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Kansas Vacations

1001 Vacation Ideas Home


 

Kansas Vacations Idea #1:
Dodge City is best known for its infamous history of gunslingers and wild-west shoot-outs. But you may want to go there for something more modern. The annual Dodge City Days boasts over 50 events during the first week in August. There's a rodeo, musical concerts, a huge craft show, Western parade, professional barbeque contest, the crowning of Miss Rodeo Kansas and Miss Rodeo Kansas Princess, and lots of other family activities.

Kansas Vacations Idea #2:
The town of Liberal has a number of interesting attractions. See the fifth largest collection of military and civilian aircraft in the United States at the Mid-America Air Museum. Visit the original model of Dorothy's house used in the 1939 filming of The Wizard of Oz and let one of the guides dressed as Dorothy lead you on a tour down the Yellow Brick Road. The The Seward County Museum displays items used in the settlement of the Kansas territory during its Wild West days.

Kansas Family Vacation Idea #3:
Visit the house where The Dalton Gang hid out from the law. The home belonged to their sister in Meade and it had a tunnel running from the house to the barn. This was their hiding place when the things got a little hot. The barn holds a small museum of Dalton Gang history. In Coffeyville you can browse the Dalton Gang Museum. Visit "Death Alley" where the robbers were killed and laid out on the sidewalk.

Kansas Family Vacation Idea #4:
The Cimarron National Grassland in the southwest corner of the state offers many outdoor activities. It is 100,000 acres and has a 19-mile trail for hiking, biking, and horseback riding. You can drive it using the Sea of Grass Auto Tour with stops at 17 points of interest. You can camp year round and there's fishing in the Cimarron River.

Kansas Vacations Idea #5:
Take a covered wagon tour through the Kreycik Riverview Elk Ranch. The Kreyciks offer the tour of the ranch where they raise Bison and Elk. In the fall you can go on an Elk hunt and chase that trophy Elk bull. The bison and elk herds are the ranch’s livelihood as the meat and pelts are in demand. This tour is a wondeful way to learn about an operating ranch and see the beautiful Niobrara River Valley.

Kansas Vacations Idea #6:
Wichita is an excellent Kansas family vacation spot because of the large variety of activities available. The Wichita Gardens is a wonderful place of botanical beauty that every member of the family will enjoy. Old Cowtown Museum is a recreated frontier town that brings to life the history of Wichita. The 2,000 animals at Wichita Zoo are always a big hit with the kids. Only about 50 miles away from Wichita is the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center that features the Hall of Space Museum with the actual Apollo 13 command module, the IMAX Theater, the Justice Planetarium and a live science show at Dr. Goddard's Lab.

Kansas Vacations Idea #7:
Here are two great places to take a Kansas road trip and enjoy all the beautiful scenery that this state has to offer. The Gypsum Hills Scenic Byway runs through the red shaded hills and canyons which showcase the iron-laced shale and sandstone indigenous to the midwest region. Gypsum Hills is former Comanche tribe country and along the 42-mile route is the Medicine Lodge Stockade built in 1874 and site of the 1867 peace treaty with the Five Tribes of the Plains. Stops along the route will reveal numerous spots to engage in various vacation activities like boating, fishing, trail riding, nature walks, hiking and even caving.

The Flint Hills Scenic Byway is a 48-mile long trip that takes you through the great Kansas grasslands. This is the only untouched tallgrass prairie in the United States and one of four left in the world. This area is part of the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve and the beauty of the prairie is enhanced by the colorful and rare wildflowers growing here like the purple Polly mallow or the butterfly milkweed. A great way to really enjoy this national treasure is a walk on the Southwind Nature Trail.

Kansas Vacations Idea #8:
Contributed by Joan in Glasco, Kansas - To visit Glasco is to be a family guest. This town of 500 is a quiet destination on the Kansas prairie where visitors are embraced. They soon have a regular table at the Pepper Pot Cafe, and become accustomed to the rhythms of Main Street, coffee at the internet cafe and sodas and smoothies at the soda fountain.

The pace is leisurely, the conversation entertaining. Country bed and breakfast accommodations a few miles away allow for drives on country roads. Observe natural rotation of crops, planting and harvest, wheat and sunflowers, the wild life that draws hunters, and the stunning night skies and sunsets.

Kansas Vacations Idea #9:
Contributed by Kerrie Manues - I live in Independence, Kansas and love to tell people the MANY reasons they should visit Independence, at ANY time of the year. Independence has attractions, festivals, and an unquestionable spirit through- out the year.

The Riverside Park and Zoo, located on 124 acres, comes complete with facilities, as well as a miniature train that open for rides around the par, miniature golf, and a real carousel that costs just a nickel. Visit monkey Island in the Ralph Mitchell Zoo; home of “Abel”- the first monkey in space by NASA.

Another favorite is Little House on the Prairie, located about 13 miles South of Independence. It’s the original site she speaks and wrote about in her books. Complete with a log cabin, Sunnyside School, and Wayside Post Office. Admission is based solely off donations, and a visit of this attraction will leave you feeling like you walked straight out of the 1869.

Lets not also forget about the wonderful Historic Homes Tour. Featuring 27 of most magnificent homes built between the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. This tour can be walked or driven with ease. Brochures can be picked up at the Chamber of Commerce office.

Not only does Independence, KS have great attractions; we are home of great events and festivals. The first, actually the LARGEST FESTIVAL IN KANSAS, is Neewollah. The largest annual celebration in southeastern Kansas has come a long way since its beginning in 1919 as a way to keep playful pranksters out of mischief on Halloween night. For one full week, Neewollah entertains people from all walks of life, and Independence, a town of around 11,000, becomes a city of over 80,000. Neewollah offers musical stage shows, queen competition and coronation, carnival, concessions, street acts, artists alley, and top performers in the entertainment world.

Past performers include Patty Loveless and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.The festival, normally held the last full week of October, is topped off by one of the biggest and grandest parades ever, a two hour kaleidoscope of music, color, pageantry and just good old fun!

And, one last great event is the William Inge Festival. Held annually in the Spring, the festival celebrates the life of William Inge, a famous playwright, and Independence native. Packed full of theatrical performances, other famous playwrights and lively seminars and workshops, this festival brings thousands of visitors into Independence every spring.

So, in a nutshell, Independence has a unique flair with its attractions, festivals and its quaint downtown shops and specialty stores. Kansas vacations visitors will relish in the lifestyle that Independence has to offer.

Kansas Vacations Idea #10:
Contributed by a resident of Abilene, Kansas - The best thing about Abilene, Kansas is there's lots of fun things to choose to do here that you can't find in any other town, like riding an old train pulled by a steam engine, a real Wild West stagecoach, and a 1901 carousel that rocks back and forth instead of up and down.

We can take you to watch gunfights in Old Abilene Town or a musical at the Great Plains Theatre. At the Eisenhower Center, you can relive the 1950s while the kids play interactive games on touchscreens, and at other museums the kids can talk on old telephones, we women can discuss vintage dresses, and our men can check out old photographic equipment or racing greyhounds.

Let’s tour some Victorian mansions and art galleries before deciding whether to eat the best fried chicken in the state or a special seafood dish served in a historic home.

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