Campus life
Around the city
Manhattan rates among the best classic college towns in the country. It's big enough to offer opportunities and adventures but small small enough to center around the university.
Fast facts
- Nickname: The Little Apple
- City population: 52,000
- Metro population: 113,000
- Original name: New Boston
- Founding: New York settlers ran their steamboat aground.
- Wildcat pride: Ranked No. 16 in the nation where campus and community relations are great, according to the Princeton Review's "The Best 373 Colleges."
- Purple rally: Purple Power Play on Poyntz closes downtown's main street so fans can watch fireworks and rally around the football team.
What is there to do in Manhattan?
CNN Money rates Manhattan as one of the 10 best places in America to retire young, and Men's Journal picks it as one of the 50 best places in the country to live. Find out why.
Attractions
- Shop, dine and stroll Aggieville, a hot spot for students with prime shopping, nightlife, dining and entertainment.
- The Sunset Zoo is home to more than 300 species of animals.
- Visit downtown and the mall for even more shopping and dining.
- Take a step into the past at the Riley County Historical Museum.
- Relax and enjoy the natural beauty inside the university gardens.
- Check out creepy crawlies at K-State's insect zoo.
Arts and entertainment
- The Beach Museum of Art on campus has traveling exhibits and a collection of regional art.
- K-State's McCain Performance Series hosts acclaimed Broadway musicals, comedians, musicians and dance ensembles.
- Manhattan's annual Little Apple Jazz Festival offers smooth sounds during the summer.
- Country Stampede brings some of country music's brightest stars to Manhattan in a four-day festival.
- The Manhattan Arts Center features visual and performing art.
- Improve your international culinary skills, master swing or salsa moves, scuba dive underwater, harmonize your mind and body with yoga, or learn how to Zumba at the UFM Community Learning Center.
- Check out on-campus activities, including sporting events, movies, guest lectures, concerts, art exhibits and more on any day of the week with the university calendar.
Outdoors and recreation
- Hike the Konza Prairie, one of North America's largest tallgrass prairies.
- Water ski, fish, hunt, camp or hike at the sprawling Tuttle Creek State Park north of town. Tuttle Creek Lake is one of the Midwest's largest man-made lakes.
- Skate the ice rink, take a walk, or listen to an outdoor concert at City Park in the heart of Manhattan.
- Sunbathe on the rocks at Pillsbury Crossing, a limestone ledge over Deep Creek east of Manhattan.
- Walk, jog or bike city trails, including the Linear Park Trail that circles Manhattan and follows the Kansas and Big Blue rivers.
- Visit the Manhattan Convention and Visitors Bureau.
