visit k-state
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Outdoor attractions
Bluemont scenic overlook
One of the most serene sites in Manhattan, Bluemont Hill provides a view of the eastern part of the city and even some parts of campus. Located near Manhattan Country Club.
Flint Hills/Konza Prairie
Lyrics are written about majestic mountain ranges and panoramic ocean vistas, but the rolling hills of the central plains are often overlooked. The Konza Prairie and Flint Hills, with their epic landscapes, have visual allure for anyone with a love of the outdoors.
The Konza Prairie Research Natural Area, part of North America’s largest tallgrass prairie preserve, lies just south of Manhattan in the Flint Hills. National Geographic’s Jim Richardson described the prairie like this:
“Nature often lies hidden beneath our expectations. That's why the Flint Hills of Kansas—the last great swath of tallgrass prairie in the nation—can be so hard to grasp. But when you get to the hills, when you rise onto the low shield of flint and limestone that defines them and walk up onto the highest brow and stand into the wind that's trying to pry your ears apart, what do you see? Open sky, open land, unending horizon. But the word that also springs to mind may be ‘nothing.’ A glorious nothing, but nothing nonetheless.”
Get more information from the Kansas Travel and Tourism Division
Read the National Geographic article on the Flint Hills
Johnny Kaw statue
He towers over City Park with the authority of an Abrams tank. He uses the Flint Hills as a footstool to watch the sun set over the Kansas prairie, and Tuttle Creek is the only bathtub big enough to fit him. He’s Johnny Kaw, a 30-foot tall mythical settler and farmer created in 1955 by a K-State horticulture professor. Kaw was said to have invented sunflowers and planted wheat across the entire state.
Pillsbury Crossing Wildlife Area
Here’s your spot to camp, canoe, kayak, hike, swim, or just lay out. And it’s only about 10 miles from campus, so it makes a great escape from the pressures of classes, tests, and everyday life.
Tuttle Creek Lake
More than just for boating enthusiasts, Tuttle Creek is a favorite for K-State students who want to camp, hike, or picnic. When construction was completed in 1962, several small towns, including Randolph, were relocated before being submerged in the water. The dam area also hosts the annual Country Stampede, a music festival that draws stars and fans from across the country.
Read about the lake from the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks’ site
Sunset Zoo
Open 360 days a year and home to 105 species, the zoo has been in operation since the 1930s. It is located a block south of Manhattan High School at 23rd and Oak.
Check out the attractions at Sunset Zoo
Museums
Fort Riley Army base and museums
Like history? Fort Riley drips with it. The fort was established 150 years ago as a military post to protect travelers and trade—and later the building of railroad lines—moving west through unsettled territories along the Santa Fe Trail. The 1st Infantry Division of the U.S. Army—nicknamed the Big Red One and the Fighting First—called Fort Riley home from 1955 to 1996 and then returned to Kansas after 10 years abroad.
General George A. Custer was in charge of the 7th Cavalry Regiment at the fort after the Civil War and before his infamous demise at Little Big Horn in Montana. The 1st U.S. Army Cavalry School was situated at Fort Riley until it disbanded, and the U.S. Cavalry Museum is located on post, along with the Custer House and a 1st Infantry Division Museum that covers the 90-year history of the Big Red One. Located between Manhattan and Junction City.
Get more info on Fort Riley museums
Goodnow House
One of the early homes in Manhattan was built 150 years ago by Isaac Goodnow, a founder of the city, Bluemont College, and K-State. Goodnow’s influence included an 1861 meeting with Abraham Lincoln before the 16th president left for his inauguration at the nation’s capital. The home is located at 2301 Claflin Road and has many of the documents from K-State’s earliest days.
Insect zoo
Like those creepy crawlies that make some people cringe? You’re going to love this place, because it’s filled with enormous hairy tarantulas, giant hissing cockroaches, and massive ant colonies. The insect zoo, located on campus at the university gardens, is open from March through November.
Riley County Historical Museum
Pioneers heading for a new life—on the plains or beyond to the Pacific Ocean—made their way through the Flint Hills. The museum describes their ordeals and features a restored cabin brought here on the steamboat Hartford.
Wolf House Museum
Originally built in 1868 as a boarding house, the Wolf House at 630 Fremont has been restored to encompass the period between 1883 and 1895. Open weekends.
Read how the Wolf House was restored to house the museum
visual Arts
Beach Museum of Art
Need a quick dose of culture? Traveling exhibits at the Beach Museum on campus focus on 20th-century works and regional artists. The museum celebrated its second decade by opening a new wing. Frequent educational programs and workshops are held for kids. Located on the southeast corner of campus at 14th and Anderson.
Find out about the museum and its collection
Manhattan Arts Center
All kinds of arts for all walks of life. MAC shows off the work of local artists in its galleries, teaches art classes for all ages, and sponsors a December sale that's the perfect way to finish your holiday shopping. Located at 1520 Poyntz Avenue.
Get info on current exhibits and classes
Kemper Art Gallery in the Union
This gallery showcases traveling exhibits and works from students, faculty, alumni, and visiting artists. Located on the first floor of the K-State Student Union.
Check to see the gallery’s newest exhibit
Strecker-Nelson Gallery
This downtown gallery spotlights the work of regional artists working in all media. The opening-night receptions are popular social events. Located at 406 1/2 Poyntz Avenue.
Live Entertainment
Aggieville and other venues
Manhattan's lively local music scene spawned popular regional acts such as Pomeroy, Ultimate Fakebook, and Split Lip Rayfield. The Manhattan Music Coalition sponsors the popular Aggiefest and maintains a calendar of who's playing where.
Check the Manhattan Music Coalition calendar
Because our Manhattan is definitely off-Broadway, it's common to see performers here before they hit it big. The rock band Kansas played here before it became dust in the wind, and the once-popular Rainmakers were just plain ol’ Steve, Bob, and Rich to those around Aggieville in the 1980s.
Bluegrass crooners Flatt and Scruggs played in City Park with the Byrds and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Martina McBride was a hit at a flood benefit concert in 1993, years before she stormed Nashville. Then there are one-hit wonders like Flock of Seagulls, Ton Loc, and Vanilla Ice; they saw as much of Manhattan as the country saw of them, perhaps thankfully.
Arts in the Park summer series
From rock oldies to Dixieland jazz and modern funk, these weekly concerts and events like the Little Apple Jazz Festival breathe life into City Park. A cool way to survive the hot summer!
Bramlage Coliseum
Bramlage Coliseum has hosted its share of top musical acts. Def Leppard was the first big act to play in the coliseum, but Garth Brooks, Destiny’s Child, Dixie Chicks, Bob Dylan, Alan Jackson, B.B. King, and others followed in the German band’s footsteps.
Country Stampede
What started in 1996 as a start-of-summer festival of top country music acts, Stampede has grown into an annual charge of 150,000 fans to Tuttle Creek. The first-year acts included Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Little Texas, and Tanya Tucker, and Stampede has gotten bigger ever since, welcoming Clint Black, Dwight Yoakum, Alan Jackson, and Kenny Chesney among other top acts.
Find out which artists will be at the next Stampede
Manhattan Arts Center
The center's live theatre and music concerts add to Manhattan's performing arts mix. The popular Birdhouse series showcases rising stars on the acoustic, folk, and bluegrass scenes. Located at 1520 Poyntz Avenue.
See what's scheduled at the MAC
McCain Performance Series
Want to impress a date or amaze your parents with your intellectual development? McCain Auditorium showcases top-notch performances ranging from musicals to symphonies to ballets. Recent headliners include the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, Second City improv troupe, The Chieftains, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, and touring companies of The Nutcracker, Gypsy, Fiddler on the Roof, and Romeo and Juliet. Located on campus near the K-State Student Union.
Get the schedule for upcoming performances
Shopping and dining
Aggieville
Sample the nightlife and restaurants in Aggieville, the first shopping district in Kansas. What started as a little laundry shop about 70 years ago has evolved into an escape for K-State students.
Aggieville features businesses like Varney’s Bookstore, Ballard’s Sporting Goods, and the Palace gift shop that have grown up with K-State. Newer shops like Acme Gift, Zotcis, Krystallos, and many others fill out the shopping mix.
You can also enjoy hometown restaurants like Kite’s, Coco Bolo’s, Hibachi Hut, Rock-A-Belly Deli, and So Long Saloon, or national chains like Chipotle, Buffalo Wild Wings, Jimmy John’s, Pita Pit, Starbucks, and Subway.
A popular Aggieville tradition is the Little Apple New Year’s Eve celebration, complete with ball drop and fireworks.
Find out more about places to eat and shop
Town Center Mall
Entering its third decade, the mall includes 60 clothing and specialty stores (Bath & Body Works, Dillards, Gap, Hollister, JCPenney, Sears) and chain restaurants (Applebee’s, Carlos O’Kelly’s, Chili’s, HuHot Mongolian Grill, Old Chicago, Whiskey Creek).
For more information about visiting K-State
Check the interactive campus map