48-Hour Family Weekend Itinerary
Big adventures, easy planning and plenty of moments they'll be talking about long after the drive home. Here's how to spend the perfect family weekend in Wichita.
Friday Evening
After checking into your hotel, settle in before heading out for an evening the whole family will love.
Dinner & play
Choose one:
Chicken N Pickle
Enjoy wood-fired pizza, sandwiches and shareable favorites before challenging the family to pickleball, yard games and plenty of outdoor fun.
Topgolf Wichita
No golf experience required. Order burgers, tacos or shareable appetizers while everyone takes turns aiming for giant targets in climate-controlled bays.
After dinner, make your way to the Keeper of the Plains for the nightly Ring of Fire. During the summer months, the firepots surrounding Wichita's iconic 44-foot sculpture are lit nightly at 9 p.m. for 15 minutes, creating one of the city's most unforgettable sights.
Saturday
Breakfast
Start your day with one of Wichita's favorite breakfast spots before heading out for adventure.
HomeGrown serves fresh, made-from-scratch breakfast favorites with locally sourced ingredients. From fluffy pancakes and avocado toast to hearty breakfast bowls and biscuits & gravy, there's something for every member of the family.
Doo-Dah Diner puts a creative twist on comfort food with scratch-made classics like its famous Banana Bread French Toast, biscuits & gravy, crispy corned beef hash and chicken & waffles. Come hungry because the portions are as memorable as the flavors.
Choose your morning adventure
Sedgwick County Zoo
Home to more than 3,000 animals, the nationally recognized Sedgwick County Zoo is one of Wichita's must-see attractions. This year, four adorable African elephant calves are stealing the spotlight, making it one of the only places in the country where you can watch an entire new generation of elephants grow up together. Arrive early to catch the animals at their most active and enjoy interactive experiences like giraffe feedings, the Safari Express train and more.
OR
Tanganyika Wildlife Park
Take your family adventure to the next level at Tanganyika Wildlife Park, where unforgettable animal encounters are part of the experience. Swim with playful otters or penguins, feed giraffes, meet lemurs and get closer to wildlife than you ever imagined. Best of all, admission includes complimentary meals and drinks throughout the park, so you can skip the lunch stop and spend more time making memories. It's an all-day adventure that's as easy as it is unforgettable.
Lunch
If you spent the morning at Sedgwick County Zoo, refuel at one of these family-friendly spots:
Visiting Tanganyika Wildlife Park instead? You're all set. Complimentary meals and drinks are included with your admission, so you can keep the adventure going without stopping for lunch.
After Lunch
Before heading to your next adventure, make a sweet stop at Nifty Nut House, a Wichita favorite since 1937. Browse thousands of varieties of candy, chocolates, nuts and nostalgic treats, then let everyone build their own bag of goodies for the rest of the weekend.
Afternoon
When the afternoon heat sets in, cool off at Exploration Place, where hands-on science exhibits and aviation experiences keep curious minds busy. As the day begins to cool, head outside to the brand-new Adventure Playscape, where kids can climb airplane-inspired structures, splash in the water features and burn off any extra energy before dinner.
Dinner & evening fun
Head to The Arcade for dinner, classic arcade games and a little friendly family competition. Pizza, burgers, wings and dozens of retro games make it easy to spend the whole evening together.
Prefer something different? Chicken N Pickle or Topgolf Wichita are also great options if you didn't visit them Friday night.
Sunday
Breakfast
Start your final day with one more memorable breakfast.
Choose from:
Morning
Botanica Wichita
Spend your final morning exploring Botanica Wichita, where beautiful gardens meet big family adventures. Kids can climb and explore the Children's Garden, discover the whimsical treehouse, splash and play in interactive spaces and search for the park's larger-than-life giant troll sculpture, one of Wichita's favorite family photo spots. It's the perfect way to slow down, stretch little legs and soak up one last family memory before heading home.
Before You Head Home
Not quite ready to hit the road? Squeeze in one more Wichita memory before your weekend comes to an end.
- Take a stroll through Old Town and pop into local shops for a unique souvenir.
- Visit the Kansas Aviation Museum and discover why Wichita is known as the Air Capital of the World.
- Stop by the Original Pizza Hut Museum, the birthplace of the world's first Pizza Hut.
- Cool off with a sweet treat from Cocoa Dolce Artisan Chocolates or Sweet 'n Saucy
- Take one last family photo at the Keeper of the Plains before heading home.
Or simply enjoy one more walk, one more laugh and one more family memory before pointing the car toward home. Because weekends in Wichita have a funny way of making you want to plan your next visit before this one even ends.
