Travel 'Back to the Future' in Kansas & Oklahoma

The Heartland States are aptly named, representing the ‘beating heart’ of American history and culture -with a vibrant, forward-looking character and the friendliest of welcomes.

Back to the Future

Perhaps more than any area of the USA, Kansas and Oklahoma are steeped in American Indian, cowboy and settler history - evident in every venerable route and trail including the Trail of Tears, the Santa Fe and the Chisholm Cattle Trails. But, as a host of new and ‘coming soon’ attractions amply demonstrate, the Heartland states offer surprising, exciting and memorable new experiences to travellers of all ages.

Driving the 'Mother Road'

Route 66 is timeless; lovingly maintained across the unbroken 400+ miles traversing Kansas and Oklahoma, yet seemingly always offering a novel experience. Recently opened in Baxter Springs, KS is ‘Decades of Wheels’ - combining a smart new 25 room B&B, cafe and diner with live music with a fabulous classic car display. Heading west to Tulsa, the Gathering Place beckons - 100+ acres of adventure-filled riverside park, and in Oklahoma City there’s a tasty new food court, the Mother Road Market, right on R66 (visited and much enjoyed recently by the ‘Hairy Bikers’ of TV fame).

Big City 'chic' and small town 'casual'

Pretty much any Heartland states blog will whet the reader’s appetite for Kansas and Oklahomas’ big, friendly down-home atmosphere and lifestyle - which makes for warm memories and new friendships. Up in Pawhuska, OK the Food TV Network’s ‘Pioneer Woman’ Ree Drummond has put the town firmly on the world map, whilst Lucas, KS is home to a growing body of quirky, fun, public art that’s unique. Less well recognised, though, is just how ‘chic’ and sophisticated cities like Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Kansas City and Wichita can be. Fine examples are OKC’s Myriad Botanical Garden, and Kansas City’s downtown architecture; Tulsa’s stunning Philbrook Museum of European Art, and Wichita’s Grand Opera Theater. The Sunflower (KS) and Sooner (OK) states are genuinely diverse and surprising.

Cowboy Country and the ‘First Americans’ story

Cowboy and American Indian history has fascinated young and old for generations, in books and comics, TV and movie features, and Western living is still at the heart of Kansas and Oklahoma today. The vast plains, tallgrass prairie and rolling hills are home to longhorn cattle ranches, farms and country communities, rodeos and powwows, and ‘living history’ Western towns and Indian villages bringing the story vibrantly to life.

Swaying to the music and savouring the food

Eclectic live music is ubiquitous - in venues large and small and across the spectrum - from classical symphony out on the tallgrass prairie of Kansas to open-mic country in Blake Shelton’s Ole’ Red diner in Tishomingo, Oklahoma. While down-home cooking and epic BBQ go hand in hand with a growing commitment to ‘farm-to-fork’ provenance in Kansas and Oklahoma.

Hit the road and set your imagination free

The best way to experience the Heartland states is to take to the long, quiet roads of Kansas and Oklahoma and explore - Route 66 and the Kansas Byways; Oklahoma’s Rhythm & Routes music trails, and an array of State Parks offering water sports, hiking and biking and a range of lodgings. Meanwhile, cities like Topeka and Wichita, OKC and Tulsa are eminently walkable, as are the myriad small towns.

America As You Like It offers a 15 night Kansas & Oklahoma self drive itinerary from £1570 per person. Save 10% when you book by 30 April 2020.