As you drive along Kansas’ main west-east stretch, pull off at these nearby attractions to see the state through history’s rearview mirror.

Photography by Zach Bauman 

PRAIRIE MUSEUM OF ART AND HISTORY

COLBY

Indoor and outdoor exhibits shed light on pioneer life. See the Cooper Barn (Kansas’ largest), plus a 1930s farmstead, sod house, one-room school, and country church. 

BUFFALO BILL CULTURAL CENTER

OAKLEY

Pose with a larger-than-life sculpture of William “Buffalo Bill” Cody—atop his horse, Brigham—taking aim at a buffalo. Before becoming a Wild West Show legend, Cody worked as a contract buffalo hunter. 

STERNBERG MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

HAYS

A dino diorama takes you back 65 million years to the shores of a prehistoric Kansas sea. See the famous “fish within a fish” fossil (a 6-footer inside a 14-foot specimen). 

SMOKY HILL MUSEUM

SALINA

Sit in the Dugout, a full-scale replica of Salina’s first home (a one-room sod dwelling). Kids get a hands-on lesson in the parts of a buffalo utilized by Native tribes. 

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY, MUSEUM AND BOYHOOD HOME

ABILENE

You’ll like “Ike” after learning about the Abilene native who led the D-Day operation in World War II and became U.S. president. Exhibits incorporate words and images of Eisenhower and his wife, Mamie. 

Photography by Harland Schuster

THE HISTORIC RITCHIE HOUSE

TOPEKA

Abolitionists John and Mary Jane Ritchie opened their home to freedom seekers as part of the Underground Railroad network in the late 1850s. John also helped write the free-state Kansas Constitution. Tour the home—considered to be Topeka’s oldest. 

TERRITORIAL CAPITAL MUSEUM

LECOMPTON

Tour the building once slated to be the Kansas Capitol. (It later housed Lane University.) The museum displays artifacts from Kansas’ pre-Civil War history, including cannonballs from the Battle of Fort Titus. 

SHAWNEE TOWN 1929

SHAWNEE

You’ll feel like you’ve entered a time machine as you tour period homes and buildings, including a farmhouse, school and general store. The undertaker’s collection is morbidly fascinating. 

LEWIS AND CLARK HISTORIC PARK AT KAW POINT

KANSAS CITY

Walk wooded trails near the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri rivers, where the explorers camped for three days on their legendary 1804 expedition. 

The real adventures begin as soon as you hop off the freeway. Visit TravelKS.com/I-70 to plot your exit strategy and discover more great destinations in the 2023 Official Kansas Travel Guide.