Destination Pittsburg

Admit it. You wonder why folks from larger cities and colleges around the country are eager to come to Southeast Kansas for events. You don’t understand how Pittsburg, Kansas hotels reach more than 100,000 overnight stays in a year.

Or, maybe, you don’t care.

You don’t care that travel has a $2.8 trillion economic impact in the United States. You don’t care it supports 15 million jobs across the nation.

If you do care, you’re asking: So why do travelers come here?

Events

Locals brag that in less than a few hours we can be in Kansas City, Branson, Fayetteville, Tulsa, Wichita, or Topeka. We’re a long day’s drive from the Rocky Mountains, Appalachian Mountains, Canada, or even Mexico. What we forget, is folks who live in those locations can come to Pittsburg in the same amount of time.

Location is not an accomplishment but it is convenient for organizations with members spread across the U.S. when they are looking for specific facilities. Consider this: one in five Americans live within 500 miles of here – nobody else this far west can say that.

Thanks to Pittsburg State University, we have a lot of facilities normally only found in much larger cities. Plus, with six school districts and several communities a very short driving distance from each other, there are numerous ball fields, basketball courts, football fields, meeting spaces, stages, and more.

For meeting and sports event planners, it’s a perfect blend of central location, facilities usually only seen in larger cities, it’s quick and easy to get around, and it’s affordable.

One weekend with one big event filling up restaurants and hotels in the Pittsburg area is rare. What is more likely is several smaller events going on at the same time: such as a musician with a regional draw, a bowling tournament, an open house or expo on the PSU campus, a reunion, wedding, or other celebration, and some kind of a sporting event. (BTW: National sporting events may get attention, but regional events tend to bring in more guests.)

There isn’t one big event that brings guests to the area, just like there isn’t one reason travelers stop here if they’re passing through.

Wanderlust

No, the Pittsburg area doesn’t have an amusement park, zoo, professional sports team, or any other big ticket attraction. There are no mountains and there the closest beach is more than 600 miles away. There isn’t one big attraction here… other than Big Brutus.

But people are exploring the world around them. Retired Baby Boomers are traveling the country. With 10,000+ new retirees every day, that is a huge opportunity for communities off the beaten path. And they are not alone. Twenty-somethings who grew up watching “Cars” are exploring and “digital nomads” who can work remotely are looking for places that are slower than the big city, but still have things to see and do. And they all want great places to eat.

Our corner of Kansas has a festival or holiday celebration nearly every weekend of the year. There are multiple locations with live music every Friday and Saturday night across Pittsburg, Frontenac, and even Farlington. Theater fans can see anything from a small school production to a Broadway show.

Explorers and adventure seekers have fun in the unique natural habitat that surrounds us – a combination of where prairie meets the Ozarks, that’s also been shaped by man, beast, and machine. Fishing, hunting, and increasingly, kayaking and gravel biking. Gravel riding is growing in popularity because there’s less traffic than on paved roads and it’s not as challenging as mountain biking.

It helps that our heritage is not like anywhere else in the state. From immigrants who came to work the mines, to an entrepreneurial spirit that led to bootlegging and fried chicken, history buffs are fascinated by our stories and they love that new life is being breathed into our historic buildings.

All of that is meaningless if you can’t feed your guests. With more than 70 locations to get something to eat, drink, or snack on, that is not a problem. That’s one mom & pop stop for every 550-600 residents – and that does not count any of the fast food restaurants or other familiar chains.

The People

Location, facilities, events, and things to do may bring in folks, but it’s the people that keep them coming back. Welcome them. Thank them for coming. Ask them where they’ve been and help them figure out what they should go do next.

Remember that time you stood outside your family’s favorite chicken house and the smell of fried chicken had you drooling before you even walked through the front door? Or what about the first time you stood at the bottom of Big Brutus, looked up in awe, and realized “big” is an understatement?

These small moments become unforgettable memories. Every day someone is having these same experiences for the first time.

There is a lot going on in the Pittsburg area. It can be overwhelming trying to keep up with all of the different events – trust us, we know. So let us do that work for you. Sign up for our events email newsletter and follow us on Facebook. If we’re missing something, let us know!

There is always something going on. You just have to know where to look.

The article above was originally published in the 2020 Pittsburg Engage guide printed by the City of Pittsburg, Kansas. It has been revised and updated, and it is posted here in celebration of National Travel and Tourism Week, May 4-10, 2025.