Choose wisely. Connect locally.Add your business 
Out on the High Plains of southwest Kansas, Garden City grew up along the Arkansas River after the Fulton brothers platted the town in 1878. Irrigation, cattle and later huge beef-packing plants built the economy, and the jobs drew newcomers from Mexico, Southeast Asia and East Africa, so today the Finney County seat is one of the most diverse small cities in the Midwest.
Most visitors start in Finnup Park, where Lee Richardson Zoo, the Big Pool and the Finney County Historical Museum sit side by side. Downtown keeps its brick streets and the 1887 Windsor Hotel, once nicknamed the Waldorf of the Prairies. The town also has a sober literary place in history: the 1959 Clutter murders in nearby Holcomb were investigated and tried here, the story Truman Capote told in In Cold Blood.
South of town, the Sandsage Bison Range protects a herd started in 1916, and Buffalo Dunes Golf Course rolls through sandhills. Lake Scott State Park, with its spring-fed lake and pueblo ruins, makes a good day trip about an hour north.
One of the largest zoos in Kansas, set in Finnup Park with giraffes, lions, red pandas, bears and a walk-through Wild Asia section. Pedestrians enter free while cars pay a small fee to drive the loop road. Arrive at opening on summer days, when the animals are most active before the heat.
The Big Pool opened in Finnup Park in 1922 and was long promoted as the largest free outdoor municipal concrete pool in the world. The pool has since been rebuilt as a modern aquatic center that keeps the famous name. It is a summer-only attraction, so check the city schedule before driving over.
A free museum in Finnup Park covering sod-house pioneers, irrigation, the sugar beet era and the In Cold Blood case. Its oddest relic is an enormous cattle hairball from a local packing plant, a roadside favorite. Allow about an hour and pair it with the zoo next door.
Established in 1916, this state wildlife area south of town holds the oldest publicly owned bison herd in Kansas, grazing on native sandsage prairie. Guided tours are offered by Kansas Wildlife and Parks staff at set times. Bring binoculars and watch for pronghorn and prairie birds too.
About an hour north, this park hides a spring-fed lake in a canyon of chalk bluffs, a surprise in flat western Kansas. It also protects El Cuartelejo, the remains of the northernmost known pueblo. Hike the canyon trails, swim or fish, and bring a picnic since services are limited.
Built in 1887 by cattleman John Stevens, this three-story Main Street hotel with a skylit atrium hosted cowboys, cattle buyers and traveling performers when Garden City boomed. It is under long-term restoration, so view the brick facade from the street and check for occasional open-house tours.
The 1929 county courthouse on Main Street is where Richard Hickock and Perry Smith were tried in 1960 for the Clutter murders, with Truman Capote and Harper Lee following the case. It is a working government building, so visit on weekdays and keep a respectful, low-key manner inside.
This hilltop cemetery on the north edge of town holds the graves of the Clutter family, whose 1959 deaths inspired In Cold Blood, along with early ranchers and settlers. Visitors who come for the story should be quiet and considerate, as it is still an active community cemetery.
Downtown keeps red-brick paving, early 1900s storefronts and the old State Theater marquee along Main Street. Locally owned shops, coffee bars and Mexican and Vietnamese eateries reflect the city's mixed population. Evenings are the nicest time for a stroll.
A city-owned course laid out through rolling sandhills south of town, regularly ranked among the best public courses in Kansas. Fairways twist between native grass and yucca, and green fees are modest. Tee off early in summer, since the afternoon plains wind can make scoring tough.
Garden City's signature festival each June celebrates the region's cattle industry with a parade, cattle shows, a rodeo, concerts and plenty of beef cookouts. Hotels fill up quickly that week, so book ahead if your trip overlaps the festival dates.
No reviews yet. Been to Garden City? Be the first to share your experience.
Share what you loved, what to skip and tips for other travelers.
Log in to write a reviewBeen to Garden City? Add your best shots to the gallery.
Log in to add photosPhoto: Billy Hathorn, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Quintin Soloviev, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Photo: Billy Hathorn, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Billy Hathorn, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Billy Hathorn, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Billy Hathorn, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Billy Hathorn, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Billy Hathorn, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Billy Hathorn, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Billy Hathorn, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Art davis, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Ammodramus, Wikimedia Commons, CC0
Photo: Ammodramus, Wikimedia Commons, CC0
Photo: Billy Hathorn, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Billy Hathorn, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Billy Hathorn, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Quintin Soloviev, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Photo: Billy Hathorn, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Billy Hathorn, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Billy Hathorn, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Billy Hathorn, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Ammodramus, Wikimedia Commons, CC0
Photo: Ammodramus, Wikimedia Commons, CC0
Photo: Ammodramus, Wikimedia Commons, CC0
Photo: Ammodramus, Wikimedia Commons, CC0
Photo: Ammodramus, Wikimedia Commons, CC0
Photo: Ammodramus, Wikimedia Commons, CC0
Photo: Ammodramus, Wikimedia Commons, CC0
Photo: Plazak at English Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
