In The Heart Of Kansas Is An Adventurous City Featuring A Free Zoo, Award-Winning Winery And Parks

Right in the middle of Kansas — and the country — is a rural community that offers plentiful outdoor activities, locally owned drinking and dining establishments, and family-friendly attractions, all packed into a town spanning less than 11 square miles. Great Bend, Kansas, is more than 100 miles away from the nearest large airport in Wichita and about 60 miles away from two regional airports in Hays and Salina. Like Cottonwood Falls, another small Kansas city with downtown food, art, and shops, Great Bend is treated primarily as a day-trip destination for residents driving in from more rural parts of central Kansas. 

The town is located within Kansas' sand prairie region. Here, native grasses and wildflowers grow from sand dunes, as do thickets of sand hill plums. (Check downtown stores for sand hill plum jelly, a local delicacy). Great Bend was founded in 1871 and named for the bend in the Arkansas River, which borders the town to the south. Its unique geology presents interesting outdoor experiences for adventurous travelers. (For travelers particularly interested in unique geology, be sure to also visit the Coral Cove beachfront park in Florida.)

Great Bend's status as the largest community in Barton County means there are ample amenities, from a waterpark and zoo for the kids, to breweries, wineries, and museums that might appeal to older travelers. Great Bend hovers at a population of around 14,000. While not large, there's no bigger town within 50 miles in any direction.

Two top attractions vie for visitors' attention in Great Bend: the Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area and the Brit Spaugh Zoo. Both must-see stops provide free outdoor education — and entertainment — for visitors. Cheyenne Bottoms, a state-run wildlife area, is the largest inland marsh in the U.S. at 41,000 acres. The wetlands complex provides a great place to watch migrating birds. About 250,000 waterfowl use the area to feed and rest on their long journeys. People flock to Cheyenne Bottoms in the spring and fall to spot endangered whooping cranes, in particular. 

Visitors can drive on roads around the wetlands to try to spot some of the hundreds of species that have been sighted in the area. First, it's worth a stop at the Kansas Wetlands Education Center to learn more about what you could see on your drive. The center, shaped like a semicircle, looks out over Cheyenne Bottoms. Inside are exhibits about how the area was formed geologically, the plants and animals inside the wetlands, and challenges for managing the site into the future.

Instead of (or in addition to) a stop at the wetlands, visitors to Great Bend should swing by the zoo for another type of outdoor learning. The Brit Spaugh Zoo sees about 30,000 visitors every year, and — similar to Lincoln Park Zoo, one of America's oldest zoos in the heart of Chicago — it has no entry fees. Many visitors compliment the facility for having a wide variety of animals, especially for its rural setting. "Not too many large towns have a zoo, let alone a small town ... Not only do they have a LOT of fantastic animals to look at, but the staff will take the time to talk to you about them," wrote one visitor on TripAdvisor.

When you think of central Kansas, prairies, not wineries, are likely what spring to mind. But in the middle of the state, 14 miles west of Great Bend, is an award-winning winery that offers tastings and tours. Rosewood Winery has received accolades for its Boots Made For Walking Blackberry Cabernet and Ima Flashy Investment Exotic Fruits Zinfandel. A variety of its wines can be purchased at the Rosewood Wine Cellar in downtown Great Bend. In addition to wines, the cellar stocks other Rosewood-made products, including speciality meats, jellies, honey, candles, and pottery. 

Another option for imbibing in Great Bend is Dry Lake Brewing, a local craft brewery located less than one block away from the wine cellar. Their tap list includes beers named to reflect the location, including the Cheyenne Bottoms Up, Hops on the Range, Prairie Skyscraper, and the Smokey Hills Porter. The brewery often invites food trucks to its parking lot, and it hosts live music, comedy nights, trivia, charity events, and watch parties for large sporting events.

There are plenty of locally owned restaurants in Great Bend serving a variety of cuisines. Sarocha Thai has received enormous praise for the curries and noodles it cooks up out of a rancher on the southwest edge of town. Lumpy's Home Field Bar and Grill describes itself as a unique old-time pool hall with a relaxed atmosphere, and diners make it their go-to for juicy burgers. Mary's Kitchen, a cozy restaurant advertising the best burritos in Great Bend, is given rave reviews for its authentic Mexican fare. And Mizumi Sushi & Steak is another local favorite. One visitor wrote on TripAdvisor, "Sushi is among the best I have had even in coastal areas. Their chicken fried rice is amazing as well."