Olathe, Kansas Travel Guide
Metropolitan Kansas City, Missouri
 
 

Olathe Christmas Display Tour
Olathe Restaurants Olathe Tourist Attractions

With a population of 140,000 people, Olathe, Kansas is one of the fastest growing communities in the country. Olathe has some of the highest ranked schools in Kansas and Money magazine ranked Olathe #11 on its list of the "100 Best Cities to Live in the United States."

Welcome Home! Cowboy BootThis guide to Olathe tourist attractions has my candid comments and recommendations for things to do in Olathe, Kansas. I am a 36 resident of Johnson County, and lived or worked in Olathe 30 years. The good news is that Olathe has several unique museums & attractions.

Most of Olathe's shopping is strip mall and/or big box: Bass Pro, Kohl's, 2 Super Targets and 2 Super Walmarts. The largest concentrations of retail stores are east of I-35 on Santa Fe and 119th Streets. 

When it was built, the AMC Studio 30 Theaters with IMAX was the largest movie theater in the AMC chain. The Studio 28 now has "fork and screen" theaters for adults only where you can order a meal, snacks or beer. The AMC Studio 28 is located north of 119th Street on Strang Line Road. 

 For nearby restaurants and attractions try the guide to Overland Park Restaurants.

Olathe Tourist Attractions & Museums
Bass Pro Shop opened its first Kansas City store in Olathe in February of 2007. In addition to sports equipment, hunting & fishing gear, the Olathe Bass Pro Shop has a prairie dog display, river bottom habitat and a 12,000 gallon aquarium with Kansas fish such as bass, blue gill and catfish. Seafood is available inside the store at the Islamorada Fish Company restaurant.
 

Bass Pro Shop 12051 Bass Pro Drive, Olathe, Kansas 66061
(913) 254-5200

Indian Creek Hike/Bike Trail is almost 26 miles long, with about 8 miles in Olathe, Kansas. The bike path is generally level and flat, but often beautiful as it follows Indian Creek through various parks. It connects to other hiking and bicycle trails in Kansas City, Missouri and Johnson County, Kansas. On the other side of Olathe, Mill Creek Streamway Park has another 17 miles of trails going all the way to the Kansas River.

Indian Creek Hike/Bike Trail - Multiple Trail Heads between 105th and 119th Streets

Buddy Rogers Playhouse - The Olathe Community Theatre Association (OCTA) offers live theater productions in the former 1870 Covenant Church. The 2010-2011 season included Our Town, David's Mother and others. Tickets for all shows are $18 for adults. Some special events are less expensive. Charles 'Buddy' Rogers was born in Olathe, and their annual awards are called the Buddy Awards in his honor.

Olathe Community Theatre Association 500 East Loula Street, Olathe, Kansas 66061 (913) 782-2990

Johnson County Old Settlers is over 120 years old and Olathe, Kansas' biggest event of the year. The three day festival is held on the Thursday through Saturday following Labor Day. Old Settlers includes free entertainment, a carnival, children's performances, arts & crafts, auto show, and one of the largest parades in Kansas. The community looks forward to the food vendors each year and some folks just go to Old Settlers for the grange pups or walking tacos.

Johnson County Old Settlers downtown Olathe, Kansas

Cedar Creek Falls is formed by an overflow dam on Cedar Creek in southwest Olathe, just above Lake Olathe. There is a flow of water year around, but Cedar Creek Falls is most impressive in the spring or after a heavy rain. Lake Olathe is a 170 acre lake surrounded by a 208 acre community park dedicated in 1959.
 

Cedar Creek Falls 143rd Street, Olathe, Kansas 66061
(913) 971-6263 

Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop & Farm Historic Site  in Olathe, Kansas is the only Santa Fe Trail stagecoach stop that is open to the public. There are three 19th century buildings as well as several 20th century and reconstructed buildings. Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop hosts Wild West Show & Bullwhacker Days in September, and a Christmas Open House in December.

Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop & Farm Historic Site 1100 Kansas City Road, Olathe, Kansas 66061 (913) 971-5111

Cedar Lake Falls is located in the spillway just below the Cedar Lake dam on the south side of Olathe. Cedar Lake is a 75 acre lake surrounded by a 54 acre community park which was originally dedicated in 1920. Cedar Lake has fishing for blue gill, black bullhead, channel catfish, crappie, green sunfish, largemouth bass, saugeye, wiper & flathead catfish.
 

Cedar Lake Falls 15500 South Lone Elm Road, Olathe, Kansas 66061 (913) 971-6263 

Marra Museum of Deaf History and Deaf Culture has two exhibit halls and tells two stories. The first half of the museum is devoted to Deaf culture and the second half is devoted to the history of the Kansas School for the Deaf. The Deaf community is composed mostly of those who have been deaf since birth or very early childhood. Sign language is the first language of those people who identify with Deaf culture and community.

Marra Museum of Deaf History and Deaf Culture 455 East Park Street Olathe, Kansas 66061 (913) 782-5808

Christmas Card Lane is an entire subdivision of homes with extravagant Christmas decorations, tied together thematically by giant Christmas cards with greetings from each family. Over 200 hundred homes are decorated with Christmas lights and luminaries. Most cars touring Christmas Card Lane turn off their headlights and creep through the subdivision. Open evenings from Thanksgiving through New Years. Free.

Christmas Card Lane North of 151st Street along Frontier Lane & Butterfield Place, west of Ridgeview Road in Olathe.

Olathe Live - The Olathe Parks & Recreation Department sponsors an annual series of free outdoor concerts at Stagecoach Park on selected Friday evenings. Sponsored in part by Olathe Ford Lincoln. the 2022 concerts included performances by Elton John Experience, The Who Generation, The Rainmakers, and Liverpool.
 
 

Olathe Live,  Stagecoach Park, 1205 E Kansas City Rd, Olathe, KS (913) 971-8600

Ensor Park and Museum is a seasonal museum devoted to teacher, craftsman and amateur radio operator, Marshal Ensor. Marshall taught industrial arts in Olathe, Kansas from 1915 to 1965. The seasonal museum occupies the Ensor family farm buildings and 8 acres of the former farm. Ensor Farmsite is both a National Historic Site and on the Register of Historic Kansas Places.
 

Ensor Park and Museum - 18995 W. 183rd Street, Olathe, KS 66062 (913) 592-4141 

Olathe Memorial Cemetery has many interesting features, burials of governors from various states, and President Obama ancestors. In mid October there are evening tours, where visitors meet the ghosts of those buried in Olathe Memorial Cemetery. Visit the graves of some of Olathe's founders and meet the people who rest here as they come alive to tell their stories including Bloody Kansas and the Civil War.

Olathe Memorial Cemetery 738 N Chestnut Street, Olathe, Kansas (913) 971-5226

Ernie Miller Nature Center and Park off Highway 7 has 3 miles of trails open for hiking from Dawn to Dusk. The 113 acre park has an outdoor amphitheater, large stream aquarium, bird feeder court with butterfly & hummingbird gardens, and other exhibits including live amphibians, turtles & snakes. Over 170 species of birds may be seen at Ernie Miller Nature Center during various seasons of the year.

Ernie Miller Nature Center 909 North Highway 7, Olathe, Kansas 66061 (913) 764-7759

Olathe Veterans Memorial Park is a lovely four acre park which memorializes the men and women who served the United States in the armed services. The park has a brick walk in honor of lost submarines and park benches, but the neatest individual memorial may be the Four Chaplains Memorial, which was dedicated to 4 chaplains from the American troop transport ship, Dorchester.

Olathe Veterans Memorial Park, 1025 South Harrison, Olathe, KS
(913) 971-6263 

Welcome Home! Cowboy Boots! was a public art exhibition of 12 6 foot tall fiberglass boots that were designed and created by area artists. They were displayed during the Olathe's 2007 Sesquetennial celebration. Some of the Welcome Home! Cowboy Boots! remain on exhibit in Olathe. The  Hyer-KSD Connection remains on display at the Kansas School for the Deaf at 450 East Park Street, and the Read Any Good Boots lately? boot is displayed within the Olathe Public Library at 201 East Park Street.

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