Kansas Travel Guide

Kansas is a state in the Great Plains region of the United States of America. It is generally considered the center of the country, at least in geographical terms. Thanks to the Wizard of Oz, many non-Kansans (and some Kansans as well) think of it as a place to escape from. However, there are a lot of great places to visit, particularly if you are interested in the history of the American West. With a little exploration, almost every little town has something of interest.

Kansas Travel Guide - Regions

There is no clear division between Eastern and Western Kansas, but there are clear regional distinctions.

* Eastern Kansas -- Most of the larger cities are in Eastern Kansas, which tends to be more hilly and have more trees and water.
* Western Kansas -- Generally, Western Kansas is more rural, with very low population density and a lot of open land. With notable exceptions, it is drier and flatter.
* Central Kansas -- A mixture of farmland, rolling hills, and man-made lakes, central Kansas is a transition zone between the hilly east and the arid west.
* Flint Hills -- Down the center of Eastern Kansas run the Flint Hills, an area of great geological interest, with some of the last living grasslands of the true Great Plains.
* Southeastern Kansas -- Far southeastern Kansas is part of the Ozarks region, with beautiful hills, coal mining, and endemic rural poverty. Ozark influence wanes the further you get from the southeast corner of the state.

Kansas Travel Guide - Cities

* Topeka -- Capital city of Kansas, also site of the Kansas State Historical Society Museum
* Wichita -- Largest city in Kansas, known as the Air Capital of the World because of the large number of airplane manufacturers with plants there.
* Lawrence -- Medium-sized city midway between Topeka and Kansas City (Kansas). Very artsy and bohemian, for Kansas. Home of the University of Kansas.
* Kansas City and Environs -- Smaller half of Metro Kansas City, which spills across the border into Missouri. Kansas City as a whole is much larger and more cosmopolitan than Wichita. Actually, the second largest city in Kansas is not Kansas City, Kansas, but Overland Park, Kansas, a wealthy, yet non-descript suburb of Kansas City. Overland Park, along with Kansas City suburbs like Shawnee, Olathe, and Lenexa make up Johnson County, which is the largest county by population in Kansas, and one of the richest counties in the United States by per capita income.
* Hutchinson -- home to the second largest space museum in the world, The Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center

Other cities in Kansas include:

* Park City
* Winfield
* Dodge City

Kansas Travel Guide - Understand

Although native Americans have lived in Kansas for thousands of years and the first Europeans visited in the 1600s, most Kansas communities date from the early to mid 1880s. The real development of Kansas didn’t take place until the 1850s when proslavery settlers from Missouri and antislavery settlers from New England flooded into the area. This period of "Bleeding Kansas" included a great deal of violence and some people consider this area to have been the cradle of the Civil War. In communities like Lawrence, Kansas many organizations and businesses still proudly display the "free state" name.

Kansas Travel Guide - Talk

Residents of Kansas believe that they speak unaccented English, but there is a faint southern influence.

Kansas Travel Guide - Getting There

If you are driving to Kansas from the east or west, it would be best to take Interstate 70. I-35 travels from the south center of the state and passes northeast meeting I-70 in Kansas City.

Wichita and Topeka have municipal airports, but most people flying into the state would come through Kansas City (Missouri). The only regular train serivce is Amtrak's Southwest Chief.

Kansas Travel Guide - Getting Around

The only way to travel in Kansas is to drive. It's part of the experience of being in the state to spend time on the road. Take the time to plan a route off of the main highways and see the country.

Kansas Travel Guide - Eat

Kansas' best known regional food is Kansas City BBQ, associated with metropolitan Kansas City area including Wyandotte County and Johnson County, as well as portions of Missouri. It is a slow "pit" style barbeque. Well known restaurants include Rosedale and Wyandotte BBQ in Kansas City, and Hayward's Pit BBQ and Kansas City Masterpiece in Overland Park. Kansas City Masterpiece in Overland Park, Kansas was the original restaurant the started the chain.

In Yoder (just outside Hutchinson), the Carriage Crossing restaurant offers Amish fare (Fried chicken, meat loaf, etc.) (except on Sundays, when they are closed).

In Newton, Charlie's Restaurant (part of the Newell's Truck Plaza) offers excellent breakfast burritos 24 hours a day.

In Abilene, The Brookville Hotel offers family style fried chicken dinners.

Kansas Travel Guide - Transportation

Kansas is served by two Interstate highways with two spur routes, three bypasses, and one beltway over a total of 874 miles. The first section of Interstate in the nation was opened on I-70 just west of Topeka on November 14, 1956. I-70 is a major east/west route connecting to St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri, in the east and Denver, Colorado, in the west. Cities along this route (from east to west) include Kansas City, Lawrence, Topeka, Junction City, Salina, Hays, and Colby. I-35 is a major north/south route connecting to Des Moines, Iowa, in the north and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in the south. Cities along this route (from north to south) include Kansas City (and suburbs), Ottawa, Emporia, El Dorado, and Wichita.

Spur routes serve as connections between the two major routes. I-135, a north/south route, connects I-70 at Salina to I-35 at Wichita. I-335, a northeast/southwest route, connects I-70 at Topeka to I-35 at Emporia. I-335 and portions of I-35 and I-70 make up the Kansas Turnpike. Bypasses include I-470 around Topeka and I-235 around Wichita. I-435 is a beltway around the Kansas City Metropolitan Area while I-635 bypasses through Kansas City, Kansas.

US Route 69 runs North and South, from its Northern section in Minnesota to its Southern section in Texas. US 69 runs through the eastern section of Kansas, through the Kansas City area, down through Fort Scott, Frontenac, Pittsburg, and Baxter Springs before entering Oklahoma.

In January 2004, the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) announced the new Kansas 511 traveler information service. By dialing 511, callers will get access to information about road conditions, construction, closures, detours and weather conditions for the state highway system. Weather and road condition information is updated every 15 minutes.

Kansas Travel Guide - Important Cities and Towns

Kansas has 627 incorporated cities. By state statute, cities are divided into three classes as determined by the population obtained "by any census of enumeration". A city of the third class has a population of less than 5,000, but cities reaching a population of more than 2,000 may be certified as a city of the second class. The second class is limited to cities with a population of less than 25,000, and upon reaching a population of more than 15,000, they may be certified as a city of the first class. First and second class cities are independent of any township and not included within the township's territory.

Northeast Kansas

The northeastern portion of the state has a rich history and is home to more than 1.1 million people in the Kansas City, Lawrence, Topeka, and St. Joseph metropolitan areas. In the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the cities of Johnson County have some of the fastest growing populations and highest median incomes in the state and the enitre country. Overland Park, a young city incorporated in 1960, has the largest population and the largest land area in the county. In 2006 Overland Park was ranked as the 6th best place to live in America. Olathe came in at 13th. It is home to Johnson County Community College, the state's largest community college, and the corporate campus of Sprint Nextel, the largest private employer in the metro area. The cities of Olathe, Shawnee, and Gardner have some of the state's fastest growing populations. Olathe is the county seat and home to Johnson County Executive Airport. The cities of Overland Park, Lenexa, Olathe, and Gardner are also notable because they lie along the former route of the Santa Fe Trail. Among cities with at least one thousand residents, Mission Hills has the second highest median income in the state.

Several institutions of higher education are in the area including MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe, Kansas City Kansas Community College and KU Medical Center in Kansas City, and KU Edwards Campus in Overland Park. Less than an hour's drive to the west, Lawrence is home to the University of Kansas, the largest public university in the state, and Haskell Indian Nations University.

To the north, Kansas City, Kansas, with the second largest land area in the state, contains a number of diverse ethnic neighborhoods. Its attractions include Kansas Speedway, the Woodlands, and Kansas City T-Bones. Further up the Missouri River, the city of Lansing is home of the state's first maximum-security prison. Historic Leavenworth, founded in 1854, was the first incorporated city in Kansas. North of the city, Fort Leavenworth is the oldest active Army post west of the Mississippi River. The city of Atchison was an early commercial center in the state and is well-known as the birthplace of Amelia Earhart.

To the west, nearly a quarter million people reside in the Topeka metropolitan area. Topeka is the state capital and home to Washburn University. Built at a Kansas River crossing along the old Oregon Trail, this historic city has several nationally registered historic places. Further westward along Interstate 70 and the Kansas River is Junction City with its historic limestone and brick buildings and nearby Fort Riley, well-known as the former home to the "Big Red One". A short distance away, the city of Manhattan is home to Kansas State University, the second largest public university in the state and the nation's oldest land-grant university, dating back to 1863. South of the campus, Aggieville dates back to 1889 and is the state's oldest shopping district of its kind.

Kansas Travel Guide - Wichita

In south-central Kansas, the four-county Wichita metropolitan area is home to nearly 600,000 people. Wichita is the largest city in the state in terms of both land area and population. 'The Air Capital' is a major manufacturing center for the aircraft industry and the home of Wichita State University. With a number of nationally registered historic places, museums, and other entertainment destinations, it has a desire to become a cultural mecca in the Midwest. Although Wichita's population growth has been anemic in recent years, surrounding suburbs are among the fastest growing cities in the state. The population of Goddard has grown by more than 11% per year since 2000. Other fast-growing cities include Andover, Park City, Derby, and Haysville.

Up river (the Arkansas River) from Wichita is the city of Hutchinson. The city was built on one of the world's largest salt deposits, and it has the world's largest and longest wheat elevator. It is also the home of Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center and Prairie Dunes Country Club. North of Wichita along Interstate 135 is the city of Newton, the former western terminal of the Santa Fe Railroad and trailhead for the famed Chisholm Trail. To the southeast of Wichita are the cities of Winfield and Arkansas City with historic architecture and the Cherokee Strip Museum (in Ark City). The city of Udall was the site of the deadliest tornado in Kansas on May 25, 1955; it killed 83 residents. To the southwest of the largest city in the state is Freeport, the state's smallest incorporated city (population 8).

Kansas Travel Guide - Landmarks

* The world's largest ball of twine (disputed), created August 15, 1953, in Cawker City.
* Big Brutus, the world's second largest electric shovel resides in West Mineral. It is 160 feet (49 m) tall and weighs 11 million pounds (5,000t).
* S.P. Dinsmoor created the Garden of Eden in Lucas in 1905, and opened it up to tourists in 1908. The garden features sculptures of biblical scenes and political messages. One scene has labor being crucified by a doctor, lawyer, banker, and preacher. Dinsmoor even built his own mausoleum in which you can still see him today in his concrete coffin by paying for the tour.
* Lucas is also home to the Grassroots Art Center (web). The museum features many works of art created by people with no formal training, and it sits only a block or two from the Garden of Eden.
* The John Brown museum is located in Osawatomie.
* The Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant in De Soto opened in 1942 to manufacture gunpowder and munitions propellants for World War II. The closed plant sits on over 9,000 acres (36 km²) of land which was made up of more than 100 farms.
* The boyhood home of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Eisenhower Library, and his grave are located in Abilene.
* The Greyhound Hall of Fame(web) is also located in Abilene.
* Abilene is the ending point of the Chisholm Trail where the cattle driven from Texas were loaded onto rail cars.
* The house of Carrie Nation, now a museum, is located in Medicine Lodge.
* Constitution Hall in Lecompton is the location where the Kansas Territorial Government convened and drafted a pro-slavery constitution.
* The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics houses the largest collection of papers for a politician other than a president. The institute is located in Lawrence, on the campus of the University of Kansas.
* The Boot Hill Museum in Dodge City features Old West memorabilia and history.
* The Wizard of Oz Museum in Wamego features Dorothy's House, a recreation of the farm house featured in the film The Wizard of Oz.
* The National Teachers Hall of Fame(web) is located in Emporia.
* The National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame is located in Bonner Springs.
* The Horace Greeley museum is located in Tribune.
* The Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, located in Hutchinson, is affiliated with the Smithsonian Institute. The museum features the largest collection of artifacts from the Russian Space Program outside of Moscow. It is also home to Apollo 13, an SR-71 Blackbird, and many space artifacts.
* The Boyer Gallery, a collection of animated sculptures made by Paul Boyer is located in Belleville.
* The fifth largest collection of civilian and military aircraft in the United States is located at the Mid-America Air Museum.
* The Big Well, the world's largest hand dug well, is in Greensburg.
* The Sternberg Museum of Natural History (web) in Hays, features exhibits of several fossils discovered by Charles Hazelius Sternberg as well as various temporary exhibits.
* Big Basin and Little Basin are two large sinkholes located in Clark County.
* Arikaree Breaks are badlands located in Cheyenne County, Kansas.
* The Cimarron National Grassland, Kansas's largest tract of public land, is located in Morton County.
* Monument Rocks is a series of chalk arcs and other formations. Kansas also has many other formations of this nature.
* The boyhood home of General Frederick Funston is located in Iola.
* A replica of Norman Number 1 (supposedly the first oil derrick west of the Mississippi River) and a small museum dedicated to it are located near the chaimber of commerse building in Neodesha (located in the eastern end of the town, just before its Main Street merges with U.S. 75). The original derrick and museum were located on Mill Street, but were abandoned shortly before erosion caused the derrick to collapse into the Verdigris River.
* The Dalton Defenders Museum, located in Coffeyville, commemorates the townspeople who died defending the town against the Dalton Gang, who unsuccessfully attempted to rob two Coffeyville banks simultaneously on October 5, 1892.
* The award-winning Kansas Museum of History (web) is the state museum, and is located in the capital city of Topeka.

Kansas Travel Guide - Stay Safe

Kansas is in "Tornado Alley." Tornadoes and Severe thunderstorms with high winds and hail are not uncommon during the spring and summer months. Make sure you keep a radio on in the car. Should you hear the tornado sirens sounding, locate a suitable tornado shelter at once - DO NOT stay outdoors to get a picture! Also, DO NOT try to outrun the tornado in your car! You may wind up driving directly into the tornado's path.

Should the skies be cloudy, and the light take on a greenish-yellow cast, this is an indication of an imminent hail storm - again, seek shelter at once.

But keep in mind, these storms are spread over a wide area and most residents have never seen a tornado. Refer to the Tornado safety article for analysis of the issues here.

Article Source: Wikipedia