Interstate 70 from Kansas City to Denver is one of America's most underrated family road trip routes. At roughly 600 miles, it's a full day's drive or a comfortable two-day journey — long enough to feel like an adventure, short enough to actually finish. And while the Kansas plains are often dismissed as "boring," that's a navigation error. The people who say Kansas is boring are the ones who drove straight through.
Here's how to do I-70 right with kids in the car.
The Route at a Glance
Kansas City, MO → Topeka → Salina → Hays → WaKeeney → Colby → Goodland → Burlington, CO → Limon → Denver, CO. Total distance: approximately 600 miles. Recommended drive time with stops: 10–12 hours, ideally split over two days.
Kansas City: The Launch Pad
Before you leave KC, do two things. First, stop at Arthur Bryant's or Gates Bar-B-Q for breakfast brisket sandwiches. This is non-negotiable. Second, cross the Missouri River on I-70 and explain to your kids that you're crossing from Missouri into Kansas — the river is the state line. Kids who understand they're crossing a geographic boundary pay more attention to what comes next.
Stop 1: Topeka (Mile 55)
The Kansas State Capitol building has a mural cycle that includes John Brown's raid at Harpers Ferry — dramatic enough to interest older kids. The Capitol dome is walkable and free. Also in Topeka: the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site, which marks one of the most important Supreme Court decisions in American history. The exhibits are well-designed for ages 10+.
Stop 2: Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve (Mile 95, 20-mile detour via Hwy 177)
This detour is worth it. The Flint Hills are some of the last remaining intact tallgrass prairie in North America — over 10,000 acres. The visitor center is small but excellent. The tallgrass prairie feels like standing in a sea of gold and green, and kids who've only seen manicured lawns genuinely can't process it at first. Bison are visible from the road.
Stop 3: Salina (Mile 185)
Salina is a good lunch stop. The Stiefel Theatre is worth walking by — a 1930s movie palace restored to its original condition. For kids, the Rolling Hills Zoo is a significant detour (30 miles south) but genuinely excellent if you have the time. Back on I-70, start watching for wheat fields and grain elevators, which begin dominating the landscape around here.
Stop 4: Hays and Fort Hays State Historic Site (Mile 270)
Fort Hays was an active military post from 1865 to 1889, stationed at the edge of the frontier. Wild Bill Hickok and George Custer passed through. Four original buildings remain. The adjacent Sternberg Museum of Natural History is the real draw for families: an exceptional collection of Cretaceous sea creatures excavated from western Kansas — including a fish-within-a-fish fossil that stops everyone cold. Budget 90 minutes here.
Stop 5: Monument Rocks (Mile 310, 25-mile detour south of I-70)
Chalk pyramids rising 70 feet out of the Kansas plains. Entirely free, entirely accessible, and completely unexpected. Monument Rocks was the first National Natural Landmark designated in the United States. Kids who have only seen mountains will be confused by geological formations rising from flat land. That confusion is the point. There's no guardrail, no admission gate, no gift shop — just formations you can walk up to and touch.
Stop 6: Colby and Prairie Museum of Art and History (Mile 334)
The Prairie Museum is small but unusually good. It includes a full-scale sod house, a genuine 1930s farmstead, and a barbed wire collection with over 2,000 varieties (barbed wire was the technology that ended the open range — relevant if your kids are wondering why the plains are fenced). This is where you start seeing the land flatten completely and the sky take over.
Crossing into Colorado (Mile 419)
The Colorado welcome center at Bonny Lake is the ceremonial crossing point. Kids should mark this in their travel journals. The land doesn't change immediately — eastern Colorado looks a lot like western Kansas — but the Rocky Mountain skyline starts appearing around Burlington if the weather is clear. When the kids first spot the mountains in the distance, that's the moment of the trip.
Stop 7: Limon (Mile 519)
Limon is often skipped, but the Limon Heritage Museum has an impressive collection of early Colorado railroad history. More practically, it's the last major stop before the Denver metro area, and a good place for fuel, snacks, and leg-stretching before the final push.
Denver Arrival
Come into Denver on I-70 westbound as the sun goes down if you can time it. The skyline appears against the mountain backdrop in a way that makes even frequent visitors do a double take. Your first evening: Red Rocks Park is 30 minutes southwest and worth stopping for before checking in — the rock formations are walkable and free when no concerts are scheduled.
What to Skip
Skip the World's Largest Ball of Twine in Cawker City unless you're desperate. The I-70 commercial rest stops in eastern Kansas are uniformly uninspiring — plan your stops around actual towns. And resist the temptation to drive straight through in one day. The two-day approach means fewer bathroom emergencies, more actual observation, and a narrative arc with a real midpoint. Wichita or Hays make good overnight stops.
Making the Drive Part of the Story
The Plains are one of the most historically rich regions in America — the edge of the frontier, the Dust Bowl, the cattle drives, the railroad expansion, the Indigenous nations displaced by all of it. The problem is that most of this history is invisible from the highway unless someone narrates it. That's what RoadLore does: as you drive, GPS-triggered audio stories activate at the landmarks you're passing, turning the drive itself into a living history lesson your kids will actually remember.
600 miles. 12 hours. More than enough story for a lifetime.