Known to the Midwest as the Capitol of Kansas, or to the locals as “Top City,” (I swear I checked this with people) and home to 125,000 people as of 2024, Topeka may be better known nationally as the site of the landmark Supreme Court case Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954 declaring the unconstitutional nature of racial segregation in schools – just to remind you. But, to people that live nearby, especially those i’ve met in Kansas City, Missouri, Topeka is simply a town an hour away that is, frankly, just kind of… there. But I had the opportunity to attend a wedding of a friend of a friend one weekend so decided that instead of spending just the evening, I’d go for a full 24 hours and here are some of the gems I discovered looking around and especially looking where people might not always look, for adventures they may not know exist. So many people told me “there’s nothing to do in Topeka,” but then again, I guess i’ve always gone places that there may be “nothing” in… It’s all relative, isn’t it?

The Maybe Dos….

So, if you have the time, these are the things that I’d classify as maybe do, but you could also just swing by pretty quickly.

1. The Downtown Topeka Farmers Market – Decently sized with lot of crafts in addition to produce and food trucks; but, my favorite part was the knife sharpening lady.
2. Kansas State Capitol – Recently completed a 13 year top-to-bottom restoration, fun facts!
3. Brown vs. Board of Education – The Monroe Elementary Building still exists and has a really awesome mural across the street. Even though enrollment declined significantly in the 1970s, it was designated a National Historic Landmark and now belongs to the National Park Service (since ~1990). Now the school has turned into a museum which I didn’t investigate due to time, but seemed pretty interesting.
4. Downtown Topeka – I mean, there’s this weird place called Cosmos Court that you can do Karaoke at and a nice little boutique I got a hanging plant from, but otherwise… I kinda agree there’s not much to right home about, as is common for a lot of Capitol cities i’ve been to.

The MUST Dos….

Now… There are definitely some awesome things that I think are underrated and while some are on the road often traveled, there are a few out of the way I’d highly suggest. These were the super cool parts of Topeka that made the trip worth it for me (besides obviously a fun wedding).

1. North Topeka Art District (a.k.a. NOTO) was amazing! Lots of art galleries, but not as crowded as some other places, a cool little outdoor art area and lots of antique stores (which is totally my thing, so if it’s not yours… Ok maybe don’t go there).

2. Burnett’s Mound and Governor’s Mansion Hiking Trails – If you’ve followed enough, you know I love to hike! So thanks to my fellow country line dancer Hannah for these suggestions. The hike to the Governor’s Mansion gave me feelings of that scene in Gladiator where Russell Crowe is floating through the fields of wheat, very peaceful. There were a bunch of trails but I did the one just straight from the parking (on the street) to the mansion and back. Then I went to find Burnett’s Mound, named after a Potawatomi Chief, you can hike up the main road or the trails through the trees, or bike, to get some of the best views of Topeka. These two adventures alone were some of the best parts in my opinion.

3. Truckhenge – Last but not least, a place that NOBODY I’ve talked to has heard of, but comes up if you look up all the things you can possibly do in Topeka… is Truckhenge (aka the Lessman Farm). If you’d like just to see the “internationally acclaimed” Truckhenge, which has a unique story the family are happy to tell you about how this was a snarky comeback to the county when the owner was told to “pick up his trucks,” it’s just donation-based and worth the visit. You can also go fishing there and shoot guns (FYI it’s BYOG) apparently, but I didn’t do that this time.

4. Brewery Ventures – Outside of hiking, good food and seeing unique things, I always try to add in a brewery or 3 to keep building my Brewery Map which now has over 420 visited spots. The few in Topeka that were amazing and worth going back to, and there were more but I didn’t have time, were: Happy Bassett Brewing (they have a large dance floor for various styles of dancing throughout the week and there IS a happy bassett that wanders around!), Blind Tiger Brewery and Restaurant (a little kitschy but also some of the best burnt ends i’ve ever had), and last, a place downtown that was pretty decent and had great nachos, Iron Rail Brewing.

I think the moral of the story for me and the reason I posted this was that a lot of my coworkers and friends thought I was crazy when I got so excited to head to Topeka, Kansas. The reality and the whole intention of this blog, well one of them, is to point out the beauty you can find if you just go looking for it. I have traveled to at least 20 different states and worked all over the country in towns as big as 3 million or as small as 5000, and no matter where you go, there is something to see, you just have to open your eyes.