Abby Hoover
Managing Editor

Suite Tea, the Kansas City based hospitality company known for their elevated camping suites and unique experiences, proudly announced their new partnership with Kansas City, Mo., Parks and Recreation, making way for a glamping village in the heart of Kansas City at Swope Park.

Suite Tea at Camp Lake of Woods is Swope Park will feature a total of six glamping suites that sleep up to 26 guests. The Whole Person was on site to tour the suite that will be made accessible to those with disabilities.

“Glamping,” is camping with additional comforts and accommodations. Suite Tea offers high-end, spacious bell tents with large memory foam beds, and gadgets like generators and air conditioners to help both the camping newbies and the camping experts enjoy their experience during each stay.

The camp is located within walking distance from other Swope Park activities like Go Ape Zipline and Adventure Park, Swope Memorial Golf Course, just a few minutes drive to the Kansas City Zoo, Starlight Theatre, miles of hiking and biking trails, and conveniently located to downtown, the stadiums and other Kansas City metro attractions.

“We are very excited to partner with Suite Tea here, this is a locally owned business run by two women,” KC Parks Interim Director Roosevelt Lyons said. “We’re happy to have not only people that know about the park, appreciate the park, but are going to be adding something to the park here. We’re grateful for their heart for this area.”

Co-founders Tiffany Watts and Heather Shelton opened their first glamping site at Watkins “C” Ranch in Kansas City, Kan., in mid-April 2021, and have since put together a strong team of employees and investors.

“We are just so full of gratitude to be here,” Shelton said. “When we started Suite Tea we really had no idea exactly the evolution and the path that we would end up on, so when the opportunity came to partner with Kansas City Parks and Rec, the absolutely incredible Leslie Alford, we were honestly in shock.”

Shelton described their elevated glamping experience as all the best parts of camping with the conveniences and the accessibility of other vacation rentals.

They saw it as an opportunity to bring everything they wanted to bring to their community in a very personal way. Each suite will have its own identity and distinctive decor, giving guests a little something different to look forward to at each village.

“It’s awesome being so connected to everything in this spot right here,” Watts said. “You get a sense of nature and beauty, you get to just indulge in that while you’re here and then you can just go out and say, ‘Here’s everything!’”

Moreover, the scenic park will take guests off the beaten path and immerse them in one of Kansas City’s crown jewel parks.

“As far as I’m concerned, one of the best reasons for this is for a lot of our urban families that don’t always get to get outdoors, who don’t always have access, this gives them a really easy, fun, social way to do that,” Lyons said. “Maybe you don’t have a knapsack and a backpack, and fishing poles that’s needed for camping, but you can come right here in your own backyard… and just enjoy the outdoors and all the benefits of nature.”

Swope Park contains one of the country’s only limestone mesic forest and wetland areas, which Lyons said are very important to preserve. The group endured environmental impact studies and made accommodations not to interfere with the habitat.

Lake of the Woods is a man-made lake created over a century ago, according to an article by Kansas City historian David Jackson.

“A horseshoe-shaped lagoon was excavated early in spring 1908, and the reservoir that was to supply it was formed by building a huge dam 35-foot high and nearly 100-feet long across a small branch through which the waters of the Big Blue River escaped into a natural basin,” Jackson wrote in 2020. “The area of the water surface of the Lake of the Woods is 10 acres. The lagoon, which is 6-feet lower than the lake, is 25.5 acres (it measures exactly a mile in length around its outer bank).”

A 1908 “Kansas City Times” article reported that, “It lies in a hollow encircled by a chain of low hills a quarter of a mile south of the park suspension bridge over the Blue. The sides of the hills are covered by a dense growth of trees that extend to the water’s edge. In the summer, their overhanging branches will form shady retreats for exploring canoeists to penetrate. A row around the lagoon, which is three-quarters of a mile in extent, through the canal and to the extreme southeastern part of the winding lake will provide an afternoon’s exercise for the stoutest paddler.”

While the scenery and roadmap changed over the decades that followed, generations of Kansas Citians found a love of nature in Swope Park. Suite Tea Co-founder and CEO Tiffany Watts grew up visiting Swope Park, and now she returns to hike at Camp Lake of the Woods with her mother and daughter. One of their hikes about a year ago inspired Watts to find a way to fix up the Blue Mills cabins at Camp Lake of the Woods, one of two residential camps sponsored by the City of Kansas City during the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s.

“Here we are a year later, we have this opportunity to come into our city and just make an impact, so we are very excited, so full of gratitude, and my cup is so full,” Watts said. “This is huge for us. This is a dream come true for all of us.”

Camp Lake of the Woods was a general residential camp, featuring such things as swimming, horseback riding and archery. It consisted of Franklin and Kaw Landings, for older boys and girls, respectively, and Westport and Blue Mills for the younger campers.

A portion of the proceeds from each stay will go towards the rehabilitation of the Blue Mills cabins in Camp Lake of the Woods, which are now dilapidated and unusable.

“I never imagined that I’d be doing something like this here,” Watts said. “The tents, that’s huge for us, right, but being able to take the Blue Mills cabins and revitalize them, that’s the dream come true for me.”

They’ve gotten a huge response from people sharing memories of Camp Lake of the Woods, and have been inspired by the history and the potential of the cabins.

“This is such a huge part of what Kansas City is, it brings so much value to the city and not a lot of people for years have been coming as much to Swope Park and to Camp Lake of the Woods because over the years things have gone on, and now we get to bring life back to Swope Park,” Watts said.

Concerning safety, Watts said that when camping, people should always be aware of the risks, but the camp is generally quiet. A conservation manager lives nearby in the camp, and the gate at the entrance is locked at night for security.

“We believe in people and people are inherently good,” Watts said. “We believe in Kansas City and the people of Kansas City. They have been supporting us in such a major way – big support – so we’re going to take it one step at a time and see how it goes. We’re not naive that something could happen.”

Imagining the new opportunities this rebuild will bring Kansas Citians and the historic Swope Park, Watts and Shelton plan to start renovations this year and expect to be able to offer both tent glamping and cabin stays in The Blue Mills cabins at the start of their Spring 2022 season.

They will offer reservations, which opened on June 25 at suitetea.com, through October 31.

Editor’s note: This article was updated to reflect a correction. The on-site employee is a conservation manager, not a park ranger.