7 Off-The-Grid Kansas Towns To Visit In 2025

Kansas has always attracted wanderers, adventurers, and pioneers. If you’re eager to unplug and take a break from the norm, the wild midwestern prairies offer the perfect escape. Discover your inner cowboy in a 1800s frontier town, hike the tall grass backcountry, wander the Oregon Trail, or enjoy a taste of Sweden in the Midwest. Kansas’ quirky towns are anything but routine. Topeka has its charms and Kansas City offers thrills, but for true escapism, head for the places off the beaten track where you’ll find the true spirit of the Sunflower State.

Abilene

The hometown of 34th President Dwight Eisenhower, Abilene is a historic small town where you can go off the grid and back in time. Visit the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum to see his boyhood home and wander the beautiful gardens, or go back further with a trip to Old Abilene Town, a replica of a classic 1800s frontier town that hosts cowboy rodeos, gunfights, and saloon entertainment during the summer season.

Get out of town with a ride on the scenic Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad, which offers a trip on a 100-year-old steam engine. The tour meanders through the beautiful Smoky Valley to the nearby town of Enterprise and stops at the 1860s Hoffman Grist Mill. Aside from its presidential links, Abilene has another unusual claim to fame. The town is the Greyhound Racing Capital of the World. See how it earned that title at the Greyhound Hall of Fame, which tells the story of some of the world’s fastest dogs. If you're lucky, you might even get to meet some.

Cottonwood Falls

Cottonwood Falls began as a tiny ranching community amid the rolling hills of eastern Kansas. Located on the beautiful Flint Hills National Scenic Byway, this quaint town is the ideal destination to escape into nature. The Tall Grass Prairie National Preserve is just five miles from Cottonwood Falls, north along the byway. Here you’ll find historic ranch buildings from the 1800s amid acres of grassy plains that are home to roaming bison herds. Visit from March to October to catch the wildflower season when native flowers bloom every few weeks. Several trails are available on the preserve, from nature walks to backcountry hiking paths.

See more incredible Kansas scenery and get the authentic Western experience at Bar U Ranch just outside town in the Flint Hills. This working dude ranch offers horseback trail rides, a cowboy camp, photography workshops, and horsemanship skills. East of Cottonwood Falls is Chase Lake Falls, a dazzling three-tier waterfall near Chase State Fishing Lake where you can camp, hike, and fish.

Lindsborg

Also known as ‘Little Sweden’, Lindsborg is a quirky Kansas town with a distinctly European flavor that will make you feel as if you’re not just off the grid but you’ve left the country entirely. The town was settled in 1869 by Swedish immigrants who brought their culture and heritage with them. One of the town’s founders, Gustaf Höglund, built a dugout to shelter his family when he arrived here in 1868, and it’s still in town today, preserved by the Smoky Valley Historical Association. The Höglund Dugout is a prime example of an early Scandinavian home and is open to the public.

Visit the Lindsborg Old Mill and Swedish Heritage Museum to see how Lindsborg’s early pioneers made a life in Kansas, exploring 12 exhibit buildings including a restored 1898 flour mill, the 1904 Swedish Pavilion built for the St Louis World’s Fair, and a 1903 one-room schoolhouse. Get out of town and even more off-grid at Coronado Heights, a towering bluff in the Smoky Hills where early explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado surveyed the prairie. In addition to being an area of outstanding natural beauty, the site has yielded many significant finds, including Spanish chain mail, coins, and a bridle. Pack your camera and a picnic, as the preserve has some incredible viewing spots.

Wamego

If you’re looking to get away from the daily grind, take a trip to Oz. Wamego, in northeast Kansas, is a must for any Wizard of Oz fan. The town’s Oz Museum has one of the world’s largest collections of Oz memorabilia, with over 20,000 artifacts from the world of Oz creator Frank Baum. Keep a lookout as you explore the town; there are Toto statues dotted around the streets as part of a local art project. The historic Oregon Trail passed by a few miles north of Wamego. You can walk in the footsteps of these explorers at the Oregon Trail Nature Park just ten miles east of town. Here you’ll find picnic facilities, hiking trails, and stunning views over the Kansas River Valley.

The Kansas River is particularly popular with kayakers thanks to its calm waters and beautiful scenery. Access the water, launch a kayak from the Wamego ramp, or head to Tuttle Creek State Park, 20 miles west of town, to rent a kayak and enjoy a leisurely paddle. For a gentle land-based challenge, climb Mount Mitchell, part of the Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area and within the Mount Mitchell Heritage Park. This historic area is also part of the Underground Railroad and is named for abolitionist Captain William Mitchell.

Baldwin City

Considered the gateway to Kansas’ old west, Baldwin City was a busy stop on the historic Santa Fe Trail in the 1800s. One of the state’s oldest settlements, the town has a historic downtown with many buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. These include Parmeter Hall, now home to the Holt/Russell Gallery, and Old Castle Hall, built in 1858 and the oldest university building in Kansas. The Hall is now a museum showcasing Indian artifacts and exhibits from the Freedom Frontier and the Civil War era.

Take a break in nature at the Douglas State Fishing Lake. Not just for anglers, this tranquil lake is also a popular campground and features an 18-hole disc golf course. After a day outdoors, relax and enjoy some local vintages at the Baldwin City Distillery and Orchard. Nestled in an idyllic orchard, this micro-distillery offers handcrafted ciders, apple brandy, vodkas, rums, and more.

Colby

Colby, in northern Kansas, is a laid-back town you must add to your itinerary. Visit the Prairie Museum of Art and History to get a feel for life on those plains during the frontier era, browsing Kansas art, historical artifacts, and local history memorabilia. On the museum grounds, you’ll find Kansas’s largest barn. Measuring 48 feet high, the Cooper Barn was named one of the 8th Wonders of Kansas Architecture in 2008 and is now a tribute to the state’s agricultural history, housing rural artifacts, exhibits, farm implements, and photographs.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Thomas County Courthouse in downtown Colby is an architecturally stunning piece of Kansas heritage built in 1906. There’s lots to see and do in Colby’s downtown core, but to escape the hustle and bustle, head for Villa High Park, a 20-acre preserve with walking trails and fishing at Villa High Lake, or Fike Park. The latter is just a block from downtown and offers more recreation with walking trails, picnic areas, and playgrounds.

Norton

Gateway to the Prairie Dog State Park and the Keith Sibelius Reservoir, Norton is where nature-lovers and outdoor adventurers go when they need to relax and recharge. The lake is one of the best fishing destinations in the state, with healthy populations of bass, walleye, saugeye, and more. Covering 1,150 acres of the reservoir’s shoreline is the Prairie Dog State Park, home to around 300 of the cute mammals. You can camp with the colony by renting one of the park cabins or pitching a tent in the well-maintained campgrounds. The park also features a 1.4-mile nature trail and an archery range. Next to the park is the Norton Wildlife Area, where you can see waterfowl, owls, and, if you’re very lucky, bald eagles and golden eagles.

Visit the Norton County Historical Museum in town to see some unusual pieces of local history, including fossils, meteorites, and an extensive collection of town photographs through the decades. While downtown, catch a showing at the Historic Theater, a retro twin movie theater that first opened in 1948 and has preserved much of its original features, including the colorful neon front marquee.

A Kansas Getaway

Kansas is the country’s 15th-largest state, so if you’re looking for somewhere to get off-grid, there are lots of options to choose from. These charming small towns offer all the warm hospitality you’d expect of America’s heartland while providing plenty of opportunities to explore, learn, discover, and play. Whether your idea of “off grid” is a trip through time, a wander through the wilderness, or a rural road trip, Kansas has everything you’re looking for so you can return to your routine refreshed and relaxed.