06/18/2026
Honored to make the cut! Thank you One Delightful Life for coming to visit!
🏆🥁 DRUMROLL, PLEASE! I'm celebrating 10 years of travel blogging about surprising stops, delightful experiences, and tasty meals that inspired me the most. These are the places and roadside stops I’d still recommend after a decade of travel journeys in Kansas. SAVE THIS POST!
BAKERIES & SWEET TREATS
* Best Bakery — Sunflower Bakery (Overbrook)
* Homemade Ice Cream Shop — Frost (Wichita)
COFFEE, WINE & BEER
* Tucked-Away Coffee Shop — College Hill Coffee (Winfield)
* Worth-the-Drive Rural Winery — Grace Hill Winery (Whitewater)
* Brewery Making the Tastiest Beer — Walnut River Brewing Company (El Dorado)
* Cocktail Lounge with a Vibe — John Brown Underground (Lawrence)
TASTY CLASSIC EATS
* Best Classic Burger — The Burger Shack (Lyndon)
* Best Country Fried Steak Dinner — M&R Grill (Abilene)
* Best Brunch — HomeGrown (Wichita)
* Best Barbecue — Station 8 (Wichita)
* Best Bierock — Gella’s (Hays)
* Best Pie — Sunflower Bakery (Overbrook)
SPECIALITY FOOD SHOPPING
* Locally-Owned Meat Market — Gillispie Meats (Newton)
* Kitchen Supplies & Gourmet Products — The Well Traveled Chef (Arma)
* Best Candy Shop — So Sweetish (Lindsborg)
* International Grocery Stores - (Junction City)
HISTORY & HERITAGE MUSEUMS
* Surprisingly Superb Museum — Pratt County Historical Museum (Pratt)
* Impressive Historic Site — Pawnee Indian Museum State Historic Site (Courtland)
* Immersive Museum Experience — Boot Hill Museum (Dodge City)
Nostalgic Experience
* Soda Fountain — Cardinal Drug Store (Chanute)
OVERNIGHT LODGING
* Historic Luxury Hotel — The Historic Elgin (Marion)
* Vacation Rental — Charming Spanish Colonial (Abilene)
* Bed & Breakfast — The Painted Lady Bed and Breakfast (Ottawa)
ARTS, CULTURE & FESTIVALS
* Magnificent Mural Community — (Tie) Clay Center, Salina
* Art Festival — (Tie) Boom! Mural Festival (Salina), Autumn & Art (Wichita)
* Outdoor Music Event — Walnut Valley Bluegrass Festival (Winfield)
* Beer Festival — Zoo Brew Craft Fest at Rolling Hills Zoo (Salina)
* Quirky Event — Garlic Fest (Wichita)
* Family Friendly - (Tie) Glory Days (Holton), Andover Days (Andover)
OUTDOOR & SCENIC EXPERIENCES
* Botanical Garden — Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens (Overland Park)
* Nature Center — Great Plains Nature Center (Wichita)
ROADSIDE STOPS
* Photoworthy Rest Stop — Bowl Plaza (Lucas)
* Quirky Roadside Attraction — Chainsaw Sculpture Garden (Coffeyville)
SMALL-TOWN CHARM
* Friendliest Small Town — Lindsborg
* Most Sustainable Town or City — Greensburg
* Most Charming Main Street - Seneca
* Best Hidden Gem — Humboldt
* Best Shopping District — Downtown Hays at The Bricks
SHOPPING & UNIQUE FINDS
* Kitchen Supplies Store — The Well Traveled Chef (Arma)
* Best General Store — Holton Mercantile (Holton)
* Best Antique Shopping — Abilene
* Best Farmers Market — (Tie) Wichita and Atchison
* Best Home Decor Store — The Feathered Nest (Belleville)
* Best Gift Shop — Kansas Originals Market (Wilson)
* Best Men’s Apparel Shop — Miners & Monroe (Pittsburg)
* Best Women’s Apparel — Eccentricity (Salina)
LIBRARIES & LEARNING
* Library Sure To Wow You — Advanced Learning Library (Wichita)
* Best Independent Bookstore — The Literary Cat (Pittsburg)
TOURISM EXPERIENCES / THEMED TRAVEL PROGRAMS
* Tourism Passport Experience — Wicked Brew Tour (Wichita)
* Food Trail — Taco Trail (Kansas City, Kansas)
This list scratches the surface, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a category or a mention, but these are some of the places that come to mind as I reflect on 10 years of traveling the Sunflower State. I hope it inspires you to check out a new road trip stop!
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