Spreading along the northern bank of the Arkansas River at the northernmost point on its sweep across central Kansas, Great Bend (pop. 15,345) was originally established as a fort along the Santa Fe Trail, but really began to grow after the railroad came through. As with Dodge City to the southwest, the arrival of the railroad in 1872 attracted cattle drovers from the Chisholm Trail, who turned Great Bend into a raucous Wild West town. It’s now a quiet, rural city, earning its livelihood from wheat farms and, since the 1930s, oil.
Downtown Great Bend has a number of building-sized murals, especially the blocks along Main Street perpendicular to US-56, and the outskirts of town have the engaging Barton County Historical Society Museum (closed Mon.; $2; 620/793-5125), just south of the railroad tracks and the river along US-281. Farther afield, the Great Bend area holds two of the largest wildlife refuges in Kansas, Cheyenne Bottoms to the northeast and Quivira to the southeast, both of which offer excellent bird-watching (and hunting . . .) opportunities.
Great Bend does have a fairly good range of places to eat, with franchise fast food supplemented by a handful of local restaurants like Granny’s Kitchen (620/793-7441), at 925 10th Street.
Along with the national chains, one reliable place to stay in Great Bend is the Traveler’s Budget Inn ($40; 620/793-5448), at 4200 W. 10th Street.
