Gans Creek Recreation Area

About Gans Creek Recreation Area

Gans Creek Recreation Area is a 320-acre park in southeast Columbia on E. Gans Road off of Highway 63 at the Discovery Parkway exit. The park was planned together with A. Perry Philips Park, which is located on the north side of E Gans Road, so that together the parks would make up a southeast regional park to serve Columbia and surrounding communities. Gans Creek Recreation Area has multipurpose sports game fields, a concession/restroom, and is the the home of Columbia’s premiere cross county track that serves as the home course for the University of Missouri.

Gans Creek Cross Country Course is a championship-level course with supporting amenities designed to host major cross country competitive events. This dedicated course has a 500-meter starting chute, 2k and 3k loops, 30-foot-wide irrigated turf, permanent finish line structure, outdoor shelter, and indoor building with restrooms. As a premiere cross country course complex, it was designed to accommodate spectators and media, with a raised seating area and various vantage points along the course.

The five Gans Creek Multipurpose Competition Fields are natural grass fields that host rugby, soccer, lacrosse, and other competitive field sports and are reserve solely for competition in order to maintain their quality.