Looking for quick trips from Wichita in 2022? Here are 12 regional ideas for inspiration

Eight of every 10 Americans among the sample polled last year by the market research firm Destination Analysts believe vacations are important to their overall health and well-being, yet only one quarter of Americans used all of their earned time off in 2021.

COVID-19 related health and safety concerns and increased workloads have prevented some from using their earned time off, but another factor, according to the U.S. Travel Association, is a simple lack of planning. So the group organizes the annual National Plan for Vacation Day and this year it is Tuesday, Jan. 25.

To help inspire you, we’ve compiled a list of 12 regional ideas that you could use to plan a day trip or longer getaway.

Because none of us can guess how 2022 will unfold and how the pandemic will impact travel throughout the year, try to keep your plans flexible. Keep an eye on CDC and local health officials’ recommendations for both your departure and arrival destinations.

Within Kansas:

KCK Heritage Trail — Visit Kansas City Kansas is launching a new trail in the spring promoting historical sites and sharing the stories of immigrants who have made Kansas City their home. And while you’re there be sure to visit the Taco Trail, which we highlighted last year. The trail highlighting nearly 50 local taquerias had a successful first year so the prizes have been extended another year, through October 2022.

Cosmosphere turns 60 — In 1962, Cosmosphere founder Patty Carey set up a used projector and rented folded chairs in the Poultry Building of the Kansas State Fair Grounds in Hutchinson, about 50 miles northwest of Wichita, and created one of the first public planetariums in the Central United States. Today, the Cosmosphere is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and has its own facility with a planetarium, a three-level exhibit gallery, classrooms and an IMAX® Dome Theater. Watch https://cosmo.org/ for special events throughout the year

Rolling Hills Zoo opening new lion experience — Rolling Hills Zoo, one of seven AZA-accredited zoos in Kansas, is planning to open its new Pride of the Prairie exhibit this spring. It will be the new home for the zoo’s lions and will provide a high cliff-like vantage point for the lions, similar to what they might experience in the African savanna grasslands. Rolling Hills is 6 miles west of Salina and has more than 100 species and a 64,000-square-foot museum on 65 acres.

Dodge City year-long 150th anniversary celebration — The “wickedest little town in the west” turns 150 years old this year and Dodge City is planning a series of events to celebrate the historical and cultural role it played in shaping the west. A kickoff event is planned for Jan. 28 at the Boot Hill Museum. Founder’s Weekend is set to take place June 17-19 and will celebrate George Hoover and the establishment of the first business, as well as the city’s rough and rowdy early years. As new events are solidified for the year-long celebration, details will be available on the anniversary’s social media pages (DodgeCity150) and at www.visitdodgecity.org.

Walnut Valley Festival’s golden anniversary — If you’ve yet to experience the Walnut Valley Festival, this might be the year. Organizers are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the five-day music event scheduled for Sept. 14-18 in Winfield, 40 miles southeast of Wichita.

The Walnut Valley Association was formed in 1972 to produce the Walnut Valley National Guitar Flat-Picking Championships Festival. There are still championships — including the flagship flat pick guitar competition — but there are a diverse group of more than 30 acts on four stages at the Winfield Fairgrounds. Expect Americana, roots, bluegrass, folk, western, rock and more.

KC Airshow featuring USAF Thunderbirds — The 2021 airshow brought in over 48,000 ticketed attendees to Johnson County and the 2022 event promises to be as attention-grabbing. The featured performers will be the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, in honor of the U.S. Air Force’s 75th anniversary. The event is Sept. 3-4 at the New Century AirCenter, about 170 miles northeast of Wichita. Watch https://kcairshow.org/ for early bird ticket deals.

Regional:

Mardi Gras in Arkansas — Looking to celebrate Mardi Gras a little closer to home? The “Krewe of Krazo” (Ozark spelled backwards) invites you to Eureka Springs, about 270 miles southeast of Wichita. The town has a 16-year Mardi Gras tradition with a full two-month calendar of events. Originally called “A Ball and a Crawl,” the celebration includes a variety of activities hosted by several Eureka Springs Krewes. Visit https://eurekaspringsmardigras.org for a full list of events, which culminates with a wrap party on March 1 (Fat Tuesday).

History in Missouri — In February, the U.S. Civil Rights Trail will announce a new location in Missouri. We’re told it is an existing attraction on the west side of the state; watch https://civilrightstrail.com for the update.

The state currently has two locations on the trail: The Old Courthouse in St. Louis, where Dred and Harriet Scott sued for freedom from slavery and Virginia Minor argued for women’s suffrage, and the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum in Independence, just east of Kansas City (President Truman issued an executive order to desegregate the military). The library and museum reopened in 2021 after an extensive facelift and modernization of exhibitions about the country’s 33rd president.

Culture in Oklahoma — A flurry of new museums and cultural centers in Oklahoma opened in 2021 with more scheduled for 2022. The long-awaited First Americans Museum opened last September in Oklahoma City, sharing the collective stories of the state’s 39 federally-recognized tribes who were removed from their ancestral homelands to what is now Oklahoma. Tulsa’s historic Church Studio, known as the home of Leon Russell’s Shelter Records label in the 1970s, previously reopened for recording artists and this spring is starting to welcome the general public for history tours, exhibitions and small concerts.

The Bob Dylan Center is set to open May 10 in Tulsa and promises “unprecedented access to the creative life of one of America’s most important and influential artists” including more than 100,000 exclusive cultural treasures created and owned by Dylan over seven decades.

Summer 2022 is the expected opening date for the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine and Museum/Pilgrimage Center in Oklahoma City. The Spanish colonial-style church will be the largest Catholic Church in the state and will serve as a shrine of the first Catholic martyr from the United States.

Art in Colorado — A few major exhibitions that might be worth the drive to Colorado this year:

“Andy Warhol: Lifetimes” opened in December and is on display through March 27 at the Aspen Art Museum. Originating at Tate Modern in London, this is a museum-wide exhibition and Aspen is the only place it will be shown in the U.S. You can also view a private Warhol collection at The Powers Art Center in nearby Carbondale. “Warhol in Colorado, The Artist’s Relationship with John and Kimiko Powers,” runs through April 30 and features the complete portfolios of “Marilyn” and “Flowers.”

In Denver, “The Art of Banksy” is scheduled for April 12 through June 19 at the Denver Sports Castle. This is a traveling exhibition of more than 100 certified and authenticated Banksy works from private collectors across the globe and includes iconic works such as “Girl and Balloon” and “Flower Thrower.” The event website says of the British street artist whose identity is unknown: “While the exhibit is not authorized by Banksy, it features artworks he sold to private collectors.”

Nature in Nebraska — The Niobrara National Scenic River is celebrating 30 years as a National Scenic River. The National Park Service designation honors the cliffs, canyons, waterfalls and biological significance of a 76-mile stretch of the river eastward from Valentine in north-central Nebraska. The Niobrara flows 535 miles from eastern Wyoming to join the Missouri River in northeastern Nebraska.

Plans are still in the works for commemorating the anniversary; watch www.nps.gov/niob for events and also discover ways to experience the river, from canoeing, tubing and kayaking to hiking, biking and watching wildlife alongside the river.

John Wayne in Iowa — The John Wayne Birthplace & Museum opened in 2015 in Winterset, about 370 miles northeast of Wichita just off I-35, as the only museum dedicated to the legendary actor. A new expansion that nearly doubles the size of the gallery space is scheduled to reopen Memorial Day weekend as a part of the annual John Wayne Birthday Celebration. New exhibits include one on Wayne’s family and friends, another on his life-long goal of producing and starring in a movie about The Alamo and a display showcasing the five communities where his family lived during his early years in Iowa. Lesley-Anne Down, Barry Corbin and Aissa Wayne, a member of the board of directors and the daughter of John Wayne, will be there to greet guests and fans opening weekend. Winterset is best known as the setting for the 1992 Robert James Waller novel “The Bridges of Madison County” that became a film in 1995 starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep. There are still six covered bridges open to the public in the area.