Walking Tours
Walking, driving tours showcased
hether it’s walking or driving, beautiful scenery and artwork are being featured in Barton County. Walking and driving tours are available for explorers and tourists. Tours vary in time so you can select according to your time and interest. Brochures are available for many tours at the Great Bend Convention and Visitors Bureau. 3007 10th, 620-792-2750. • GPS Tour — Explore the Kansas Raptor Center and Brit Spaugh Zoo, Downtown Great Bend, Cheyenne Bottoms, and the Wetlands & Wildlife National Scenic Byway at your own pace! A GPS guided video tour brings the city and surrounding wetlands to life. The GPS Ranger is a handheld computer that delivers an interpretation, video, music, animation, and nature photography based
on the location of the user. The Ranger provides bird and wildlife identification, history, geography, Native American stories, and delightful insights into the prairie and wetlands. The GPS Ranger is available at the Great Bend Convention and Visitors Bureau; Best Western Angus Inn., Comfort Inn., Travelers Budget Inn., and America’s Best Value Inn. • Birdhouse Tour, Scavenger Hunt — Walk along Great Bend’s downtown sidewalks and you will see a variety of decorated birdhouses nestled in front of various businesses. The project is designed to bring art and nature together. The oversized birdhouses are being manufactured locally and provide and excellent canvas for local artists to showcase their talent through the Barton Arts Council. A birdhouse walking art tour and brochure is developed yearly that includes each birdhouse’s location and description. Scavenger hunt participants use this brochure as an aid to finding birdhouses. The Birdhouse Scavenger Hunt involves people who successfully complete hunts. Scavenger hunt entries include children, young adults, and senior citizens. Every hunt has clues that would lead to a specific birdhouse. Each hunt spelled the name of a feathered friend that visits the Wetlands and Wildlife National Scenic Byway. The number of birdhouses has increased to 70, from the 50 of last year in a marketing effort to promote Great Bend’s theme of the Wetlands and Wildlife National Scenic Byway — Birds and Wildlife. • Byway Tour — This 77-mile byway connects two of the world’s most significant 70
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natural wetlands—Cheyenne Bottoms and the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge. The Wetlands & Wildlife National Scenic Byway takes visitors through radiant wetlands exploding with wildlife; prairie vistas with immense blue skies; and seven rural communities shaped by nature and the entrepreneurial spirit. • Cemetery Tour — Cemeteries tell the stories of our past, people, and culture. Wander into almost any Kansas cemetery and the tombstones tell stories of how generations before us lived - and died. • Downtown Tour — In the epicenter of the town’s life, you can catch the sights of things like the birdhouse walking tour, monuments on the courthouse square, and old historic buildings such as the Crest Theatre and the Barton Arts Center. • Exodusters — Spend a day on the Wetlands and Wildlife National Scenic Byway as you trace the Exoduster migration and settlement in Barton and Stafford Counties. • Lustron Homes — These metal-panel homes tell the story of an American Dream. They prove that America once again adopted new approaches to address challenges, specifically the demand for more affordable living. These homes are an important chapter in Barton County’s history. • Quilt Walk and Murals — In the sidewalks surrounding the Courthouse Square in downtown Great Bend you will find the Kansas Quilt Walk. After viewing this tribute to our ancestors, take a look around the corner and catch a glimpse of the 13 building murals representing Great Bend’s past and present.