The Maple Woods Natural Area is a natural area located in

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Flor ...

in the U.S. state of

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. The natural area is characterized by sugar maples. The 39.3-acre forest is recognized by the United States National Park Service as a Significant Natural Area. The small forest is a National Natural Landmark. The Maple Woods, purchased by the state of Missouri in 1978, was designated as a natural area in 1980. Owned by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDOC), the small forest is in the suburban municipality of

Gladstone, Missouri Gladstone is a city in Clay County, Missouri, United States and a suburb of Kansas City. The City of Gladstone is located only 10 minutes from downtown Kansas City, and 10 minutes from Kansas City International Airport. As of the 2020 census, the ...

and is maintained by the Gladstone park staff by agreement with MDOC. The Maple Woods also contains a significant subpopulation of

bitternut hickory ''Carya cordiformis'', the bitternut hickory, also called bitternut or swamp hickory, is a large pecan hickory with commercial stands located mostly north of the other pecan hickories. Bitternut hickory is cut and sold in mixture with the true h ...

as a reminder of its former standing as an oak-hickory forest. In the absence of wildfire, the oak trees of this small forest are thinning out due to mesic succession. The Maple Woods Natural Area is on NE 76th Street adjacent to Shoal Creek. With the bright colors displayed by the sugar maple,

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

media recommends the Maple Woods as a place to enjoy local, accessible fall foliage colors.

References

{{reflist 1980 establishments in Missouri National Natural Landmarks in Missouri Protected areas of Clay County, Missouri IUCN Category III IUCN Category V