Kansas City to Colorado Springs drive: Distance, time & best stops

Planning a Kansas City to Colorado Springs road trip itinerary

The Kansas City to Colorado Springs drive takes you from the Missouri River to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.

Technically two cities spread over two different states, Kansas City has a rich cultural heritage. The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and American Jazz Museum show this off. Other top attractions include the National World I Memorial and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

Good experiences in Kansas City include an indulgent food tour of the city’s best BBQ joints, Segway tours, the Sealife Aquarium and wine-tasting trips.

Memorable Kansas City accommodation includes the colonial-style Truitt Hotel and the stylish, art-filled 21C Museum Hotel.

Colorado Springs is at the foot of the Rockies – most notably the 14,114ft-high Pikes Peak. You can take a Jeep tour to the top, or go via the cog railway. The other natural highlight is the Garden of the Gods, a park with giant red sandstone formations jutting out towards the sky. Ways of exploring include Jeep tours, ebike adventures and Segway tours.

Other interesting Colorado Springs experiences include falconry classes, food tours, hot air balloon flights and ziplining.

For memorable Colorado Springs accommodation with character, go for the Great Wolf Lodge or the Mining Exchange.

Kansas City to Colorado Springs distance and driving time

By car, the distance from Kansas City to Colorado Springs is 587 miles. That makes for a driving time of around eight hours and 34 minutes. The quickest route is along the I-70 and US-24.

The best stops to add to a Kansas City to Colorado Springs road trip itinerary are Topeka KS, Abilene KS and Colby KS.

Best stops between Kansas City and Colorado Springs: Topeka KS

The capital of Kansas has several attractions that grab the attention. You can do tours of the Kansas State Capitol Building, push lots of buttons at the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center and get a feel for the past at Old Prairie Town. The latter is a living history museum, with plenty of heritage buildings to explore, at the Ward-Meade Historic Site.

Topeka’s most compelling attraction, however, is the Evel Knievel Museum. This celebrates the world’s most famous stuntman, and includes a virtual reality experience.

Kansas City to Colorado Springs drive: Abilene KS

The small town of Abilene, Kansas, gave America one of its great generals and presidents. Dwight D Eisenhower’s boyhood home is now part of his Presidential Library and Museum.

As with most of these presidential libraries, the museum section doesn’t just cover the former president’s life and work – it acts as a snapshot of the historic period he lived through.

Kansas City to Colorado Springs road trip attractions: Colby KS

The collection at the Prairie Museum of Art and History in Colby, Kansas, is eclectic but not especially gripping. You can expect dolls, ceramics, furniture and plenty of local history.

Where the museum comes into its own is the outdoor section, where a succession of old buildings have been brought together. The two main highlights are the cute little church and the absolutely enormous barn, which is proudly billed as the biggest barn in Kansas.

The Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Photo by Melanie Magdalena/ Unsplash.

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