Why go there

Dodge City, population about 26,000, is a southwest Kansas tourist attraction known for its history as a cow town in the 1800s. It also features the Dodge City Raceway Park and the Boot Hill Casino and Resort, which opened in 2009.

What to do there

Summer trolley tours offer a one-hour narrated tour of the city’s historic sites. Historic Fort Dodge offers a history about how it was established to protect railroad workers and pioneers. Racing season is April to October. The Boot Hill Casino and Resort has 584 slots, 12 gaming tables, a casual dining restaurant and saloon.

Must see

The city’s historic downtown resembles the Old West and features the Boot Hill Museum. In the summer, the museum offers history displays, stagecoach rides and gunfight re-enactments.

For the kids

The Gunfighters Wax Museum features the life-size figures of famous Old West personalities, such as Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Buffalo Bill and Jesse James.

Pocketbook friendly

The Wright Park Zoo, open year-round 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., features 45 mammals and birds. Admission is free. The Kansas Teachers’ Hall of Fame, the first of its kind in the country, also is free.

Online/Twitter/Facebook

visitdodgecity.org; Dodge City Convention & Visitors Bureau on Facebook; Twitter.com/visitdodgecity.

Save the date

Dodge City Days celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2010 with a 10-day celebration from July 30 to Aug. 8. It includes the Dodge City Days Rodeo, known as the “greatest show on dirt.”

Did you know?

Dodge City is traditionally near the top of the National Climatic Data Center’s annual list of America’s windiest cities, with an average wind speed of 13.9 mph in 2008.

How to get there

Dodge City is at the junction of U.S. Highways 50 and 56 in southwest Kansas. Amtrak also has a passenger train that runs through Dodge City from Kansas City, Mo., and Lawrence.

Also near

Garden City, with a population of about 27,000, is 50 miles to the west, and Liberal, population 20,000, is 80 miles to the southwest of Dodge City.