The Midwest can seem like an unending journey with miles of fields along the horizon. To counter the tunnel visit you can get on a drive day, a good road trip stop is a must. Dodge City is that. Dodge City is on the way to South Dakota’s Black Hills and east of Colorado. Here are the Top Things to do in Dodge City with Kids.
Top Things to do in Dodge City with Kids
The Boot Hill Museum
Dodge City Trail of Fame
El Captain Statue
Cowboy Statue on Boot Hill
Carnegie Center for the Arts
Depot Theater
Home of Stone
Long Branch Lagoon Water Park
100th Meridan Marker
Dodge City Trolley Tours
Why Visit Dodge City
For many like me, visiting Dodge City in Kansas sat on my bucket list for years. especially after watching National Lampoon’s Vacation with Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo back in the 80s. For my trip, I drove through Dodge City on a longer road trip. I was headed to South Dakota, and Dodge City was the perfect place to spend the night and see some sites.
Dodge City offers a good selection of three-star hotels with free breakfast, which I prefer to book on driving days. As a bonus, we were able to see lots of the top sites in the afternoon and the following morning before driving out in the middle of the day. Kansas lacks a major interstate in the western portion of the state.
The Boot Hill Museum
This is the top spot in Dodge City for kids. Roadtrippers with a love of the Old West will find stagecoaches, saloons, old schoolhouses and scraggly characters, some wearing holsters and side arms.
After some dusty cowboys swagger into town, misunderstandings are moments away. A hungry cowboy looks at a barmaid wrong and the barkeep throws him out the swinging doors. Words are exchanged then the revolvers come out. Onlookers take in an authentic Dodge City gunfight, dust cloud included. For my boys, I saw their eyes pop out of their heads.
Scotts Bluff National Monument
Meander through the rest of Dodge City’s restored buildings, and the creak of the wood floors will take you back in time. There are buildings ranging from a one-room schoolhouse to a restored church. Many of the buildings have been moved to the area.
Dodge City houses more than 60,000 antiques dating back to the 1870s, many from Dodge City residents. Travelers will find authentic Wild West guns and clothing.
Remember to hop aboard a stagecoach for an authentic frontier road trip experience. I can understand how people would get nauseous riding stagecoaches.
How to Visit Boot Hill Museum
Located at 500 W. Watt Earp Blvd. in the center of Dodge City, Kansas. Open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily from Memorial Day until Labor Day. Open Monday through Saturday from at 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday for the rest of the year. During the summer, the shoot-out happens at High Noon and 6:30 p.m.
Adult admission (13+) is $18, kids ( 5 to 12) is $12, and senior admission (62+) is $16. The Family Pack includes admission for two adults and kids ages 17 and under for $60. Off-season visitors get a $2 discount. Admission includes entry into the museum, an introductory video and the summertime shoot-out. Boot Hill Museum features a variety show and a country-style dinner for an additional fee.
Mount Rushmore Planning Guide
Dodge City Trail of Fame
On the sidewalk, a collection of bronze statues and medallions tells travelers about the famous people who passed through Dodge City, many from the 1800s.
Start at 400. W. Wyatt Earp. Free
El Capitan
Travelers will find a bronze sculpture dedicated to the Texas cattle drives that drove to Dodge City. El Capitan is a massive Texas Longhorn.
Located at Second Ave and West Wyatt Earp Boulevard. Free
Cowboy Statue on Boot Hill
Using a live model to cast in plaster, Marshal Joe Sughrue was shrouded in the casting material by a local dentist, with only a straw to breathe during the experience. The Marshal survived (barely), and now the statue is located in front of the Boot Hill Distillery, the former City Hall.
Located at Spruce and 4th Avenue. Free
South Dakota’s Wall Drug Store
Carnegie Center for the Arts
Andrew Carnegie built libraries worldwide in the late 1800s. Many of these architecturally significant buildings have been repurposed.
The Carnegie Center for the Arts offers a two-story building with gallery space for local artists and artisans.
Located at 701 2nd Ave. Open Tuesday to Friday from 1 to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 9:30 to noon.
Depot Theater
The local theater group has been entertaining locals and visitors alike since 1984. Located in the historic Santa Fe depot, built in 1898, the group performs Broadway-style shows during the summer.
Located at 201 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd. Admission
Home of Stone
Mueller-Schmidt House, built in 1881, is the oldest building in Dodge City in its original location. Inside, visitors will find period furnishings and costumed interpreters.
Located at 112 E. Vine St. Open Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission
Long Branch Lagoon Water Park
With four themed pools, this is the place to cool off in the summer with kids. It also features a lazy river and a diving board.
Located at 111 4th Ave. Open daily from late May until mid-August from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. (6 p.m. on Sunday), then weekends only until Labor Day. Adult admission is (18+) $6, kids (3 to 17) $4.
Close by, skaters will find the Dodge City Skate Park at 201 4th Ave.
100th Meridian Marker
The 100th degree of longitude served as a geographic marker between nations worldwide. Visitors will find the 100th Meridian Marker in downtown.
Located at 1105 East Wyatt Earp Boulevard. Free
Dodge City Trolley Tours
If you have more time, the Historic Dodge City Trolley Tours hits all the stops around town in a narrated tour.
Located at 400 W Wyatt Earp Blvd. Open from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Adult admission is $10, and kids 3 to 12 are $7.
Top Things to do at Rocky Mountain National Park
History of Dodge City
Dodge City represents the Wild West for most Americans and is named after nearby Fort Dodge. In 1865, as the Indian Wars intensified, the U.S. Army constructed the fort near the Santa Fe Trail, which was used for cattle drives.
Dodge City became a boom town after a Texas Longhorn quarantine pushed the cattle drives west. At the intersection of the Santa Fe Trail, the Chisholm Trail and the Western Trail, Dodge City collected cowboys and cattle rustlers alike.
Gambler-turned-lawman Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson tried to keep the town in order. Yet Dodge City’s reputation as a wild frontier town made it a legend. The name Boot Hill Museum originated after the Boot Hill Cemetery, where the city buried the outlaws with their boots in place.
Oklahoma City Musts Oklahoma
Know Before You Go
Dodge City is about 350 miles east of Denver, Colorado.
1 Comment
Wow, what a neat adventure for kids- history and action all in one place! I remember my parents taking me to Six-Gun Territory in Florida when I was little- and the Western gunfight in the street- though it really did scare me at the time. I don’t think my kids would be as chicken as I was back then lol. This is a great idea for a family trip, thanks for sharing it!