Just 5 hours from St. Louis, Wichita is the heart of the country and it is the largest city in Kansas. This weekend in Wichita was our first time exploring Kansas and our family was floored by the natural beauty, as well as the rich history of this area.
We explored Wichita for 2 nights/3 days over 4th of July. Here is a snapshot of what we visited while there.
Weekend in Wichita Day 1:
OJ Watson Park
We had a blast exploring this 119-acre park in Wichita. They offer a miniature train ride, pony rides, miniature golf, paddle boat rentals and $1 sno-cones!! We really liked the train ride around the lake. It reminded us of the St. Louis Zoo train and we saw many ducks swimming!
Exploration Place
Think Science Center + Magic House in St. Louis! There are lots of hands-on exhibits. Wichita claimed the Air Capital of the World in 1928 (and it still is true today), hence the many airplanes here. My favorite exhibit was the interactive medieval castle! The Children’s area is all-things Kansas, including lots of farming and gardening topics. To end our visit, we viewed a movie in the largest dome theater in Kansas (attached to Exploration Place). We saw “Sea Lion: Life by a Whisker,” which followed a sea lion colony in Australia.
Keeper of the Plains
Along the Arkansas River, there is an incredible urban trail!! It is more than 10 miles long. It goes right by the Exploration Place! We walked along this trail and viewed the lighting of the Keeper of the Plains statue. At 9pm each night in the summer (weather-dependent), the Keeper of the Plains statue has a ring of fire for 15 minutes. This 44 foot sculpture honors the region’s original citizens and has become a special symbol for Wichita. This is the spot where the Big and Little Arkansas rivers join.
Boats & Bikes
We rented a pedal boat and watched fireworks along the Arkansas River! Our boat rental was right along the riverfront. There is also a public dock here, so you can bring your boat for no charge. They have life jackets here for kiddos 30lbs and up, so make sure to bring a proper infant life jacket if needed. The fireworks were over the river and it was so unique to view them from the pedal boat. People lined up to watch fireworks on both sides of the river too!
Weekend in Wichita Day 2:
Field Station: Dinosaurs
We started the morning with dinosaurs! There are over 40 life-sized and realistic dinosaurs here!! Seriously so cool. We walked along the trail to view the dinosaurs up close. There are informational signs by each one to learn more. We also really enjoyed the fun shows (included with admission). We saw a show on the mighty T-Rex, which included fun facts and songs. There is also a dinosaur maze, digging site, bounce house and more.
Tanganyika Wildlife Park
Then, we went to one of the most unique places we have ever visited: Tanganyika! Mark swam with penguins (the only place in the USA), I fed the lions and our girls fed giraffes and rhinos! We had a meet-and-greet with the penguins and rhinos, where we learned more about these animals, fed them and pet them. The rhinos were much softer than I thought! There are many animals to view and pet (my girls’ favorite animals to pet were the kangaroos). The splash pad and playground were right next to covered pavilions and a concession stand. They really thought of everything here and we definitely could have spent more time here.
Gallery Alley
This interactive alley is in downtown Wichita. It features a large spider! My favorite art installation was the “make a wave” exhibit. You pull on the rope to cause other ropes to move, creating a wave!
Weekend in Wichita Day 3:
Great Plains Nature Center
This is a fantastic and free nature center just outside of Wichita! Head inside the nature center first to pick up free turtle food. Inside here, there are many exhibits and animals for viewing. It blew me away! Outside, there are many short trails including boardwalks, which I could walk on all day. We had so much fun feeding the turtles and (very large) fish off of the boardwalk.
Cowtown Museum
We then stepped back into time at Cowtown! There are over 25,000 historical artifacts and 54 buildings here. It spans 23 acres and is nestled in Wichita’s Museums on the River District. It mirrored what Wichita looked like from 1865-1880. Cowtown reminded me of a much larger version of historical Faust Park. People were in character and there were cooking demonstrations, as well as free horse carriage rides.
Lodging:
We stayed at Hyatt hotels next to Wichita State University. Our room had 2 Queen beds and a pull-out couch, which was great to fit our family. The included breakfast buffet and indoor pool were wonderful too! The hotel is just 2.5 years old, so everything feels clean and modern.
Top 3 places to eat:
- Donut Whole for unique donut flavors! Make sure to go in the morning (before they sell out) as they make them fresh each day. This reminded me a lot of Strange Donuts in STL. I chose a cinnamon coconut and it was heavenly!
- Cocoa Dolce for the best chocolate shop in town! It is rated Wichita’s best chocolate. Mark got a mocha with 70% cocoa and I got a hot chocolate with 54% cocoa–so tasty!
- B & C Barbeque is the highest reviewed barbeque restaurant here. I’m still dreaming about the ribs and the brisket!
Would we visit here again? Yes. In a heartbeat. My kids actually started crying when we left because they had so much fun here. Frankly, I was blown away by Wichita and the proximity to St. Louis was a huge plus! Thank you for a great visit, Wichita. We are excited to return again soon!