25 Best Tourist Attractions to Visit in Kansas
Here is a list of the 25 Best Tourist Attractions in Kansas
1. Flint Hills
Stretching from Marshall County in the north to Cowley County in the south, the Flint Hills were created by the abrasion of limestone and shale during the Permian more than 240 million years before, when the whole region was submerged in the ocean. Now, these undulating hills are coated in local prairie grassland and form one of the ultimate surviving tall-grass prairies in the area. The Flint Hills National Scenic Byway will guide you through this astonishing and fascinating sea of grass and present you to some of the small pathfinder cities along the route. You can obtain all the information you require at the Flint Hills Discovery Center in Manhattan, where you can observe a multimedia presentation that describes the genesis of this very exceptional ecosystem.
2. Geary County State Park
Located south of Junction City, Geary State Fishing Lake and the neighboring Geary Country State Park offers a wonderful amusement region for all fishermen and wildlife lovers and so it’s a wonderful tourist attractions in Kansas. The 99-acre lake has a boat ramp where you can float your own boat and is well loaded with a few types of fish to offer you some incredible fishing moments. The lake is also a significant sojourn region for migrating waterfowl, so bird observing is specifically wonderful. The lake is encompassed by public hunting area and there are ancient campsites for those who would love to return to nature. You can enjoy a hike to the 35-foot Geary Lake Falls (just active in spring or after massive rains).
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3. Veterans’ Memorial Park
Devoted to those valiant Americans who made the absolute offering to defend their motherland and their independence, Veterans’ Memorial Park is located on the east side of the Arkansas River in downtown Wichita. You can enter the park from the Wichita Riverwalk and enjoy a serene walk down the serpentine riverside paths that will lead you to each of the park’s seven monuments. There are benches for tranquil reflection and at the conclusion of your stroll; you can watch the monument to the USS Wichita, which accepted 13 battle stars for service during World War II. After you have paid your honor to the veterans, you can continue a little gap along the Riverwalk to the renowned Keeper of the Plains sculpture. All these enchantments make this place one of the best tourist attractions in Kansas.
4. Wilson State Park
Panoramically located at the center of the Smoky Hills, Wilson State Park signals all nature enthusiasts to visit and play in one of the most charming state parks in the region. You can pass the time of your life relishing water sports on the lake – canoeing, kayaking, paddle boarding, skiing, windsurfing, and sailing are all beloved in this spot, and there are two beaches for swimming. The lake has transparent water that is also magnificent for scuba divers. There are altogether five campgrounds with properly maintained campsites where you can set up a tent or park an RV to get truly near to nature. You can enjoy hiking along some arduous tracks or choose a short and effortless nature stroll. Seasonal hunting is granted and there is plenty of wildlife observing all year round.
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5. Cheney State Park
Located at 20 miles west of Wichita, the 1,900-acre Cheney State Park has long been a beloved destination for all outdoor lovers and so it’s a great tourist attractions in Kansas. The park stretches out along the coasts of the Cheney Reservoir, which is one of the leading lakes for sailing in the USA. The park provides two marinas from where you can set your boat afloat– either to enjoy sailing or fishing – and there are also four selected swimming regions on the lake. You can bear along with your tent or RV – there are more than 400 properly maintained campsites that can be booked in advance. Giefer Creek and Spring Creek Nature Trails provide wonderful wildlife observing and there is also a 5-mile track for strolling, hiking, or biking.
6. Lake Scott State Park
Located 14 miles north of Scott City in western Kansas, Lake Scott State Park is certainly a must-visit destination for tourists. In this place, you can explore a wide diversity of outdoor activities as well as visit some of the finest archeological places in the state, against a background of the splendid landscape, marked with natural springs, soaring rock outcrops, and deeply engraved canyons. Hikers, bikers, and horse riders can relish some trails or you can hire a canoe or paddleboat to explore the lake. There is wonderful wildlife observing all over the park and you can pass some time traveling the relics of the northern-most Native American pueblo – El Cuartelejo, which is a National Historic Landmark.
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7. Kanopolis State Park
Located in the panoramic Smoky Hills only 33 miles southwest of Salina, the Kanopolis State Park provides tourists an immense playfield for right about every type of open-air activity. You can pack a picnic and appear and relish the advantages as a day-tripper or carry along with your tent or RV to explore the park for several days – there are both simple and well-maintained campsites developed over some campgrounds. You can enjoy hiking, mountain biking, and horse riding along over 30 miles of tracks or sail your boat at the marina and experience wonderful fishing on the 3,500-acre Kanopolis Reservoir. Other actions incorporate hunting and wildlife observing.
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8. Drinkwater and Schriver Flour Mill, Cedar Point
The historical Drinkwater and Schriver Flour Mill is a key attraction in the little hamlet of Cedar Point in Chase County, Kansas. The mill has an impressive history – in 1867 it began life as a timbered sawmill on the verges of the Cottonwood River, where a tree trunk barrage had been built to power the water wheel. In 1870 it was determined to utilize the mill to smash wheat for native bakeries, and establishment of the prevailing three-story stone edifice began in 1875. The mill was in operation as a grist mill until 1941 and was afterward utilized to smash animal feed before it was stranded around 1961. At the present time, it is unsafe to access the edifice but schemes are underway to renovate it to its past renown.
9. Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens
Stretching over 300 acres devoted to the conservation and displaying of no less than eight natural ecosystems, the Overland Park Arboretum, and Botanical Gardens is a root of innovation to all nature enthusiasts and garden lovers and a wonderful tourist attractions in Kansas. You can effortlessly pass a day in the park appreciating the plenty of themed gardens, which incorporate a 1-acre copy of Monet’s garden, a lovely water garden, and the Legacy Garden, which is stuffed with plants conventionally seen around Kansas homesteads. There are picnic accommodation, a café, and more than 5 miles of hiking trails for the energetically willing. Kids can have hours of amusement enjoying the Children’s Discovery Garden and the magical Train Garden, which presents a mini railway.
10. Deep Creek Waterfall at Pillsbury Crossing
You can see the Deep Creek Waterfall in the Pillsbury Crossing Wildlife Area, only 7 miles southeast of Manhattan, Kansas. Although the waterfall is only 5 feet high, it can extend to a magnificent span of 60 feet when the river is running forcefully. Except for bringing a picnic to relish encompassed by the charming scenery, you can also enjoy the region on foot along a little hiking track. When the water levels are high, you can enjoy canoeing and kayaking along with the flow or enjoy fishing – Pillsbury Crossing is one of the few regions where spotted bass can be seen and channel cat-fishing is said to be fine both upstream and downstream of the waterfall.
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11. Arkansas River Trail
The Arkansas River Trail in Kansas is located along a 10-mile area of the Big Arkansas River in Wichita. You can stroll, jog, or cycle the paved track that goes basically along the southwest verge of the river, with two particular tracks along the west bank. Along the path, you can halt to appreciate the Keeper of the Plains, a 44-foot tall sculpture of an Indian warrior, who guards over the meeting place of the Little Arkansas and Big Arkansas rivers. If you time your stroll accurately, you can see the evening “Ring of Fire” light show. The track also provides wonderful sunset sights and you can effortlessly enter museums, the stadium, the ice rink, and the Wichita Zoo from the track.
12. Sedgwick County Park
It is a big and beautiful open-air recreational region located in northwest Wichita right west of Wichita Zoo and a wonderful tourist attractions in Kansas. You can load a picnic basket and appear and pass several hours or a whole day experiencing all the advantages. If you love fishing, you can attempt to catch your dinner (or, rather, exercise some capture-and-liberate methods) on the four lakes, where kids can have amusement feeding the ducks and geese. Hikers and bikers can leave to visit more than 4 miles of paved tracks through open regions and woodlands stuffed with wildlife. Other advantages you may like incorporate barbecue grills, open and closed picnic accommodations, tennis and volley ball courts, and kids’ playfields.
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13. Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area
Located in the center of the central Kansas grasslands, Cheyenne Bottoms is a immense (41,000-acre) natural land sink consisting of 15,000 acres of wetlands. Bird bservers and wildlife photographers will be delighted to learn that Cheyenne Bottoms is straight underneath the slimmest part of the Central Flyway and is traveled by millions of guest birds every year. Some halt concisely to relax, but others will breed in this spot. The onsite Kansas Wetlands Education Center has some wonderful displays and can provide you with a driving trip map and birding checklist. You can stroll to the watching platform, where wildlife experts are available to answer your questions, drive through the conserve, or advance a guided trip.
14. Monument Rocks
Also known as Chalk Pyramids ,Monument Rocks are a set of amazing rock outcrops located right off US 83 in western Kansas. Anyone who is slightly eager in geology and fossils should certainly choose the 6-mile bypass off the highway to find these remarkable, 70-foot sedimentary formations that were created more than 80 million years before when Kansas was submerged in a vast inland sea. You can get the routes and find some magnificent fossils at the neighboring Keystone Gallery, where art and old fossils rub shoulders. If you move a little further on, you will approach to the Little Pyramids, where you can take a walk around the rather tiny rock developments and probably even see a fossilized shark tooth.
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15. Hutchinson
It has been an abode to salt pits from the late 1800s and one of the town’s key draws is Strataca, where you can take a tour deep underneath the surface of the Earth to get a quick look of the working environments in a true salt pit. Once you have experienced all about salt extracting, it’s time to explore Cosmosphere, a captivating museum devoted to tracking America’s Space Program, past and present. For a total opportunity of pace, you can go strolling, hiking, or fishing in the Dillon Nature Center, go to the Yoder Amish Community for a horse and buggy ride (don’t fail to visit the peasants’ market each Friday), or take the children to the Hutchinson Zoo.
16. Olathe
It is located only 20 miles southwest of Kansas City and can be arrived along the historic Oregon-California and Santé Fe Trails, which were one time used by wagon rails and stagecoaches. You can know a bit about the history of the town by traveling the Ensor Park and Museum and the Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop and Farm, which one time gave a pleasant watering-hole for up to 600 wagons every week. Art lovers can take a strolling trip of the Downtown Outdoor Sculpture Exhibits, while open-air lovers will see a wonderful selection of parks and green areas where you can relish strolling, hiking, running, and biking. All the museums and cultural draws of Kansas City are right at your doorstep.
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17. Salina
It is extensively familiar as an artistic center and is an abode to a flourishing arts community where you can relish a diversity of museums, concerts, and live theatre shows all year round. The key attraction for art enthusiasts is the First Friday Live Art Walk in Oldtown Salinas when galleries and studios remain accessible late to mesmerize tourists. However, if you drop First Friday, you can even then experience public art bases, the Salina Art Center, and the Salina Sculpture Walk in spring. Outdoor lovers will be delighted to explore more than 700 acres of green space providing wonderful chances for fishing, swimming, hiking, and biking. Family-friendly draws incorporate the beautiful Rolling Hills Zoo and the Kenwood Cove Aquatic Park.
18. Manhattan
One of the best tourist attractions in Kansas, Manhattan provides tourists a wonderful blend of historical, cultural, culinary, and open-air amusements to stuff every moment of your tour. Know about the town’s history as you visit the Riley Country Historical Museum, Goodnow House Museum, and Wolf House Museum. The total family will love a trip to the reciprocative Flint Hills Discovery Center, Sunset Zoo, and the Lazy T Ranch, which presents hayrides and chuck-wagon dinners. If you are craving to get out into the vast-open grassland, you can advance to Tuttle Creek Lake for boating and hiking or go for a stroll through the K-State Botanical Gardens. You can explore the Liquid Art Winery, enjoy zip-lining at the Wildwood Outdoor Adventure Park, or attempt out one of the town’s four golf courses.
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19. Cottonwood Falls
It is little Kansas City situated in the Great Plains in the idyllic Flint Hills on the verges of the Cottonwood River. For millennia, the region was an abode to wandering Native Americans until, in the 16th century; it was declared by the Kingdom of France. In 1762 France handed over it to Spain, then Spain returned it to France until the United States purchased it from France and it became a portion of the Kansas Territory. Present day’s Cottonwood Falls has a beautiful, serene downtown controlled by the wonderfully renovated Chase County courthouse, established in 1873 in the French Renaissance style.
The Flint Hills is the abode to one of the country’s remaining big regions of tallgrass prairie, which once coated with the total Great Plains. The grassland is reserved within the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. The finest spot to know about the city’s history is the Chase County Historical Museum. The Flint Hills Gallery presents the works of Judith Mackey, the famous artist of the Flint Hills Tallgrass Prairie.
20. Dodge City
If you imagine a flavor of the true Wild West, you require putting Dodge City on your holiday wish-list. Here you can see the exciting Dodge City Rodeo or get carried back to the 1800s on Main Street in the Boot Hill Museum – if you travel during the summer, you have a good opportunity of observing a gunfight and finding some dancing girls in action. You can receive a magnificent overview of Dodge City on the Historic Trolley Tour or do a self-guided strolling trip. The United Wireless Arena presents orderly best entertainment and art enthusiasts can travel the Carnegie Arts Center and the Depot Theatre Company. Open air activities incorporate enjoying golf at the Mariah Hills Golf course or exploring Long Branch Lagoon Aquatics Park and Dodge City Zoo.
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21. Topeka
Kansas’ state epicenter Topeka is a lively town right about bursting at the seams with appeals for all. You can begin your trip at the attractive Kansas Statehouse, which presents a very wonderful cupola, before strolling in the footsteps of the grassland settlers at Old Prairie Town on the Ward-Meade Historic Site – you can go to the serene Ward-Meade Botanical Garden when you are at that place. Car racing lovers go to Yesterday’s Motorbike Museum and the Evel Knievel Museum (opening 2017) at Topeka Harley-Davidson or see drag racing at Heartland Park Topeka. Kids can have pleasure traveling on the 1908 vintage carousel and the mini-rail at Gage Park and get active participation at the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center. There are many fully open green regions where you can enjoy hiking, biking, and nature-observing.
22. Lawrence
This place is waiting to greet tourists with cordial Midwestern generosity, many draws, and several impressive restaurants. You can know all about the town’s evolving history at the Watkins Museum of History, the Black Jack Battlefield Park, and the Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area in the middle of the town. While you are in downtown, you can travel the Lawrence Art Center, which presents consistent displays and is the abode to the Black Box Theater, where you can see live musical and theatrical productions. Outdoor lovers can travel the Lawrence Outdoor Aquatic Center, the Baker Wetlands Discovery Center, and Clinton State Park, where you can enjoy boating, water-skiing, camping, picnicking and hiking.
23. Wichita
It marks all the boxes for anyone seeking a full of activity town access point stop withdraws to suit people of all ages. To make things effortless for culture-lovers, five of the town’s 33 museums are located along the verges of the Arkansas River. Here you can go to see Exploration Place, Old Cowtown Museum, and the wonderful Wichita Art Museum. Garden enthusiasts should not fail to visit Botanica (also along the river), which consist of more 18 acres of themed panoramic gardens, while art lovers should time their tour for the last Friday of the month when art museums and galleries provide cost-free entries. Shopaholics can advance to the historic Delano District for specialty shops or the two big malls at Towne East Square and Towne West Square.
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24. Fort Scott National Historic Site
In the mid of the 19th century, Kansas could be narrated as the frontier land. Colonization was underway, but a military existence was required to protect the American borders. Fort Scott was established in 1842 and was an important factor in both the U.S. Civil War and Bleeding Kansas, a debate that brought up subjugation even before it was a national battle. Now, the Fort Scott National Historic Site can be best visited on a guided trip. You can visit 11 historically precise edifices that contain 30 furnished chambers, each giving you the chance to take a look into life over 150 years before.
25. Oz Museum
On the verges of the Kansas River is the tiny town of Wamego. However, don’t let the area of Wamego deceive you: It is the abode to one of the most captivating draws in the state! Wamego is where you will see the Oz Museum, a museum dedicated to all things Wizard of Oz. Within the collection, you can see the real books, present-day collectibles, and memorabilia from the famous film. Some of the more uncommon and unanticipated relics incorporate the genuine silent movies, which can be seen onsite, as well as ruby slippers covered in thousands of Swarovski crystals!