tallgrass prairie national preserve

Maybe it's because I grew up in the concrete canyons of NYC, but standing in the middle of prairie, surrounded by grasses and big sky touches me in a deeply soulful way. I have been there spring, fall, and winter...now I want to see the prairie fires. I will return here as often as I can for the rest of my life.

The Flint hills of KS have most of the remaining prairie and the Tallgrass Preserve is a good place to see it. Easy to access trails lead to the stands of tall grass prairie, and views of a bison herd to those fortunate to see them. The visitor center is informative.

Autumn on the prairie. Tallgrass over 6 feet high. Beautiful clear blue Kansas sky. A must see part of America.

What we did first was to tour the old ranch grounds and all of the buildings, which will take one a good 2-3 hours. The former ranch is amazing as far as what could be done when one had money to build a homestead on the prairie. The original owner certainly went to great lengths to make his wife happy if she was to spend her life on the property. Not mega splendor that a wife of a wealthy rancher near St Louis or Denver might have lived in but comfortable for the area in that era. Next, we drove up the highway to the stone one room school house before eating lunch at Hays House in Council Grove. We returned to take the bus tour, which is highly recommended to take. NOTE: The date of the visit selected is incorrect but TA would not let me go back further. We visited in late Spring

We arrived two days after the planned burning of the grass. It was other worldly. the autumn colors splashed agains that cinder and soot were striking. There is a excellent museum. The trails are well maintained and easily navigated. You can find a space that has not changed in hundreds of years. It is like the ocean. It is primitive and untamed.

This nature trail is by itself. One of the many trails takes you through fields with buffalo and cows. I noticed that the terrible review for this site indicated that nothing is around this thing site...which is just like most things in Kansas. The barn is sadly closed off to the public but if you really want to see the inside of a barn, I am sure most farmers would let you see a current barn. One of the main trails does get flooded though.

The visitor center is nicely done. One bonus when we went (I don't think it is a permanent exhibit) was an exhibit of 7 original Smokey Bear ad posters. About 3' x 4' each. The house was closed for maintenance, so we didn't get to tour it. The barn was impressive. We didn't have time (or the energy today) to do any of the hikes.

If you like nature and the prairie this is a wonderful park. The Visitors' Center is nicely done and has some interesting stuff. The Rangers staffing it were extremely helpful helping me select the hiking trails for best sunsets or sunrises, spotting buffalo, etc. There is a grand house and barn on the property that alone is worth the stop.If you intend to hike the trails be ready - they are not for the easily wearied. Leave the little kids with someone because it can be a long walk. Paths are just mowed through the tall grass. There are no covered pavilions, shade or even benches along the way. They provide a good map of the trails but you are out there on your own. No one comes around looking after you. Take water, and wear a wide-brimmed hat and maybe take a hiking stick or trekking pole. You will be rewarded, though - the vistas are spectacular. Get out at sunup and you will be amazed with the thousands of the dewy spider webs standing in the tall grass. Go to the old schoolhouse about a half mile north of the park entrance for sunups (you can drive and park there). Drive to the Scenic Overlook about 3 miles south of Cottonwood Falls for the sunsets and to look at the stars.

Our family, including two teenagers stopped here during our cross country trip home. Drove 18 hours to end our day's drive nearby. Stayed in nearby Cottonwood falls at the Millstream Resort (also great). We were up and early to be out on the overlook trail by sunrise. As you might imagine, the kids were not thrilled at a 5:30 wake up call but once there thought it was pretty awesome! We were even were lucky enough to see the bison! Highly recommend this and receives 4 enthusiastic thumbs up from us. Only small request is to sell stickers for the park in the gift shop. We love putting the stickers on our skybox as souvenirs from our visits.

This was a nice stop for us, where we got to learn a lot about what the millions of acres of prairie that covered the US were like. There is a brand new Visitor Center where you can learn about the history and animals that are in the park. The Rangers were very nice and helpful.

Been to dozens of national parks, this was by far the worst. In middle of now where. Visitor center looked more like a bomb shelter in disrepair, the house and barn were closed to the public, the only thing to do I guess was hike 2 miles in 95 degree heat to see buffalo

This is a great place to go hiking. When we got there the house was under contrition so we didn't get to see in side it. the hiking is wonderful. It is closer to strong city than cotton wood falls so if you go make sure you have a map. oh and try to get there while the visitor center is open you can get maps and learn about the areas wild life.

To create some of the best farmland in the world,97% of our native prairie was plowed under. It had to be done to feed our ever growing country but something was definitely lost in the trade off.This si a great place to get a feel to what we once were.

We took the trail towards the Buffalo and it was great!! I loved how the prairie looked like a sea of grass! A must see, it gives you an idea what the original settlers saw! The green of the prairie was so deep! Wild flowers everywhere!

Just getting there on Hwy 177 is worth the visit. The site is beautiful. Just imagining what this country looked like before the plow and the fence is breath taking. I didn't have time to really explore the trails. Definitely want to plan for a longer stop next time. It is disappointing that the ranch house and barns are not refurbished. Let's hope the government can come up with the money for this project. I strongly recommend driving the whole of 177 and taking time at the scenic overlook stops provided. A beautiful drive.