If you like animals you might want to stop at the Rolling Hills Refuge for Wildlife. www.rhrwildlife.com

It is located just east of Salina, Kansas.

We live in Kansas and go to Colorado frequently with our kids. We almost always stop at the Sternberg Museum in Hays. If your kids like dinosaurs (huge moving animatronic ones), fossils, snakes, etc, they will like this place.It also has a children's discovery room. You can see it all in 1-2 hours.I'm sure it has a website, but I don't know the address...

The little house on the Prairie site I know of is WAY south of I-70.

If you feel lik driving little while north towards Manhattan there is an overlook of the Konza prairie, you may be able to see Buffalo (although usually you can't see them). I can't really think of anything that would be interesting to a 4 and 8 year old right on I-70. There is a zoo in Manhattan, but its a ways of I-70 and the zoo isn't very big. Hutchison has the cosmosphere (www.cosmo.org) but that's a bit south of I-70. I know there's some stuff in Hays, but I don't know what it is.

Mona,
You came up with the Hays one before I could even finish my post.

Other than stopping in Hays, the most exciting thing that your children will do on this godforsaken stretch of highway is to sleep and hopefully have sweet dreams. You will never be so happy to see a state line in your life!

Unfortunately what the poster says about the Kansas state line is false hope. It is still a LONG way to DEnver!! Don't be fooled--but you can make good time!! Books on tape are a help. There is an Indian college in Lawrence, Kansas that has a museum I believe. I have never been able to take the time to find it however.

Lawrence KS in beautiful, very steep hills and green, they have a great Natural history Museum(small) - on KU's campus, maybe 20 min stop.
My childrens favorite stop?? Any Walmart to buy a new video for the car tv and somw more snacks.
there are signs for various sights along the way, cowboy this and cowboy that - a waste of time!!

Don't forget to see the world's largest prairie dog, if it's still, uh,..."alive". That is if anything made of concrete could be considered alive.

For other bizarre stops, check out roadsideamerica.com

There is a candy plant (I believe Russel Stovers) somewhere on I-70. That's allright to stop and see, but not for hours - 30 to 40 minutes would be the very most.

If you enjoy American history, stop in Abilene and go to the Eisenhower Center. Lots of historical artifacts to see, plus the President and Mamie are buried there.

There isn't much in Kansas....good luck.

Thanks for all the replies. Can anyone tell me about how many hours it will take to drive across the state? Mapblast's time estimate seems high.

Thanks again

Stop only for food and fuel. Drive very fast to minimize your exposure time.

Rent a VCR for the kids! It's a loooooooooooooooooong drive. Lawrence is pretty nice but it's only an hour from Missouri. The bad stretch is after that. Good news is it's a straight shot after that.

Abilene does have the Eisenhower museum, etc.

I have driven from Salina to Denver. It took about 6 or 7 hours. Mapquest puts the driving time at almost 7 hours from KC,Ks to Goodman. I think you should expect the driving time to be around 6 hours. You might think about breaking up the time at a hotel if this would work. Lawrence is really a nice place to stop, but you have most of your Kansas drive in front of you. Even into colorado, the drive is the same for an hour or two. It is exciting to see the mountains coming up though. There truly is not alot of places to stop.

Dear Laura,
Kansas Isn't really THAT bad. I do recommend a stop at Rolling Hills Wildlife Refuge in Salina Kansas. The Kids should enjoy it.

Abilene has a ~GREAT~ place for Homestyle cooking! It is the Brookville Hotel. The Best Fried Chicken Dinners in ALL of Kansas! With Homemade Mashed Potatoes, cream corn, rolls, coleslaw, fruit trays and homemade vanilla ice cream to top it off! Yum!

And Hey when I was a little kid I LOVED going to the Prarie Dog Village. LOL They had a pit of rattlesnakes, six-legged cows, and a donkey that fell in love with me and followed me everywhere. There really is a prairie dog colony with the cute little fellows hopping out of their holes.

After you cross the state line, there's a pretty neat carousel in Burlington, CO.
Hope this helps! Have Fun!
~Tiff

Is there anything in Abilene about the old cattle trails/Chisholm Trail? Didn't it go to/from/or through here to Fort Worth?


Sylvia

Saying "Kansas isn't that bad" is like saying Mrs. Lincoln really did enjoy the play and Jackie Kennedy thought the motorcade in Dallas was fun.

NO!!!!!! Do yourself a favor & drive at night!!!!! Unless you like to watch grass grow> BORING!!!!!

The best place to stop while driving across Kansas west bound is Vegas. On the East bound route stop in Hilton Head.

I have been to Kansas---it was not pretty.

Actually, you're WRONG! The first 3 cities you drive through via I-70 are quite beautiful, at least from the road: Lawrence, Topeka and Kansas City (as one poster above stated, beautiful green, rolling hills, quite a surprise!). Unfortunately, after that, the rest DOES tend to look like the farm in the Wizard of Oz!

My 2 favorite things to do along I-70 in Kansas: (1) the Eisenhower Center in Abilene (and dine at the Kirby House)... and (2) when you get to Salina, drive 1/2 hour south on I-135 to Lindsborg. It is a Swedish town with great Swedish restaurants and interesting shopping. I love to spend the day there!

Hilda, The Kirby House is good, but IMO the Brookville Hotel is just as good.

Here are some places I visited along I-70 in September, with photos: http://www.sff.net/people/sfreader/02kansas01.htm My review of the Kirby House is at the bottom of the second page.

I-70 is the most boring area of Kansas, if you get just a few miles away, it gets much more interesting.

Keith

Keith

The only highway more boring is through North Dakota.
Okay on 2nd thought Kansas is #1

Keith--Great photos and trip report on Kansas! I've lived here all my life and never been to any of those places, except Sternberg Museum. I've wanted to go--just never taken the time. I think I may have to investigate some of those places in the near future. Kansas really does have a lot to offer--sometimes you just have to look for it. Another place to stop near I-70 is the Cathedral of the Plains, in Victoria, which is a few miles east of Hays. It is a beautiful church and has some interesting history.

If you get hungry and see a Montana Mikes resturaunt, stop there!! I think there are a few in Kansas, but the one off I-70 is west of Abiline. I can't remember what town, sorry! Really good food! Loved their burgers!! Generous portions/not that expensive!!!
OOPS I notice Laura went on this trip in July, so this won't do her any good! I was going to delete it, but I figured that someone else might benefit from it.
CLW

A good place to stop would be St. Louis.