Another big perk of the city of Hutchinson (or “Hutch”) is its central location in the state. Those visiting from within Kansas or near the state line can easily make this a day trip. If you have a longer commute or simply want to stay longer, then you can easily use Hutch as a “home base” for visiting other cool places like Dodge City, Wichita, or Salina. (Check out our regions to see what is close to Hutch.)

We decided to go “all-in” and purchased all three extra tours you can do: the Salt Safari, The Salt Mine Express, and the Dark Ride. While this adds to your trip costs, I found every penny spent on the experience worthwhile. The museum's main exhibits are self-tour, so if you want the whole experience, then you really do need to sign up for the guided tours. The museum’s staff does an excellent job of explaining the mine’s history and the entire salt mining process.

Another interesting fact you’ll learn when touring the museum is that the mine has many purposes beyond simply collecting salt. Because of the cool and dry environment, those looking to hold onto precious documents or artifacts have managed to store their valuables, of course, 650 feet underground in the middle of Kansas. The real archives are blocked off for obvious reasons, but they do put together a nice replica just outside the storage rooms so you can get a glimpse of what might be inside.

The 1-hour long salt safari was a fantastic experience. You’ll learn so much about the mine on this tour. I got a kick out of seeing the tire tracks and footprints still in place from the 1950s. How is that possible, you might ask? According to our tour guide, the lack of wind keeps everything in place, just as it was over 70 years ago! The best part of the ride is when they let you get off to collect an actual salt rock to take home!

Everything seemed to fascinate me since I knew nothing about Salt Mining. As someone who has spent way more time learning about economics instead of geology, I was especially intrigued by the rapid evolution of the production process. When the mine opened, it lacked an electric train or a conveyor belt to help transport the salt. As the mine expanded and the distances the miners traveled grew, it became clear that heavy machinery was needed to automate some of the production processes. Just go down the mine for yourself; you’ll see just how big the operation is!

The train ride is a nice loop around a section of the mine intended to look precisely like it did in the past. Since bringing anything other than salt up to the surface wasn’t part of the job, nor was it economical, much of the waste stayed in the mine. Let’s say you’ll better understand why you aren’t allowed to lick the salt.

This is similar to the Salt Safari, but this ride is much shorter, and you aren’t given a flashlight, which is the “dark ride.” But don’t worry; you aren’t going into pitch-black darkness without headlights. Only a tiny portion of the tour is intended to be pitch black, but believe me when I say that I couldn’t see my girlfriend sitting right beside me. Our tour guide was excellent and did a great job answering all of our questions. And like the Salt Safari, you get to collect another take-home sample of salt rock! Big thanks to Strataca for letting me “mine some salt.”
 

Hutchinson and the surrounding area have so much to see and do. Many visitors also take the time to visit the Cosmosphere, which is home to the most extensive collection of Soviet Space Artifacts in the United States. Like Strataca, it's a great place to bring the kids! One of my favorite hiking spots in the state, Sand Hills State Park, is located just a few miles outside the city limits. For those who really enjoy the outdoors, take the trip out to the Wetlands & Wildlife National Scenic Byway, where you can visit both the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge and the Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area.