About Wichita
With a nickname like “Cowtown,” Wichita may sound a little too rural to offer much in the way of entertainment
Yet any Wichita resident would be happy to correct you—this is a city that lives up to the stereotypes about Kansas’ friendliness. Bring your sense of adventure and curiosity, as well as friends and family. Wichita is sunny, stylish and just the tiniest bit strange, in the best possible way!
Wet and Not-So-Wild in Wichita
Pack shorts and sandals if you're headed to Wichita in the summer. The city has nearly 60 days of temperatures higher than 90 degrees each year. Summer months are also the rainiest season, so a brief shower can help cool things down. Spring and fall are both mild, with temperatures in the 50s and 60s. Winter is cold but not freezing; expect temperatures in the 30s and 40s. The city gets an average of 16 inches of snowfall per year, with most of that falling in occasional flurries rather than powerful storms.
Cowboys, Trains and Mummies
If Wichita has one claim to fame, it might be its abundance of quirky museums. Watch out for cowboys and robbers as you wander the grounds of the Old Cowtown Museum; it's a living history museum made up of dozens of buildings dating back to the 1870s with actors portraying characters from that time period. You can also visit the Wichita Toy Train Club and Museum, see two Egyptian mummies at the Museum of World Treasures and visit the exterior of the first Pizza Hut on the campus of Wichita State University. Stroll the grounds of the enormous Sedgwick County Zoo, and keep your little ones busy at the hands-on science center known as Exploration Place.
Up, Up and Away
Wichita has been called the "air capital of the world," and for good reason. Boeing maintained a major plant here for more than 80 years, and Cessna was started in Wichita. That legacy continues today. Three major aviation companies—Cessna, Spirit AeroSystems and Hawker Beechcraft—employ nearly 30,000 people in the area. Koch Industries and the Coleman company are both headquartered in Wichita as well.
Which Way to Wichita?
You'll marvel at how far the airline industry has come as you fly into the Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport, which is served by five major airlines. Greyhound has a station in Wichita, but the closest Amtrak stop is 25 miles north in Newton. Travel through town by car or by using Wichita's public transit system. Downtown, you also have the option of riding the Q-Line trolley. It's a free service that operates in the entertainment district.
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