Reviews of Hesston Steam Museum (Museum)

Kim Atkins

Nice museum and so interesting, check it out when you can open weekends ,check their website

SMM HS

All volunteers! And they really get into character! Fun family time!

Emily Forney

Wonderful outdoor museum all about steam power and trains! Kids would love it. Volunteers are very knowledgeable. There are fun machines to see as well as trains and even a lumber mill demonstration. You can take a train ride around the nearby woods which is very nice.

Connor Olson

Great place

Charles J Doyle

Kids loved the trains they were having a war RE-enactment also at the same time we had a blast very family friendly

John McCormack

If you have kids that like trains, then this is the place to go. They have all different sizes of trains you can ride on through a large wooded area. The steam power festival is nice too, because they bring out other steam powered machinery such as tractors and saw mills.

bnuneek1

Had a blast. Lots to see and 3 trains to ride

David Alt

Take family to Heston steam museum for fun today to ride the steam train

Tammy McAlexander

Love riding the different trains.

Teri Nabours

Had a great time here with the family and the grandson loved it...and thats what really mattered...

Dawn Popp

It was a great time very afffordable for the family

Nicole Lucas

Great family fun day. We go as often as we can every summer and never miss the haunted train ride or the Candy Cane express.

Nathan Mutchler

Tourist trap. Train rides are overpriced and the museum is non existent. Avoid this place unless you want to pay $6 per to ride the 8 minute train and $4 per soda. Sorry to say but it's no bueno.

Mornin Acorn

If you've never gone you should go. It was a fun time. 3 hours max. Don't get pressured into buying the ticket "deal". Was told there would be additional rides to spend the ticket on and there wasn't. Still go though. Tip big and be nice, everyone there are volunteers.

Heidi Friedburg

I have been going there since I was a kid brings back happy memories and it's pretty neat to see what the volunteers do 2 make us enjoy things from the past

David Cook

a good place to get a train ride

Justin Krieher

Awesome place to bring the kids in the fall.

Zaxley Nash

Great time! Love the train ride. Great around X-mas for kids

Renee Thompson

Wonderful family fun as well as educational. Ride the trains and stop at the Soda fountain.

Michele Tillapaugh

Well laid out easy to wander and look at your own pace but someone always nearby to answer questions

Terry Blakeman

We took our grandson who is 4 there he had the best time was sad to leave he love's trains. I HADN'T BEEN THERE IN 40 YEARS it's so much more fun now it's still a great place to teach kids about steam works

Richard Johnson

Nice but too much walking on uneven ground.

Jillian Wendel

This place was always super educational and really fun as a kid. I know my Dad loved sharing the experience with us too.

bombie102

Pretty cool experience, it was a hot day but we enjoy the site and the train ride. Little kids and family friendly, highly recommended destination for family trip

Charmaine Conklin

We had a great time visiting Hesston on Friday. Will try to go for the Halloween weekend.

Kim Basso

We love our annual trips to Hesston. It's a great and relaxing time for the family riding the trains and getting a scoop of icecream. It's an all volunteer led group which ensures pride in every train ride.

Corey Baxter

Great family experience, very affordable, definitely be coming back!

Shawn Hasty

Nice activity to do with the family

Barb Snow

Was a great time went on Halloween train.

Zachary Riley

fantastic daybtrip, took the family with our 2 year old sin who loved getting to ride all the trains, great value for family fun

Ben Morlock

Stand up place great atmosphere to spend the day. Have been taking my son to hesston for four years never been disappointed!!! Great volunteers and many great activitys during the season. Variety of attractions and events also great ice cream and gift shop it is a great place to see

Kate Carlyle

Great place!

Chris Barr

Great place for kids, especially boys who love machines. They had tractor out, and several different train rides running, plus a steam powered sawmill. Cheap and lots of fun. You can tell the volunteers who kept things running loved being there.

June Says

Decent place to visit. A little surprised that there isn't more here.

Angelica M. Galindo T.

My husband and love it here. My 6 year old is also loving it. We are planning on buying memberships for Christmas.

Amber Hylton

fun Halloween train ride for young children

Lori Muench

We were there for their big Labor Day event and it didn't disappoint. Even with a heavy downpour mid-afternoon it didn't stop the fun!

Renee Barton

The Heston Steam Engine Museum is cute. They have several cars sitting on the grounds but not any information with them to tell you what they are or what they were used for either. We were there at Christmas time to ride the Santa train. We were very disappointed because it was just their regular train ride. No Santa on the ride or anything. The lines were way too long with very little seating throughout the park. Facility was decorated nicely and they handed out free hot chocolate and cookies. Everything else was a bit too pricey.

Steven Katra

Great place to take the kids! Ice cream parlor is tasty!

KELLY DWEZ

This place is awesome. My boys love coming here and can't seem to get enough. They can ride the trains all day long.

Abhishek Ranjan

Reminds of good old days of Steam Engine.

Gale Jackson

We love their small train rides.

Dominic Cappozzo

Awesome. Best place ever. Highly recommend.

Dmitriy Chitown

Love this place already been here 3 times it's not that far from Chicago and fairly cheap and very fun to ride trains, not only for kids but adults too!

Jenny Becker

Perfect for our train loving kiddos 5 and under. Perfect for penny pinchers- bring your own lunch to picnic at their tables and only pay for a train ride. FYI if you live local (which we didn't) you can buy the three ride pass and save the other rides for another time. They don't expire!

Terry Driver

Wonderful destination full of local history

Heather Wilson

A very friendly place to stop. The volunteers were very kind and helpful. A relaxed atmosphere.

Michael Tibone

A fantastic train adventure for young kids

Urzula Urzua

Fabulous!! We just discovered this museum in June and we’ve been four times. That’s pretty often bc it takes us about two hours to get there! One time it took us three hours. Summer road construction is a bear! Great place for families and kids, and hobbyists like my husband. Three different styles of trains to ride.

Linda Dearing

It was fabulous, even though it was cold, rainy, and windy! The volunteers are exceptional, and the Ghost Train was corny and creepy at the same time! Go, go, go!

Greg Riffle

Fun experience! Probably wouldn't have been as fun if we were there to only ride the trains, but they had a Labor Day event that made the time passing a little more entertaining.

Laurie Elzinga

So cute!

Mara Walker

My husband and I, joined by my husband's cousin and his family, traveled from Lafayette indiana to the Laport area to ride the Hessington Haunted train. We had 8 children with us, ages ranging from 2-13. All of us enjoyed our quaint, daytime scenic route and its spooky thrills. The smaller kids had fun and were slightly scared at the end of the ride, but not crying nor did they want off. The older ones were feightened momentarily at the end but really enjoyed the ride. After we finished, we walked around the area watching the steam powered saw cut large logs, went to other areas that weren't running because of the weekend hours and poked around the icecream shop. We all had a great time. If you are in the area, this museum is a fun way to pass some time. The prices were reasonable as all 12 of us rode the train one time for $65.

Stephen Jones

I went on Father's Day and it was awesome

jerome smigla

A great place for young and old train/steam fans. Pleasant staff, most are volunteering to work there.They answered questions and made us glad to be there too! An assortment of different trains to ride including a Shay loco which is a sight let alone functional . Picnic area, small restaurant and ice cream store.

DONALD HASSLER

Took ride on train with big steam engine. Enjoyable. Static displays very interesting to old and young . Luncheonette no air conditioning and expensive standard fast food. We left.

mike kramarenko

If you love the railroad, or just antique steam driven machines this is the place for you.

Jessica Phelps

We bought a Groupon for this place and so we're excited to go as a part of our vacation to Lake MI. We have 4 children ages 11 and under. We bought the tickets good for 4 rides on any train. I thought that the trains would be bigger and a bit faster to make it worth it for my older two but apparently the biggest train wasn't running :(. They should have offered a discount because of this, in my opinion. We had to ride one of the other trains twice to fulfill our ticket punches and the waiting in line plus the slowish ride was disappointing. And parents have to ride with the children on every ride so that means more tickets. This is fun for kids under 6, though. The most exciting ride is the kiddie train that goes over bridges. I wish they at least explained the engines and how they worked to the kids or made up some kind of educational story for them but every ride is silent. We were there for about 2.5 hours just riding 4 rides so we were worn and left without going to the ice cream shop/restaurant, which I'm sure would have been a nice treat. This could be a great time if they added a scavenger hunt through the forest rides or a storyteller or something.

Scott Mabus

Always have a good time here with the kids

Jonathan Edwards

Great place for enthusiasts and kids who love trains!

Dan West

Kids had fun

Ashley Shaw

My son loves this place!

David Bannwart

Multiple trains to ride, you can visit Santa Claus, and there's a nice little shop to get a sundae a shake or a little lunch. Restrooms are clean and handy and everybody is overly friendly.

Linda Barnes

A great place to bring the family. My grandsons love the trains. Very scenic. ❤

Shawn Wagster

Nice little getaway for a few hours. Interesting to watch the sawmill in action, and talk to the smithy. On this day the Shay #7 was pulling the ghost train, nice ride for kids of all ages.

John Coghill

Very amusing and interesting way to spend an afternoon with young children. Both my grandson(5) and granddaughter (7) had a great time. They enthusiastically asked to ride each of the three train trips through the forest. They were interested in the static display of giant steam powered devices and the threashing and sawmill activities. Very nice way to spend a afternoon down home near Indiana.

S E

This is great place to go. Our 10 year old grandson loves this place and so do we. All of the trains are steam driven. You can ride in or on them depending on the scale. It is very interesting, educational and fun. If you have never been it is worth the trip.

Celeste Diehl

Lovely place to visit. Has a nice gift shop and very enjoyable train rides! Very relaxing time!

Jonas Clawson

Kids loved this place. Riding the train seeing all the cool things then ice cream at the end. Great times were had here.

Rachel Murray

The kids enjoyed it. Its more for smaller children, like my 6yr old was interested more than my 9yr old. Although my 9yr old has been there on field trips before but he only found it interesting back in k-2nd grade. There's only a few things to look at/do. We went specifically for the Ghost Train ride & personally neither one of my boys were interested because they could easily tell the few decorations that were out, were familiar ones that we have, or we've seen in stores or yards. & the other decorations were very simple & quickly/messy thrown together, looks like it was done at last minute. I understand its not suppose to be absolutely frightening but it should have been put together/decorated Much better than it was, especially with how much the tickets cost to ride it one time around, which is a whole 5-7minute long. Overall - decent, something different to do on an open/unplanned day.

Brenda Bondi

A nice afternoon viewing steam powered machines ... Train ride was interesting and informative ... Soda fountain was nice and clean ... Yes, they have real, clean restrooms on site

Donna Raider

Nice but only open on weekends diring the summer months. 12 to 5 for train rides.

David Gruber

Fun place for all ages.

Lauren F

Wonderful people. Wonderful trains. Wonderful experience. A little pricey, ut worth it.

Jeremiah turbo

We come here every year, santa and staff are great!

Judith Edens

It's a nice little place. They could do more to improve it, but overall it's a nice family activity to try. It's usually only five dollars to ride per person.

Chip Freitas

Friendly staff, fun for kids

Morgan Carrillo

Our boys love trains and I am so glad we took the time to visit the Hesston Steam Museum. It was a wonderful family day and we had so much fun. All 3 trains were running. We only rode the large and medium to save money, but all 3 would have been good rides. I think the largest and smallest are probably the neater rides because they go through the forest and over bridges etc. The medium train is fun because of the cattle car, which our boys rode in, but it goes along the edge of the property and no bridges or anything. The bathrooms were clean and nice. There is plenty of shaded picnic space to bring your own lunch or pick up something at the soda shop to eat. We did get burgers for lunch and they were delicious. Large burger fresh made on toasted butter buns. The price also wasn't bad for what you get, $6.50 for cheeseburger and fries. Our kids split the meal and we drank our own water so it was very affordable. We didn't try the ice cream but it looked delicious and they gave good portions as well. Our kids are little so we just rode the trains and ate, but there was a lot more to walk around and look at. There were barns with old trains and farm equipment, a black Smith shop, volunteers working on repairing parts etc. Definitely a good place for a field trip. All the people working here are volunteers and love what they do. They're full of knowledge too. Everyone we met was friendly and helpful. We'll come back again for sure!

Jayden Gladura

The atmosphere was amazing. Me and my grandparents went and I loved it! They had all sorts of different trains, as well as different things to do during the year.

Katrina Short

Outstanding!!!!!!! The trains were great!!!! I would bring a lunch or snacks in case something goes wrong with the kitchen or it's closed. (That happened to us and luckily we had food we could give the kids.) **Noise sensitive kids** the train whistles are so loud. If your kid doesn't do well with loud, bring some ear protection. Nice restrooms. Great length of rides on all the lines. Prices were good. All the staff were very kind and helpful. We will come again.

David Martin

This is completely run by volunteers. I've been gong since I was a child. It generally only operates for the public on weekends in the summer, tho the gates are usually open and somebody or ten are puttering on something. Free admission except on Labor Day weekend. Ice cream parlor, gift shop, steam train rides, stream tractor plowing and threshing demonstrations, many static steam machines operating. Three are also winter holiday operating hours. Worth the trip.

Amylee Erickson

So much fun for all ages! Used to go with my grandparents many many years ago and was so excited to take my whole family. Your best deal is to get the tickets for 4 rides per person. We let the kids choose which train as their favorite for the 4th ride. Food was really tasty too. They have special events even during christmas time so make Sure to check the website. Everyone there volunteers so make sure to be kind and understanding of them.

kenneth Maerz

Nice peaceful day and great train ride

William Russell

Great place to go and see a piece of American history. Fun train rides for all ages. The Halloween and Christmas trains are great for kids and adults.

Shie Nah

This is a great adventure not far from the city. About an hour drive from downtown Chicago. Family friendly! Kids of all ages will definitely enjoy it. Enjoy a nice juicy burger at their small diner or pack a pic nic. They offer an outside covered area with pic nic tables. Plenty of free parking! Yes, free parking!

Raeann Donaway

Loved this place. Great attractions for families & good prices

Bonnie Eddy

It's a fun place you can ride trains that kids and adults will enjoy.

Jill Otto

The Hesston Steam Museum is a great place to take the whole family and learn about Trains & go for Train rides on three different sized Trains & they all so have a Restaurant with great food & all so an old fashion Ice Cream & Soda Pop bar & clean bathrooms & a really nice gift shop to by T shirts - and so much more

susan ricciardi

Outstanding time for the kids they loved it. We had a picnic lunch and waited for a train.

Tom Karels

Train derailed but enhanced the experience

Jason Heidkamp

This place is so cool. Train rides, blacksmith, old school ice cream parlor and more.

Dan Margraf

Great place for kids and family. There are quite a few special events through out the year .

Jim Eaton

Great day today.

Kevin W Cooper

Great day, rode the train and stopped to get some good ice cream. Grandson Loved it

Mark R

Cool place. The Model A pick up was my favorite

Bradley Hutchinson

This Hidden Gem has a lot of things to offer. It is a full-on steam Museum with tractors trains a Generating Station and an operating Sawmill. I have taken would there a few times to get milled at The Sawmill and it's absolutely amazing to watch. The trains are operational and you can go through a beautiful woodscape where you can see plenty of neat little things they have set up to show. They offer Christmas theme and Halloween themed rides. It is awesome to see these old trains brought to life in their full steam glory! A must see if you were in the area.

Howard Trembly

Had a good time today. They hadca civil war reenactment of a train robbery. Wasnt bad for being all volunteers..

Cameron Weinreich

My 3 year old son loved our visit there, and the ride on the big steam train was pretty cool. They had lots of machines, tractors, and vehicles to check out. Great adventure for any engineer-to-be!

amanda childers

Very kid friendly and the prices are definitely reasonable! My kids loved the train rides!

Andrew Worden

It was a fun time loved the smallest train to ride.

Chris Tucker's Photoglife

Awesome place, my 3 grandsons love it there & would go every week if they could.

Dave Olszewski

They had bad volunteers there. They didn't apprecated that older volunteers and me for hard work there. They let kids came to train at noon and work on train as conductor or engineer. They were not fair. They need better managers there.

Howard Phillips

Alot to see and do. Fun for the whole family. Food vendors and flea market style sales. Three different sized trains to ride and three different routes. A must see!

Mary McDowell

Nice place & free! Enjoyed the train ride & the food.

Charles Maddox

My granddaughter and I loved it.

Kenneth Kidulas

Super friendly staff. We went on a off day by accident and a nice staff member took us around for a backstage look at all the trains. My 3 year old son had a blast and so did I!

Ben Strauser

Really cool little place. All volunteer ran, you can tell these are people who really care about what's going on. While we were there a new locomotive that they had been waiting for arrived. You could see the pride on the faces of the volunteers as they all pitched in and helped to unload their new piece of history. I also really enjoyed the young man who was working as a conductor on the big train. It's great getting to be around people who are passionate about what they do.

Liyi Lu

Great train museums three different type active running train for the kiddos to ride on

Jaimi Smith

This is an amazing place with amazing people, me and my family will keep coming back as long as we can!

Tiffany VanDyke

My kids love all the trains and there labor day event is a must see

Mrs. Bennett

Lots of trains, no wait to ride. Not bad for the price.

Chrissy Rush

Great place to spend an afternoon. Good way to give kids a bit of history. Several trains to ride in or on. There's a yummy ice cream parlor where you can get lunch and a fresh soda from the soda jerk. Select weekends they have bbq brisket. Beside the trains there's a stream powered saw mill and other steam powered machines. There's also a black smith to check out. Great place to be out in the fresh air and wander around. You can buy single rides or a four pack. They do special activities for holidays too.

Jason Shintani

Great for families with children. They have three different sized trains each with a different route. The small trains are my favorite. If you come on Memorial Day or Labor Day weekend they have a steam powered sawmill and a flee market.

Peter Danta

Beautiful, quaint steam museum with great refreshments and awesome train rides. My first visit to the Hesston Steam Museum was in 1999 on Labor Day weekend, and since then, I've been going back there for years. I always have fun there.

Todd Miller

Very much enjoyed the day. Great way to turn back time and see all the fun equipment from day gone.

Charlie Gress

Had a wonderful time. Great place to take little ones and see some cool old steam machines

Ethan Fletcher

Fantastic place. I am super in love with all of the old unique equipment here. The train ride is very fun and worth the money. Haven't tried the restaurant yet but I bet it's delicious.

Matt Siemer

Great place ! Volunteer operated!

Jason Sobczynski

Wonderful place! If you're into steam or Old Iron..... Go here!

adam morris

Great place to visit for anyone who appreciates living history, family friendly.

Tony Jackowski

Great place to go with the kids

Dave Cook

I could visit this everyday. Always fun, with friendly people, and awesome train's.

Lyne Budny

Love this place! My boys enjoy the train rides and everyone there is so nice and helpful!

Gosia Bugaj

Great place ,lots of fun for kids and whole family, friendly people ,fun time all around!

Jon Hinman

A fun time if you like trains or steam engines. Great for kids, but most things are outside so verify the weather will be good before taking the trip.

Christine McPherson

We all had a good time. Even my one-year-old was allowed to ride

Danielle Thor

So awesome!! Came during the civil war reenactment and the kids had a blast!!

Aakriti Deora

Wow!!!!! Wat a nice place for kids. All childhood fantasy of train can b fulfilled here. Lovely staff at shop.

Isaac Dekine

Hidden little gem if you love trains or historical steam engines! Well worth the price, and all the volunteers are absolutely passionate and wonderful about explaining things.

Martha Lee

Fun place to go and ride on tiny, small and large steam trains

Kristen Shaffer

Very nice. Family oriented

Amanda Childers

The kids love coming here to ride the trains!

john bunton

A great place for people of all ages who enjoy a bygone era of steam. Labor day weekend is one of the best experiences you will ever have but any weekend is fun. The ability to get so close to something as magical as a giant steam locomotive, steam operated crane, and steam operated sawmill is a dream come true for every little kid inside everyone. Many recent upgraded amenities have done nothing but improve the experience that you will have here. The look on your child's face when they see some of the working exhibits is well worth all of it.

Korey West

Great staff, cute ice cream shop and so much fun! Love coming here to meet Santa too!!

Rachel Eaton

Beautiful set up and a great family trip.

Carrie McCullough

Another great memory at Hesston Steam Museum! We had never been,to their Civil War days until this year...boy have we missed out! They did an amazing job including the passengers into the reenactment and the storyline was believeable and imaginitive. My only advisement is to not take babies or anyone with sensory issues on the reenactment train because they do fire their guns and blow the whistle on the engine and it is LOUD! And if I could go back and do it differently, I would probably explain to my kids that the reenactment is a play - not real and the soldiers are actors who are pretending. Like I said, it was amazing - very realistic, and we will probably go again!

Mark Dehnart

What a great place, the family had so much fun, the volunteers are incredibly! We love this place!

Adam Berghammer

Nice place to take the family. Reasonably priced and interesting!

Brian McDonnell

Even on slow days there is something for everyone.

Johnathan Carroll

Great place to go for a family outing very educational

trickup trick

Loved it. Great for kids of all ages.

Kate Prater

Such a fun family outing. My daughter asks to go see the trains often since visiting. We plan to visit at least once annually.

Robin Witte

I have taken my boys here a few times to celebrate their birthdays. Every year I am amazed at the continued improvements to the museum. The train rides are great, if a little pricey, and you can go to their ice cream school, gift shop, and check out their big collection of tractors. My boys always have a blast. The surrounding area is beautiful too, so it's easy to get great photos and memories. There were 3 different sizes of trains that you could ride the last time we were there; a large, full sized train, a smaller train that adults can just fit in, and a tiny one that you ride on top!

Alesha Levora

Great place off the beaten path. Excellent for boys and girls alike

Preston Stell

What a fun place to take your kids! It'll cost you maybe $10 for a couple train rides for you, spouse, and kid, but it is so worth it. From the point you park in the lot you can see the train going through and that is lots of fun. There are so many trains to look at and explore. My daughter had a blast and my wife and I loved watching her have a blast. We will definitely go back!

Sean Krueger

Slow, relaxing place. Lots of food on Labor day weekend.

Deb Dubois

Throw back in time.

Erika Kiefer

This a wonderful place for an outdoor family outing. So many things to see and lots of fun train rides. Prices are reasonable and they also have food and drinks. As well as a nice gift shop. Highly recommended for an afternoon out with the family.