The Kansas City Star called it “one of the most picturesque driveways in connection with any municipal party and boulevard system in America.”¹ Kessler kept improving it — retaining walls to stabilize the bluffs, storm drainage, a natural spring converted to a public drinking fountain in 1906, and gas lights every 100 feet installed in 1907.¹

The automobile, round one (1903-1927)

The drive was built for leisurely walks and carriage rides, and the arriving motorcar did not mix with either. After a 1903 incident in which a passing automobile startled a horse and threw a carriage’s occupants near a cliff edge, the park board banned motorized vehicles from Cliff Drive in 1903.¹ The ban was short-lived: the Kansas City Automobile Club pressured commissioners into restoring access, and the focus shifted to making the drive safer for drivers — electric lighting by the mid-1920s, rounded curves, paving, stone barricades, and sightseeing pull-offs. By spring 1927 the drive had been widened for two-way traffic, after years as a one-way westbound route.¹ Kessler himself had hoped for bridle paths to keep riders and walkers safe “in security from the automobile speed-maniacs.”¹

In the decades after completion, Cliff Drive was advertised as a signature Kansas City tourist attraction alongside the Liberty Memorial, Union Station, and the Country Club Plaza.¹

Decline (late 20th century)

By the end of the 20th century the route was plagued by deteriorating roads and rampant illegal dumping, and a 1998 landslide closed the roadway entirely.¹ The scale of the dumping was extraordinary: a single 2014 cleanup fielded 900 volunteers who removed 3,000 bags of trash and 2,700 tires, and dumping resumed almost immediately afterward.⁵

Byway designation and reopening (1998-2001)

To restore the drive, KC Parks and former state representative Ronnie DePasco campaigned successfully for state scenic byway status. Cliff Drive was designated a Missouri State Scenic Byway on June 2, 2000 — one of only five in the state at the time, and still the only Missouri scenic byway in an urban area.¹³⁴ State funds paid for roadway repairs and trash cleanup, and a ribbon-cutting on October 11, 2001 celebrated the reopening. Further restoration in 2015 rebuilt aging staircases, overlooks, and stone walls, and added interpretive kiosks at the Paseo Gateway and Kansas City Museum entrances.¹

The automobile, round two: car-free (2010s-present)

The byway era brought the car question back around, this time in reverse. The city ran Car-Free Weekends, closing the gates from Friday afternoon to Monday morning; by 2020 only the eastbound lane admitted cars, Monday-Wednesday, with the westbound lane reserved for cyclists and pedestrians.¹⁵ In 2014, Brett Shoffner, executive director of the Cliff Drive Corridor Management Committee, petitioned the city to close the gates permanently — about 1,500 signatures, with the Pendleton Heights and Scarritt Renaissance neighborhood associations voting in support — arguing the road predated the car and that partial closures had failed to stop dumpers.⁵⁶ KC Parks’ current guidance lists Cliff Drive as closed to motorized vehicles, functioning as a walking and cycling corridor.⁴ The date and instrument of the full-closure decision are not established here.

The city’s Paseo Gateway Project includes a new at-grade intersection at Cliff Drive and The Paseo, rebuilding the drive’s western entrance.⁸

Landmarks along the drive

West to east, within Kessler Park:

• The Concourse and the Concourse Fountain — the leveled overlook at St. John and Benton, begun 1896 with earth hauled from the Cliff Drive excavation below.⁹
• The Colonnade — Beaux-Arts pavilion built 1908, designed by Henry Wright of Kessler’s office.³⁹
• Carl J. DiCapo Fountain — a 40-foot artificial waterfall built 1989 at the site of the old Cliff Drive spring, which had served the Scarritt family, become the 1906 drinking fountain, and been capped in 1962 over contamination.¹³²
• Scarritt Point — bluff overlook near the site of Nathan Scarritt’s log cabin, near 3400 Norledge Ave.⁹
• Lookout Point — overlook above the East Bottoms and the Missouri River valley.³
• Northeast Reservoir — the failed 1920-21 concrete basin, now a disc golf course.³⁹
• Indian Mound — the eastern terminus area at Gladstone and Belmont Boulevards.¹²

Sources

Footnotes

1. Jeremy Drouin — “Historic Cliff Drive: We Pound the Pavement to Answer This KCQ,” Kansas City Public Library / The Kansas City Star (What’s Your KCQ?), 2020-05-12. https://kclibrary.org/news/2020-05/historic-cliff-drive-we-pound-pavement-answer-kcq — asserts: Kessler’s 1893 plan named the site North View Park; Nathan Scarritt homestead (moved from Westport 1862), land deeded by the Scarritt family mid-1890s; “squirrel pasture” / “too rugged for a goat to climb”; Missouri Supreme Court upheld condemnation; North Terrace Park construction began 1899; renamed Kessler Park 1971; east section graded 1900, west drive opened 1905, grand opening July 30, 1905, “just over three miles”; the Star’s “most picturesque driveways” quote; 1906 spring-to-drinking-fountain conversion, 1907 gas lights every 100 feet; 1903 park board motor-vehicle ban after a carriage incident, reversed under Kansas City Automobile Club pressure; Kessler’s “automobile speed-maniacs” bridle-path hope; mid-1920s electric lights, rounded curves, paving, stone barricades, pull-offs; two-way traffic by spring 1927; tourist-attraction billing alongside Liberty Memorial, Union Station, Country Club Plaza; late-century deterioration and dumping; 1998 landslide closure; DePasco/KC Parks byway campaign, 2000 designation; October 11, 2001 ribbon-cutting; 2015 staircase/overlook/wall restoration and kiosks at the Paseo Gateway and Kansas City Museum entrances; (as of 2020) eastbound lane open to cars Monday-Wednesday, westbound lane bicycle/pedestrian only. (Page returns HTTP 403 to plain automated fetches; full text read directly via Firecrawl 2026-07-31.) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²²

2. Legends of America — “Cliff Drive Scenic Byway, Kansas City, Missouri.” https://www.legendsofamerica.com/mo-cliffdrive/ — asserts: route from The Paseo and Independence Avenue through Indian Mound on Gladstone Boulevard at Belmont Boulevard; Kessler Park established 1895; Missouri’s only urban scenic byway and one of the shortest in America; limestone bluffs above the industrial Missouri River bottoms; the Cliff Drive spring originally served the pioneer Scarritt family, city acquired the property 1899, fountain restored 1959, closed 1962 for water contamination, rediscovered and restored in the late 1980s; today closed to vehicles, open to walkers and bikers. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

3. Wikipedia — “Kessler Park (Kansas City, Missouri).” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_Park_(Kansas_City,_Missouri) — asserts: ~300 acres, the city’s second-largest park after Swope Park; originally North Terrace Park; Cliff Drive established 1900, 4.5 miles, “Missouri’s only urban scenic byway”; roadbed blasted through solid limestone with drops exceeding 200 feet; reopened 2001 after landslide and disrepair; the Colonnade (1908, Henry Wright); Northeast Reservoir (1920-21, failed); Carl J. DiCapo Fountain (1989, 40-foot waterfall); Lookout Point overlooking the East Bottoms and Missouri River valley. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

4. Kansas City Parks and Recreation — “Cliff Drive.” https://kcparks.org/places/cliff-drive/ — asserts: designated a Missouri State Scenic Byway June 2, 2000, one of only five in the state at the time; located in George E. Kessler Park as part of the Kansas City park and boulevard system; currently closed to motorized vehicles. (kcparks.org returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches; content verified via search-index extraction 2026-07-31, matching the same citation on historic-northeast.) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

5. Flatland (Kansas City PBS) — “Reclaiming Cliff Drive: Petition asks city to address chronic dumping,” 2014-09-04. https://flatlandkc.org/news-issues/reclaiming-cliff-drive/ — asserts: Brett Shoffner, executive director of the Cliff Drive Corridor Management Committee, petitioned for permanent gate closure (~1,500 signatures); Pendleton Heights and Scarritt Renaissance associations voted in support; a cleanup with 900 volunteers removed 3,000 bags of trash and 2,700 tires, and dumping resumed immediately; 5,422 volunteer hours over 11 months; car-free-weekend gates closed Friday afternoon to Monday morning; parks superintendent Forest Decker on boulders, cameras, and gate schedules; Shoffner on the road’s pre-automobile design. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

6. Change.org — “Permanently Close the Gates on Cliff Drive in Kessler Park.” https://www.change.org/p/city-of-kansas-city-missouri-permanently-close-the-gates-on-cliff-drive-in-kessler-park — asserts: the Cliff Drive Corridor Management Committee and supporters’ request for full-time, permanent closure of the Cliff Drive gates. ↩ ↩²

7. National Scenic Byway Foundation — “Cliff Drive – Downtown Kansas City.” https://nsbfoundation.com/sb/cliff-drive-downtown-kansas-city/ — asserts: state byway designation; length listed as 3.79 miles; runs through George E. Kessler Park with views of rock bluffs and greenspace. ↩

8. City of Kansas City, Missouri — “Paseo Gateway Project,” Capital Projects Division. https://www.kcmo.gov/Home/Components/FacilityDirectory/FacilityDirectory/140/1750 — asserts: a new at-grade intersection at Cliff Drive and Paseo as part of the Paseo Boulevard / Independence Boulevard reconstruction. (Same source as the-paseo §Preservation.) ↩

9. Historic Northeast (KS.City Wiki), §Kessler Park and Cliff Drive, and its cited sources (Kansas City Parks & Recreation; Wikipedia; KCUR 2022-11-05; Indian Mound Neighborhood Association) — asserts: Cliff Drive established 1900, ~4.2 miles, Paseo/Independence to Gladstone Boulevard; the Concourse begun 1896 with earth hauled by horse-drawn wagon from the Cliff Drive excavation; the Colonnade (1908, Henry Wright of Kessler’s office); Scarritt Point near 3400 Norledge Ave; Northeast Reservoir’s failure and disc-golf afterlife; westbound lane as a bollard-separated bike and pedestrian route. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴