Best Playgrounds and Parks for kids in and around Wichita
March 12, 2025
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Sharing is caring! I learned my lesson early one July morning when I took my toddler to the zoo. All she did was pick up
What is there to do in Wichita, KS for free? Wichita is known for being an affordable place to live with great quality of life for residents. And it’s true – some of the best things to do in Wichita are completely free!
I’ve asked readers to recommend the Best Free Things to Do in Wichita, and here are the results, along with some honorable mentions that are just too good to keep to ourselves. Do you have any suggestions to add of wonderful, free things to do in Wichita? Please do let me know in the comments below!
You can always find more fun things to do in Wichita KS by exploring the categories at the top of this page. This website is bursting at the seams with events, activities, and ideas for things to do.
Sharing is caring! I learned my lesson early one July morning when I took my toddler to the zoo. All she did was pick up
Riverflix at Exploration Place is a free outdoor movie series in Wichita. It will be held in the Exploration Place amphitheater right outside its downtown
Have you heard? City Crew (formerly known as Barry’s Crew) is a completely FREE program for kids to join. What is City Crew in Wichita?
Give your children a hands-on experience with Home Depot’s FREE in-store Kids Workshops. Every first Saturday of the month, from 9 a.m. to noon, Home
You will want to add Heritage Fest in Andover to your spring calendar. This family-friendly festival is packed with fun, nostalgia, and is free to
Need date night ideas in Wichita that won’t break the Bank? We have you covered. Not all special date nights have to be expensive dinners.
Window shop in Old Town It’s fun just to be in Old Town, peering into warehouses-turned-retail stores and restaurants and walking along the brick paths. Of course, you won’t be able to resist actually going in to some of them, which include a few trendy local eateries (and drinkeries), a museum filled with treasures from around the world, and an all-digital movie theater that serves a full food and bar menu directly to you at your seat while you’re watching the movie.
Shop at the Old Town Farmers Market From spring to fall, the Old Town Farmer’s Market offers locally-grown produce and handmade items for sale, along with free live entertainment, activities for kids, and free cooking demonstrations. It’s a lively and fun way to spend a Saturday morning in Wichita. Find farmers markets in the Wichita area.
Bronze sculptures downtown Whether you’re driving or walking downtown or really anywhere in Wichita, you will likely come across a sculpture that is beautiful, interesting, or downright surprising. (I’m almost always startled into tapping my brakes when driving by one particular sculpture on Douglas. In my peripheral vision, it looks like a person about to cross the street! Thankfully, I don’t think it’s caused any accidents yet.)
The Fountains at Waterwalk Each Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from May through October, enjoy a 10-15 minute choreographed show with lights and music at noon, 8 p.m., 9 p.m., and 10 p.m. Park for free in the Gander Mountain parking garage, the Waterwalk parking garage, or in the lot just across from the boathouse. The fountain show won’t go on if winds are higher than 15 miles per hour.
Old Cowtown Museum is free on Sundays April through October. Explore the Wichita of the 1800s by walking through real and reproduction buildings, watching a gunfight at high noon, and moseying up to the saloon for some sarsaparilla.
Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum Although even regular admission is very affordable, you can visit the museum for free on Sundays
Chisholm Creek Park This park features a beautiful paved walking path through carefully maintained native Kansas grasses and plants. It’s the perfect place for solitude, exercise, and enjoying Kansas wildlife – all within the city limits.
Sedgwick County Park There’s no place like Sedgwick County Park for a nice time out with the family. The park has several fishing ponds, playgrounds, and fields for kite-flying or playing games of softball. A walking path around the perimeter of the park takes you through shady and sunny spots, through quiet areas and places teeming with activity, up and down hills, and over a covered bridge. Covered pavilions and enclosed shelters at Sedgwick County Park are available and affordable to rent for picnics and meetings.
O.J. Watson Park is a favorite for many, many families in Wichita because it has rides (train, pedal boats, pony rides!), games, and other activities available for just a few dollars each. It’s a kids’ paradise.
Interactive Fountains Many of our parks have playgrounds with leaping fountains where kids (and grown-ups) can splash around to keep the heat at bay. There’s also a fountain at New Market Square in West Wichita, and one in Old Town Plaza downtown. All are free and open to the public. Find a FREE splash park in Wichita.
Pracht Wetlands Park Here’s a brand new park that is officially open to the public and wonderful for nature lovers and anyone who wants a nice place to walk.
Pawnee Prairie Park With miles of walking trails, horse trails, and bike paths, as well as a covered picnic shelter and children’s playground, this west Wichita park is really unique. It’s a lovely wooded park that you’ll want to allow plenty of time to explore.
Wichita Annual Events and Festivals. From live music and fireworks to fine art and indy films, festivals in Wichita and the surrounding areas offer a rich assortment of activities and entertainment
Wichita Riverfest is the biggest festival in the Wichita community. This massive event is the region’s largest, longest-running, and most anticipated festival.
Woofstock Free with a donation, Woofstock is held every fall at Sedgwick County Park as a benefit for the Kansas Humane Society. Bring your dog — on a leash — for a day of canine fun.
Bradley Fair Jazz Concerts Held in June every year, these concerts bring in the big names in jazz, like Grady Nichols and Joseph Vincelli. The last concert before the Fourth of July always includes a wonderful fireworks display. It’s hard to believe that these concerts are free.
KEYN/Wichita WaterWalk Summer Concert Series Just this year, the free KEYN Summer Concert Series moved to the Waterwalk in downtown Wichita, with plenty of parking nearby. These concerts often feature local favorites like the Grateful Not To Be Dead, Rudy Love, and Blue-Eyed Soul. They make for free and fun Friday nights during hot Wichita summers!
Sunset Concert Series at Hartman Arena. This is a summertime free concert in the parking lot.
Smoke on the Plains BBQ and Music Fest in Derby. This is an annual festival that is a family-friendly event with live music, food, kid’s activities. And admission is FREE. They average about 50 professional BBQ teams from the Midwest.
The Wichita Public Library offers so many free fun and educational programs throughout the year that it’s impossible to list them all here. Not only do they have a fantastic summer reading program, storytimes and other activities for kids, and spring break activities, they also offer many adult programs and events as well.
Watch the sun set from anywhere The sky is transformed by fire-lit clouds at sunset on any given day here in Wichita. If you drive just 5 minutes outside the city limits, ordinary fields stretching out to the horizon take on a golden glow. The view can be breathtaking.