Visiting Dodge City

I was toying with the idea of going to see Dodge City, but its a fair drive from Wichita and Junction City which had been as far west as I was planning on going.

Is there much of the original old town there and is it worth the drive? I only have a few days in Kansas and dont want to waste time if its just a ';Disney'; history place.

Visiting Dodge City

I would advise you to just see Cow Town in Wichita and save yourself a long drive. The buildings in Wichita are mostly authentic from the cattle drive days of the 1870%26#39;s. Our local art museum also has a small display of western art by Charles Russell. It certainly is worth a visit and there is no admission charge on Saturdays. The Mid American All Indian Center and Wichita Botanica are all within a half mile of Cow Town and the art museum so you can see several attractions in a small area and in a relatively short period of time if you so choose.

Visiting Dodge City

With apologies to those that love it, I find Dodge City%26#39;s Boot Hill to be a dated kids attraction.

As an alternative, I would suggest visiting Coffeyville where the Dalton Gang met their end. It has the Dalton Defenders%26#39; Museum, Elmwood Cemetery with the Dalton graves, the beautiful Perkins Building which housed one of the banks they robbed, and other buildings from the time.

My advice is to dodge %26#39;Dodge City%26#39;. It really is a dive. If you want an authentic cowboy, Western experience save your hard-earned greenbacks and go to Fort Worth, Texas. We couldn%26#39;t get a decent Margarita in Dodge City. The steaks at Montana Mike%26#39;s were tough and dry - almost as dry as a Kansas cornfield after months of drought. It%26#39;s dry, dusty and stinky (all those cows and their methane isn%26#39;t a great odor). Boot Hill Cemetery is ok - but just ok - I wouldn%26#39;t go out of my way to come here again - ever.

Most of the hotels are on the main road - so expect lots of night-time noise.

We stayed at the Comfort Inn - lousy! Try the Holiday Inn Express - they are always reliable. The Comfort Inn has no scrim curtains so you either have your curtains open or closed for light. If open then everyone can see in - if closed then you are in darkness so need lamps during the day. The sink has no plug and can%26#39;t be shut off so the husband%26#39;s shaving experience meant he just had to either keep turning the tap on and off or leave the water running (wasteful). Also a very dated hotel although the staff are very nice.

The only other tourist attraction was the tourist trolley - gives you a good sense of the history of the town but when one of the main stops along the route is the cattle feed yards and the abbatoir/processing factory one does have to wonder!

Dodge City does have Santa Fe Trail ruts, a tiny zoo, and and the Kansas Soldiers%26#39; Home at the former Fort Dodge. So there are somethings to do if passing through, but nothing to make a special trip to visit.