Things to See and Do in Hutchinson, Kansas

1,500,000 visitors per year come to Hutchinson. That's not a bad figure for a town of 40,000.

One of the main attractions in the Kansas Cosmosphere. One of only 4 cosmospheres in the world. Inside you will find a planetarium, space museum, Imax Dome theater and laser light shows.

Some of the finest space artifacts of the world, including the original Apollo 13 space shuttle, are inside the space museum. You will also find the largest collection of Russian artifacts in the western world. You can even touch the Berlin Wall. They offer Space Camp as well.

Hutchinson is the home of the largest single event in Kansas. Yes, we are the home of the Kansas State Fair. We call it the Party on the Prairie. Ten days of fun and tons of people in September.

During the rest of the year the fair grounds are used for auto racing, the Mennonite Relief sale, rodeos and livestock shows.

The NJCAA Men's basketball tournaments have been held here since the year 1949. They are held each March and really bring in revenue from all over the United States. They are held at the sports arena.

You will find the historic Fox Theater. It's an Art Deco masterpiece and is listed in the historic registry. They have recently restored it to it's 1931 appearance.

The Flag theater is the only festival stage in Kansas. Family Children's Theater is now making use of it.

The Reno County Museum offers great history of our county as well as other counties in Kansas. Out on the grounds you will find the Seigrest Claim house. An original claim house built here in 1876 by Mr. Siegrest and his son to stake their claim of free land here in Kansas.

Dillon's Nature center has been named a National Urban Wildlife Sanctuary. Here you will find over 300 types of trees and shrubs and over 3 miles of walking trails. The kids love to go here. They also offer canoeing.

Just up the road a bit from us is a National Park. It's about 5 minutes north of town. It's the Sand Hills State Park. Horseback riding is the big hit here.

Just 10 or 15 minutes south of us is Yoder. This is an authentic Mennonite community. They still rely on the horse and buggy for transportation. The food is great!

Our big city park is Carey Park. It's on 365 acres of land. They offer a free zoo. It may be small but there is a lot to see. You can go underground with the prairie dogs. You can go into the aviary. You can pet the animals in the petting zoo and so much more. They also offer the finest public golf course in this area at reasonable rates. Last summer Hutchinson spent 4 million dollars building a water park inside Carey Park. It's awesome with 4 different pools to choose from. There is a heated regular pool with basketball and volleyball that can be played. There is a pool just for the water slides. The best pool is set up with all kinds of goodies for the kids to have fun in the water with. The smallest of the pools is for the littlest swimmers. They did a great thing when building this to keep our kids entertained over the summer months.

Another great park for kids and adults alike is the Avenue A park. Here you will find an amphitheater which they keep filled over the warm months with music of all kinds. You can walk over and around and beside the cow creek. The best part is the free water park that they built. Can't afford to go to the pool? Just take your kids here for all kinds of water fun!

You will also find Fun Valley here. Fun Valley is the host of both National and Championship Ball games.

The 2002 PGA women's golf tournament was held at the Prairie Dunes golf course. You will find it north of town close to Dillon Nature Center.

You will also want to check out the Jim Martinez Sunflower trail. This is a trail that was made from Carey Park on the South side of town to Rice Park on the northwest side of town. There are 8 easily accessible entrances along the way. It's a great trail to walk, ride your bike, roller skate or other things.

Hutchinson's newest attraction is the Kansas Splashdown Indoor Waterpark. They boast to be the largest space-themed indoor water park in North America. You will find it located inside the Grand Prairie Hotel and Convention Center.

I hope you've enjoyed learning about the area attractions. Who knows, maybe someday you might just come this way. :)