HAYS

Sternberg Museum. At this new four-story dome museum, you will experience a recreated day 88 million years ago when the mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex haunted the land and an Inland Sea covered Kansas. Visitors can walk among semi-automated, life-sized dinosaurs in a fully restored environment and experience the life of some of the most spectacular creatures that ever lived. The large array of fossils the Sternberg Family found through their studies are on display including the famous "fish-within-a-fish."
 
Nightlife. Hays' award-winning microbrewery and diner offers nine handcrafted house brews and a menu full of locally inspired dishes made with the freshest ingredients available. Live music Thursday nights. New Beer’s Eve monthly – please visit LbBrewing.com for complete details. In a recent article by Aaron Goldfarb of Esquire, he tabbed Gella’s Diner and Lb. Brewing Company as one of the 14 Weirdest Brewery Locations in America. Located right here in ‘Rural America’ in beautiful downtown Hays.
 
Historic Fort Hays. Fort Hays was home to the 7th U.S. Cavalry, commanded by Lt. Col. George A. Custer; the 5th U.S. Infantry, commanded by Col. Nelson Miles; and the 9th and 10th U.S. Cavalries, better known as the "Buffalo Soldiers." Marcus A. Reno, George A. Forsyth, and Philip H. Sheridan were also among the noted military figures associated with the Fort. In 1867, Hays City was staked out a mile to the north of the fort, and with the arrival of the railroad in October, the fortunes of Hays City and Fort Hays became almost inseparable. The military post was used as a quartermaster depot that supplied other forts throughout the West and Southwest. Such an operation required a large number of civilian as well as military personnel and Hays City consequently experienced rapid development.
 
In those days, Hays City was a wild town, filled with saloons and dance halls. The legendary James B. "Wild Bill" Hickok served as county sheriff for a few months in 1869, but left town the next year after a brawl with some troopers from Fort Hays. Summing up her impressions of Hays City while she and her husband were encamped near Fort Hays, Elizabeth Custer said, "There was enough desperate history in that little town in one summer to make a whole library of dime novels."

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AT-A-GLANCE

Hotel Rooms:  1,197

Largest Meeting Space:  7,470 sq ft

Distance to Airport:  2 minutes to Hays Regional Airport