Freedom's Frontier National Heritage Area includes the sites of extraordinary events that forever changed America. In the nineteenth century, the nation was focused on the Missouri-Kansas border, where peoples with different definitions of freedom collided, inciting and fueling a Civil War. The…
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Unforgettable farm-to-fork date nights on the prairie. Grape harvests that transform into your favorite beverages. In Kansas, experiences worth savoring are grown on the range. Feast on pretty surroundings, farm-sourced ingredients, and creative flair at a dinner rivaling that of any big-city…
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The roads and rails of North Central Kansas take you deep into the heart of the state’s story with “Home on the Range” relics, lodging in an 1899 railroad hotel, and a ride across the Big Blue River on the Central Branch Railroad. The short journey between Waterville and Blue Rapids travels the same…
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PEDALING, PADDLING, AND PRAIRIE HIKES: THESE PARKS DELIVER OUTDOOR PERFECTION WITH A CAPITAL “P.” Photography by Dana Damewood Northeast Paddle And Roll A magnificent seven parks bustle with pedaling, paddling, and other popular pastimes. While many people know northeast Kansas for its urban…
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See Kansas through a pioneer’s wide eyes by watching bison wander the prairie at viewing spots around the state. Here are some of our favorite spots to watch the herds roam. The party of bison hunters piles into covered wagons for a trek across the prairie. Today, they come armed only with cameras…
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Extraordinary woodlands, sunny botanical gardens, and fragrant fields of flowers invite you down their paths for bouquets, inspiration, and show-stopping snaps. Photography by Aaron Patton BARTLETT ARBORETUM BELLE PLAINE Once a rarity on the treeless prairie, this woodland sanctuary flourishes a…
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Pack the camera (and good hiking shoes) to capture sand dunes, sandstone cliffs and pristine waters. Photography by Aaron Patton NORTH CENTRAL ROCKY SHORES Have a field day exploring the sandstone cliffs, jagged shores, and mushroom-shaped rocks at parks strewn across the region. The going gets…
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Explore the remnants of an ancient inland sea, now filled with geological and historical treasures in the western reaches of the state. NORTHWEST RUGGED REVELATIONS An ancient inland sea left behind today’s parklands on the prairie. Explore otherworldly chalk spires and cliffs and parks brimming…
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The wild spaces of southwest Kansas still cut loose today with captivating culture and genuine Western heritage. Towns corral their rowdy charm in bandits’ hideouts, Front Street gunfights, frontier forts, Old West museums and cavernous 109-foot-deep wells. Outside of town, life-filled landscapes…
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Though cattle and cowboys still roam these pastoral lands, there’s no need to saddle up to experience this last big stand of tallgrass prairie in North America. A rich blend of historic sites and modern attractions gets you knee-deep into the boundless beauty, saved from the pioneer plows thanks to…
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