Shake off the winter chill and warm up to the sights and sounds of a colorful Kansas spring. Tulips explode into a kaleidoscope of blooms at botanical gardens across the state, while cities and towns kick off the season with cultural events you won’t want to miss. Here’s a sampler of it all.

Splashy

On a bluff overlooking the Missouri River, witness the landscape that inspired the pilot to soar at the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum. Inside Earhart’s grandparents’ house—where the famed aviator was born in 1897—newspaper clippings, photos and a map tracing her last flight bear witness alongside

You don’t have to be a presidential historian to appreciate the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home. On a 22-acre campus that includes Dwight and Mamie’s burial site, follow Ike’s rise from a humble Abilene childhood to five-star Army general, war hero and president of

Liberal claims to be the hometown of Dorothy Gale from The Wizard of Oz. Need proof? Simply click your heels and arrive at Dorothy’s House and Land of Oz. With the red-slipper gal herself as your guide, tour her farmhouse and movie memorabilia, and meet up with the Scarecrow, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion

See Kansas through a pioneer’s wide eyes by watching bison wander the prairie at viewing spots around the state. Here are some of our favorite spots to watch the herds roam.

The party of bison hunters piles into covered wagons for a trek across the prairie. Today, they come armed only with cameras,

It’s hard to be humble in Humboldt these days. Not when you’re a poster child for small-town revival that’s even caught the attention of . Around the downtown square, this community of 1,800 has transformed century-old buildings into chic metro-style destinations.

Take Octagon City

A double-decker hoist sends visitors 650 feet below the surface to delve into salt-mining history at Strataca. On tram, train and self-guided tours, navigate the network of tunnels to see remnants of the 1950s mine, historical gallery displays and Hollywood props that are kept here for preservation.

Lavender, pumpkins, and apples are ripe for the picking. Farmsteads teeming with furry alpacas, sunflower mazes, and yoga-loving goats. In Kansas, quality family time is grown on the range.

Snap up nature’s bounty at farms during the spring, summer, and fall seasons.

A & H FARM

Manhattan

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Freedom's Frontier National Heritage Area includes the sites of extraordinary events that forever changed America. In the nineteenth century, the nation was focused on the Missouri-Kansas border, where peoples with different definitions of freedom collided, inciting and fueling a Civil War. The

Unforgettable farm-to-fork date nights on the prairie. Grape harvests that transform into your favorite beverages. In Kansas, experiences worth savoring are grown on the range.

Feast on pretty surroundings, farm-sourced ingredients, and creative flair at a dinner rivaling that of any big-city