Nicknamed Salt City on account of its extensive salt mining industry, Hutchinson in the state of Kansas is the county seat of Reno County as well as its largest city. While the city’s industry might be salty, its standard of living is sweet, and many of its permanent residents have opted to settle here on account of its appeals.
While salt is still mined extensively by the Hutchinson Salt Company, some of the space of the city’s original and largest mine, opened in 1923 by the Carey Salt Company, has been sold to Underground Vaults and Storage and now stores the master copies of classic movies such as Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of O_z and _Star Wars. Occasionally drawing movie buffs to the city, fans of the flicks may be disappointed that there is no access to the vaults.
From a visitor’s perspective, Hutchinson is not an especially exciting city and offers just a handful of places worthy of visiting. However, the city can be used as a base to explore Kansas’ more interesting destinations, such as Wichita, Dodge City and Abilene. Still, Hutchinson has its own zoo, the Underground Salt Museum and the annual Hutchfest event, so it’s worth sticking around for a short while at least.
Highlights
Kansas Underground Salt Museum: a double-decker elevator takes visitors down into the fascinating mine where salt is extracted from deposits that are 275 million years old.
Hutchinson Zoo: this small but intimate facility introduces visitors to the indigenous creatures of Kansas.
Hutchfest: held at the end of June and running into July is the city’s annual festival, which includes a fairground, live music, interactive games and eating contests.
Kansas State Fair: held for 9 days in September, this event sees live entertainment, a fairground and unusual competitions among other attractions.