Kansas road trip

[Saulbadguy]

I drove to Quinter (WTF) Kansas yesterday and thought it would be fun sometime to take an extended weekend road trip with my wife around Kansas.

What are some must see tourist-y destinations that you would include in a Kansas road trip? 

[michigancat]

1 day?

Z-Bar Ranch

Garden of Eden

There's actually a lot of pretty cool rock formations out west.

My dad goes on motorcycle rides across the state all the time.  I'll ask him sometime.

Side note:  the Kansas tourism commercials have my old apartment (Wareham Hotel) featured!

[chum1]

Cawker City.  World's largest ball of twine.

[michigancat]

Cawker City.  World's largest ball of twine.

Been there.  My wife and I got our picture taken.  The locals piss on it.  (literally)

[Saulbadguy]

1 day?

Z-Bar Ranch

Garden of Eden

There's actually a lot of pretty cool rock formations out west.

My dad goes on motorcycle rides across the state all the time.  I'll ask him sometime.

Side note:  the Kansas tourism commercials have my old apartment (Wareham Hotel) featured!

Probably a 3 days.  Leave on a friday morning, get back to Topeka on a sunday afternoon.

[pissclams]

You could go fishing up in Marysville and eat sandwiches for lunch, that'd be a fun one.

I went past Quinter once while at KSU to a town called Park to pheasant hunt.

[jmlynch1]

Garden of Eden

World's deepest hand dug well

Worlds largest easel

Monument to a girl that wrote Abraham Lincoln a letter to grow a beard.

Garden of Eden...again

World's largest prarie dog

Ball of twine

Rock City

[chum1]

On second thought, you should probably just go ahead and continue on to Colorado.

[slucat]

St. Jacobs well and Big Basin are kind of cool they are near Ashland-home of superfan Ropinfeet.  The area around that part of the state is pretty stunning, red rock formations sort of like a mini Utah.  Also, Castle Rock southwest of WaKeeny is almost, like they say, "worth the drive".  Wilson Lake is pretty nice, clear water, seanic.

My finace and I have talked about doing a camping trip around Kansas, we still haven't gotten around to it though.

[ECN]

your fiance?

what was all this one in a million talk?

kansas blows.

[slucat]

your fiance?

what was all this one in a million talk?

kansas blows.

Saw-we 

[KSt8er]

if you're into geology there's Mushroom rock by Kanapolis reservoir, Rock city by Minneapolis, Castle Rock as suggested above, all somewhat on the way to some of the other mentioned.  I've heard the area south of Greensburg is beautiful. 

[Dirty Sanchez]

I-70 unfortunately runs right through the most boring parts of the state.  Get off just a few miles and you can see some great stuff.

The far northwest corner of the state is some of the most beautiful in the state.  I'm talking the last 15-20 miles.  Rugged and desolate but strikingly beautiful.

Big Basin and St Jacobs Well east of Meade.

Castle Rock (not terribly far from Quinter)

Solomon River Valley 15 miles north of Hays. 

Wilson Reservoir, not far off I-70. My favorite lake in the state.  Some great hiking, but not on a hot day.

[michigancat]

Um, I've big to Big Basin, and it's dumb. Can't believe it's gotten two mentions. Gyp Hills are real cool, though.

[KSU176]

your fiance?

Thats what she said.   8)

[tdaver]

Grand Canyon of Doniphan County - tough to find and probably not worth the trip

White Cloud Flea Market (Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends) - more worthless crap than you will ever see in one place in Kansas

[ECN]

your fiance?

Thats what she said.   8)

you?

[chum1]

West Mineral.  Big Brutus.

[Dirty Sanchez]

Big Basin is where you can see tarantula's cross the road in front of you.  Its beautiful country.  One giant sinkhole.  Do you prefer flat farmland or urban sprawl?

[michigancat]

Big Basin is where you can see tarantula's cross the road in front of you.  Its beautiful country.  One giant sinkhole.  Do you prefer flat farmland or urban sprawl?

Did you not drive through the gyp hills to get there?

If not, you took a dumb route.

[ds43fan]

Gyp Hills are real cool, though.

God bless your sole, please come we need tourists 

[jeffy]

The Cimmaron National Grasslands in far SW Kansas are really nice.  While there, you can visit tri-corners, the border between OK, KS, and CO.  Interestingly, there is a road from there northward.  There is an old survey marker a ways north of the corner that is supposed to denote the border between KS and CO.  The marker is several feet inside of Kansas.  This was an intentional incorrectly set marker that was an apparent plot by some folks in Colorado to steal land from Kansas.

[cyclist]

There is always the world's largest public swimming pool located in Garden City, KS !

The Flint Hills are beautiful in the spring when the fields are burned (especially at night) and again as it starts to green.  Of course, that's not exactly Western Kansas.

The Cosmosphere is great in Hutchinson.   They have just open the salt mine museum; don't know if it is any good.

[ds43fan]

gyp hills are beautiful in the spring

[ECN]

There is always the world's largest cess pool located in Garden City, KS !

fixed it

[sam adams]

No one has mentioned Mt. Sunflower?  What's wrong with you people!  Wallace county, bring your O2.  Interesting only for the novelty of it.

Arikaree Breaks in far, far, FAR northwest Cheyenne county is very cool.

Its the Saline River 15 miles north of Hays.

Monument Rocks (south of Oakley) has interesting rock formations.  Castle Rock has lost its tallest spire, so its not the same if you'd seen it before.  Castle Rock area has the better view still though.

Scott State Lake is something of a jewel in the middle of nowhere.  Pueblo Indians lived there.

Old courthouse in Russell Springs in Logan county has (or at least used to have) a fairly interesting museum on the Butterfield Express stagecoach line, among other things.  On your way there, eat at the Mexican cafe in Monument, if you're brave enough.

Don't drive I-70, it sucks once you get out of the Smoky Hills.

[ChicagoCat]

You could go fishing up in Marysville and eat sandwiches for lunch, that'd be a fun one.

I went past Quinter once while at KSU to a town called Park to pheasant hunt.

Marysville - Black Squirrel Capital of the World

[AzCat]

The best road trips through Kansas begin when you can see the "Welcome to Kanas" sign fading away in the rear view mirror.

[Dirty Sanchez]

Big Basin is where you can see tarantula's cross the road in front of you.  Its beautiful country.  One giant sinkhole.  Do you prefer flat farmland or urban sprawl?

Did you not drive through the gyp hills to get there?

If not, you took a dumb route.

I did, but unfortunately it was at night.  Took a couple side trips back into some open rangeland including a spot where you could see for miles, but being at night, I could pretty much see 5 feet.  Really quiet and a great starry night in that peaceful area.

If you want something more urban, stop by the capitol building and take a tour up the 296 steps (starting from the 5th floor) to the dome.  At the top you can go outside and on the clearest days you can easily see Jeffries Energy Center at a distance of 29 miles.

[michigancat]

Big Basin is where you can see tarantula's cross the road in front of you.  Its beautiful country.  One giant sinkhole.  Do you prefer flat farmland or urban sprawl?

Did you not drive through the gyp hills to get there?

If not, you took a dumb route.

I did, but unfortunately it was at night.  Took a couple side trips back into some open rangeland including a spot where you could see for miles, but being at night, I could pretty much see 5 feet.  Really quiet and a great starry night in that peaceful area.

gyp hills are much better than the sinkhole.

If you want something more urban, stop by the capitol building and take a tour up the 296 steps (starting from the 5th floor) to the dome.  At the top you can go outside and on the clearest days you can easily see Jeffries Energy Center at a distance of 29 miles.

Also, there's a couple Frank Lloyd Wright houses in Wichita, and the KS sports HOF (never been).  The Hotel at Oldtown is a nice place to stay and the Sports Bar at the Oldtown Warren is ridiculous.