7 Best Wellness Retreats In Kansas

Also known as the sunflower state, Kansas is famous for its big sky landscapes and homespun charm. It’s an ideal destination for anyone in search of tranquility, wilderness, and calm. In these serene retreats, you can experience the rustic peace of life on the ranch, soak your cares away in a steamy sauna, spend the night under the stars in that famous big sky, or just catch your breath in a slow-paced small town. Whatever you’re looking for, soul searchers and wellness wanderers will find what they need in these restorative retreats.

Find Yourself in the Forest

If you find your wellness in the wilderness, camp out in style at the Inntirety Healing Center, a yoga and spiritual retreat center near Kansas City. The facility set deep in a lush 5-acre forest, offers a variety of programs, from silent retreats to yoga workshops to art classes. With a dry and steam-barrel sauna, outdoor soaking baths, meditation stations, tree pods, and wading areas, the center blends the beauty of nature with self-exploration and mindfulness. There are a variety of options for staying onsite, giving visitors a chance to lodge in a TeePee-style tent, a treehouse, campsites, or a vintage camper.

Soak Your Cares Away in a Spa Whirlpool

A tranquil retreat on 25 acres in the Smoky Hill River Valley, Rock Haven Spa can trace its history back to the 1800s when it was a cattle and horse barn. Now transformed into a luxury destination spa, the center harnesses its beautiful natural surroundings to provide services, including massages, facials, wraps, and pedicures against the backdrop of the secluded countryside. One of the highlights of Rock Haven is its ‘bathing rituals.’ This involves soaking in an outdoor in-ground whirlpool while enjoying champagne and snacks, followed by a session in an aromatherapy steam room before beginning your spa treatment. After treating yourself, take some time to explore the grounds and meet some of the more colorful residents. Rock Haven is home to some very friendly and very pretty peacocks.

Rock Haven Spa is located nine miles south of the town of Hays where you’ll find the Bissing House, a historic Victorian bed and breakfast with an inviting wrap-around porch and cozy parlor. The house, which is in the heart of downtown Hays, was built in 1909 and beautifully restored with antique furnishings throughout.

Camping in a State Park

Eisenhower State Park, in eastern Kansas, is an area of unspoiled natural beauty that includes 1,000 acres of prairie, 440 acres of dense woodland, and 6.390 acres of Melvern Lake. You can book accommodation in the heart of this gorgeous scenery by booking a campsite, a primitive yurt, or a modern cabin. Staying in the park means you’re only minutes away from its swimming beaches, boat launches, nature trails, and fishing ponds. You can rent kayaks or canoes to explore the water, play a game of disc golf, or simply relax and enjoy the great outdoors. Look out for local wildlife — the park is home to large populations of white-tailed deer and wild turkeys.

Rustic Retreat in the Flint Hills

The Lazy T Ranch, located in the beautiful Flint Hills of eastern Kansas, is perfect for a rustic retreat. First opened in 1855, this working ranch offers stunning views over the hills and the Kansas River Valley. There are two guest houses on the property and a historic 1860s stone barn. Those seeking some quiet time can spend their stay exploring the ranch’s beautiful grounds, which include a prairie meadow, Sugarloaf Hill, and numerous overlook spots. There are also activities on site if you need more entertainment, including ranch suppers, cowboy campfires, and meeting the ranch’s resident ponies, sheep, goats, llamas, dogs, cats, and bunnies.

Off the ranch, the nearby town of Manhattan offers a host of attractions, including the Flint Hills Discovery Center, where you can learn more about the region. You can also take the short drive north to visit Tuttle Creek Lake and Tuttle Creek State Park, popular recreation areas for hiking, fishing, and swimming.

Relax in America’s Best Small Town

The charming town of Abilene has won a lot of awards over the years, including Best US Small Town, Best Historic Small Town, and Best Weekend Getaway. It’s easy to see Abilene’s appeal. This welcoming community is the ideal destination when you need to take a break, providing history, heritage, and beautiful sights. Start at the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, which celebrates the 34th President who grew up in Abilene. You may also want to take a walk around the historic Seelye Mansion, where most of the fascinating furnishings come from the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.

Next, see the scenery around Abilene and be transported into the past with a ride aboard the Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad. This excursion on a 1919 steam engine is a 10.5 mile round trip through the picturesque Smoky Hill River Valley. Finish up your Abilene experience with a stay at the quaint Abilene's Victorian Inn Bed & Breakfast. Built in 1887, this Queen Anne style guesthouse was once the home of President Eisenhower’s childhood best friend.

Lounging in the Countryside

The Barn Bed and Breakfast Inn in northeast Kansas is where you go when you want to escape into another world. Located between Topeka and Atchison, this beautiful rustic retreat has all the unspoiled beauty of the lush countryside combined with very modern (and very relaxing) amenities such as a pool, hot tub, and massage therapist. Housed in a lovingly renovated centuries-old barn, the lodge is set on sweeping grounds that include walking paths and a fish pond. The nearby town of Valley Falls is a quaint community on the Glacial Hills Scenic Byway. Other attractions in the area include two wineries, Crooked Post Winery and Jefferson Winery, Lake Perry, and Perry State Park, which contains campgrounds, a beach, fishing areas, and 20 miles of hiking and biking trails.

Hide Away Among The Trees

If you’ve ever wanted to stay in a treehouse, you can live that dream at Hidden Valley Wilderness Retreat in the Glacial Hills region. Located on the Glacial Hills Scenic Byway, the retreat is also a chance to see Kansas’ unique glacier-carved hills and valleys carved out centuries ago. There are three treehouses on site, deep in more than 40 acres of old-growth forest. The newest, the Whispering Elm Treehouse, features two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a screened-in deck. Elsewhere on the property, you can enjoy a hot tub, 2 miles of hiking trails, ponds, fire pits, and a bubbling creek.

Book a Break in Kansas

If you’re looking to get away from it all, there’s no better place to rest, recharge, and rejuvenate than in the beautiful Midwest, where the scenery is stunning, the welcome is warm, and adventure awaits. Whether you’re staying at a spa, wandering the storybook streets of Kansas’ best small town, hiking the wilderness, or enjoying the solitude of a secluded treehouse, you’ll feel like you’ve stepped into another world. One where deadlines and to-do lists take a back seat to self-care and making memories. Give yourself the gift of wellness this year and book a Kansas vacation.