Tallgrass Prairie

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, created in 1996, is one of the last remaining 4% of the 140 million acres of prairie which once covered 1/3 of North America.

Visitor Rating (write your own review below)

ILNP Rating

ILNP Park Review

Our Visit. I visited Tallgrass Prairie NPres in early October as a detour off of I-70 on a long road trip between Colorado and Tennessee.

Our Weather. 60s and sunny

Near the start of the Southwind Nature Trail heading from the house to the school

Overall Impression. I didn’t really know what to expect from this park, but I was pleasantly surprised. Located in the Flint Hills of Kansas, the terrain is surprisingly un-flat and beautiful compared to what most think of as “prairie.”  The 10,894 acres of the park were once a large cattle ranch, so the beautiful 19th century farmhouse and barn that form the heart of the site stand in contrast to the miles of natural prairie surrounding them making a visit an interesting study in both nature and 1800s ranching.

Visiting. Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is in the middle of farm and ranch land between Topeka and Wichita, so you really have to be looking for it to find it. By my calculations, if you detour south onto I-35 in Kansas City instead of going straight through on I-70 and take the back roads across and up to Salina (or vice-versa), it will cost you about 30 minutes of extra driving time and save you a few bucks in tolls. You’ll need at least 30 minutes to visit the park, though 1-2 hours is better. In 30 minutes, you can quickly tour the beautiful Jones House and Limestone Barn built in the late 1800s. Don’t leave, though, without hiking the Southwind Nature Trail to at least the first overlook of the larger prairie.

Lower Fox Creek School was built in the 1880s and is a classic example of a one-room schoolhouse

With more time, you can continue your hike on the nature trail and take the trail across the creek to the Lower Fox Creek School, built in 1882 (or you can get back in your car and drive). The school grounds also offer a good view of the prairie, and this is where I saw bison, including one female about 100 yards behind the school fence. If you’re up for a more strenuous hike, take the Scenic Overlook Trail (really a gravel road) from behind the barn up to at least the first gate. This will give you a more open view of the prairie and potentially bison herds. You can hike for many miles through the prairie on the trails beyond the gate.

The main level of the barn was used for storing equipment and feed; it’s open now and full of displays

Suggestions. You can hike the trails even if the park is otherwise closed, but for me the tour through the house and barn were a real highlight of the site, so I recommend going when they’re open. When you’re out on the prairie, take a minute to just sit and listen. You’ll hear grasshoppers jumping, mice scurrying and birds shuffling through the grass, especially first thing in the morning. Even though the grass was mostly brown in October, the prairie was very much alive! Also take a minute to look at the variety of plants that make up the prairie–it’s far from the notion of a level wheat field of uniform grass most of us have in our brains. Also, bison are not cows or horses–they are wild animals, and they can be deadly, so heed the signs that tell you how far to stay from them (about a football field).

Nearby Towns Strong City, Emporia, Topeka, Wichita (KS)

Other Nearby Attractions Santa Fe National Historic Trail

Official NPS Website Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve

Write Your Own Review