Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve

This is such a beautiful, tranquil swath of preserved prairie land in Kansas. We brought our teenagers here to see and learn a valuable piece of American history in person. 1. The visitor’s center was staffed by a helpful ranger and was well designed. There is a small area for viewing a film, well designed “touch” exhibits where I touched samples of bison fur and handled prairie animal skulls, an old-fashioned quill pen to sign a guest book, and plenty of well-written exhibits. There’s also a nice compact gift shop where I purchased some items. 2. The hike through the prairie grass is pleasant but watch out for bison droppings! They’re big piles so you won’t miss them. 3. The historic buildings made of stone are so beautiful. And there’s a resident white and gray horse named Badger that lives on the farm! We visited in early December and he was there to greet us as we walked along the trail. Very friendly horse that came right up to us and even placed his head over the low fence to nudge my hand as I was taking a video. 4. The schoolhouse is also worth visiting. It’s furnished with historic desks and chairs, old maps, antique books, and all the fixings of an old one room schoolhouse. I felt like I was in a scene from Little House on the Prairie. Wonderful experience overall. 5. The only downside was that we didn’t get to see the herd of bison. The ranger told us they had been rounded up for the winter into an area that was harder to see from the road. But we saw their fresh droppings so it must have been recent that this happened.

Very interesting piece of a sadly mostly disappeared ecosystem. We spent a little time at the visitor center looking at the exhibits and then hiked for 2 or 3 miles throughout the park. It's suprisingly big. We had come here after visiting several southwest NP's and 10,000 acres doesn't seem big when you've come from places that have 80x that but it's deceptively a large piece of land. They had done controlled burns in recent weeks when we came so it looked a bit black, but we were able to see bison. Definitely worth a stop if you're in the area.

It really puts you in the heart of the Flint Hills. The staff at the visitor center were helpful and knowledgeable. It is definitely a moderate hike. Lots of elevation changes. The views are spectacular! We saw two or three bison. The hike to lookout point and back was around 3 hours. Great experience.

We took the bus tour and were amazed at the variety of animals we saw on this unspoiled prairie. The buffalo herd was pretty far away but a few of the loners were near the trail. The walk through the barn and house was also interesting. well worth the stop.

This is worth a stop! The prairie is beautiful and bustling with life, and we enjoyed walking around the main house and visiting the visitor center. We only did the nature loop because we had our dog with us, but there are many more trails! There is a water fountain and clean restrooms. It gets very hot very early on in the day.

This place is beautiful! We loved the view and the trails. We also didn't have to wait or buy any tickets because it's free. It has great staffs with water fountains and restroooms if you need anything before and after hiking. Overall, I think this is the place for you if you like hiking and the outdoors.

Incredible experience! My husband and I hiked the 7 mile loop through the bison pastures. At about 3 miles in we saw the herd. They were really close to the trail. It was a little scary knowing there was nothing in between us! Make sure to bring lots of water and a hat would help. The sun is relentless. There is absolutely no shade anywhere. (It's a prairie 😉) Also, a fabulous place for bird watching.

Such an incredible experience! We got to visit with the park rangers a bit and then hit the trails. Bring water, sunscreen, and a hat if you come in June! There are so many trails to visit we ran out of time to try them all (a good problem to have!). I can't wait until we come back again!

Tallgrass Prairie National Reserve is just phenomenallllll, and I can honestly say it has some of the bestest trails in Kansas! I wish I got to know about this national reserve sooner but better late than never. It's about 1.5 away from Kansas City near Strong city (10 mins away) and Emporia (25 mins away). I went out to the vast grasslands on a late Sunday afternoon after stopping for lunch in Emporia and was completely blown away by the beauty. I had heard the trails are amazing, but I stayed on the easier starting trail and didn't go into the bison area since it's breeding season and they can be more aggressive. By the time I arrived, the visitor center had already closed, but friends told me the staff there are very friendly and share helpful details about the park, possible hazards, bison behavior, and even things like bugs you should avoid. The park has clean restrooms, and since it's open 24/7, you can even go stargazing but just remember it's at your own risk!!! There are three types of trails here: backcountry hikes that can take up to 12 hours, a wildlife trail that takes about 3 hours where you might spot bison, and front country trails that take about 2 hours and loop around a meadow. I've heard all of them are a lot of fun to explore. Honestly, if I could rate this place a 1000000/10 then I would!

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is one of the few places like this that is completely free to visit. Usually, national parks and preserves charge a fee, but not Tallgrass Prairie. And there's a lot of stuff to see, so you're getting a lot for nothing! You will be walking a bit here, so keep that in mind. Many of the outdoor exhibits are located a walk from each other. Stop at the visitor center first, where you can learn about the ecosystem of the area. You'll find out that this is the only National Park Service unit that's dedicated to celebrating the tallgrass prairie. This preserve is the largest expanse of tallgrass prairie left in the world, and you can see it here! It's kind of mind-boggling that this part of the United States used to be covered with tallgrass prairie, and now ... not so much, due to expansion. But you can step outside and see the grasses that used to cover the land as far as you could see. There are also some historic buildings to visit, which belonged to a family who ran the ranch. You can walk into the barn, explore the house and see the three-person outhouse. (Why would you want to use the restroom next to other people?) This was a very interesting place to visit, and it gave me a greater appreciation for this part of Kansas.

The area had some historic buildings such as a schoolhouse, barn, and a farmhouse. The area also had some great views of the Kansas sunrise. I noticed that sunflowers were blooming since it was early September when I went.

We like visiting national park sites and I've had this one on my radar for years. To me, this plus kind of like the prairie we see in Dances With Wolves. So we went on a nice summer day while we were in the area. I found this place beautiful and scenic and more hilly than I expected. We saw the barn and the old equipment inside it and also the fields. The people at the visitor center were helpful and told us the best places to go. They even have some buffalo herds that you can see. You have to walk at least a mile (round trip) to get to them. We didn't get to see them but I bet that would be incredible to see. As much as I liked this place, I wish it was easier to see by car. From what I saw, you park at the visitor center and then you have to walk anywhere in the park you want to go. It would be nice if they had places you can drive to then get out and walk around. As is, this made visiting with our 5 year old somewhat difficult since she can't walk very far. Still though i like this place and would like to return some time.

Heart of the Flint Hills! I grew up in Strong City, amidst cowboys, the rodeo and the parade. I was 4 when I got nicknamed Cowpoke. My piano teacher there had studied under Chopin - don't tell me this town ain't got no heart!

Beautiful!! Hard to imagine this is what Kansas used to look like. Rolling hills, wild flowers, animals galore. Glad someone had the foresight to save this piece of heaven. We did the 8mile hike with a variety of ages and abilities without much trouble. I would warn anyone heading out in the heat of summer to be prepared, very little shade to be found on this trail. Sprayed ourselves before and midpoint to avoid trouble with ticks. We did see them, but luckily didn't bring any home. I look forward to visiting again, maybe In the fall time.

Situated in beautiful Chase County, Tallgrass Prairie is considered Kansas' National Park. Technically it is a preserve, but is ran by the National Park Service. The highlights of Tallgrass are the trails and vistas overlooking thousands of acres of rolling hills, tall grasses and buffalo herds. The visitor center is situated in close proximity to a late 19th century homestead with house, a large barn and many out buildings. When I visited the barn there were many quilts on display and a square dance with live music. The panoramic views are quite subtle as compared to the mountains and ocean, but just as majestic. Anyone traveling up I-35 through Emporia should detour the 18 miles west and visit one of the last Tallgrass Prairies left in the United States.

I was lucky to have the chance to stop through at this national park site on my latest cross-country drive. The only regret would be that I didn't have more time to spend here. There is a nice visitor center including the usual interactive exhibits of geologic and ecological history. I was most intrigued by the chart showing the striations of soil and stone varieties underlying the preserve. A small gift shop also fills this space; here you can stamp your park passport and talk to staff or a ranger about what to do and see. The center sits next to a large, old barn and home built from the readily available limestone of the surrounding hills. There's a horse enjoying a quiet, but possible lonely, life here on the old farm. A nice, modern bathroom facility. Plenty of parking, including spaces for larger vans, SUVs and small buses. There are miles of trails here. Would be fantastic on cooler, windier days for either a slow hike or even an easy trail run with minimal boulders and roots. As such, it's very sunny and hilly here. Not too many trees once you leave the main area of the buildings. During the 3 months spanning usually mid-late spring through mid-late summer, the NPS interfaces with The Nature Conservancy to graze a small herd of privately owned bison here on the preserve. That makes this one of the few places left in the country where you can see bison in what would have been their natural habitat of tallgrass prairie (though the grasses are shorter and more edible in spring-summer months). I lucked out, arriving here precisely at a time when the bison were here to graze. Windswept, rolling hills with views for miles. Early summer flowers dancing in the breeze under flitting multicolor butterflies. For the most part, this is a peaceful trot. Seeing bison in person was equal parts majestic and terrifying (once you realize there's no fence between you and them). Make a day trip of the place on a good weather day and really enjoy the relaxing feel of this park not to be missed.

Loved this place. You walk out a ways behind the visitor's center and you feel like you are all alone with the bison. Just pure serenity. And that was on a one hundred degree day. I didn't even realize how hot it was until I was done with the hike. The people working in the visitor's center were super nice and really helpful as well. The center itself has a ton of information to absorb. I had to pull my kids out of it so we could go walk some trails. If you want to get a true feel for the "Great Plains", I think this would be the place. And, you can't beat the price. It's all free. I wanted to go back and buy something at the visitor's center just to pay them something for their great service. But alas, when I got back they were closing up shop. If you don't mind, on your visit, buy something for me. You can keep it.

Beautiful preserve out in the middle of Kansas. Several trails that aren't very well defined. Many closed off by cattle gates that lead you to believe off limits. Beautiful scenic overlooks and well mowed trails. Some Rocky portions but overall easy hike. Definitely bring plenty of water as it is super hot out there.

Visited here a few weeks ago. I'm always on the lookout for cool hiking places. This is a beautiful area of Kansas. Sure we don't have mountains, but there is something beautiful about wide open spaces and calming rustling of the grass in the wind. They have bison that we got to see. They were right of our path, so we had to go to another path that whole pretty wasn't as nice as the first. There is a one room school house that is really cool to see. A nice thing about here is they have a phone tour that you can listen to while exploring the area! I'd go visit again!

A cool park. Glad it exists. Beautiful views. Nice hiking trails. Friendly rangers. Good junior ranger program. Not all that different from other prairie areas. Definitely worth checking out if in area, but not a destination.

So much history to explore. The prairies are gorgeous and there trails are open 24/7. Definitely a must see.

Beautiful! We had never been to Kansas and are so glad we added this stop and the bus tour to our trip! Informative tour is about 1-1.5 hour. Fortunately, the bison were grazing in an area near the tour route! Well worth the drive off the beaten path and the time for the tour!

Tallgrass Prairie is beautiful and unique. We weren't able to do the bison bus tour due to time constraints but enjoyed our visit very much. There were costumed guides in the barn buildings and quilts on display, and a lot to see here. My favorite portion was a relaxed hike across the prairie, up to the schoolhouse and back around to the ranch house. There were moths & butterflies, tons of grasshoppers flitting around, and gorgeous sunflowers and thistle. Very enjoyable!

Beautiful national preserve. The park itself is much bigger than expected, there are many miles of trails to hike. I was here with my small children and did not get to hike but we enjoyed doing the junior ranger activities and learning all about the Tallgrass prairies and walking around the old ranch house. If it rains or snows, be aware that the parking lot will be very muddy.

It is WONDERFUL that this prairie has been preserved, but after driving more than 200 miles out of our way to visit we learned that there was no way for my handicapped mom to visit the actual prairie. I would love it if they had a loop road open to vehicles, like many National Wildlife Refuges have. I will definitely return some day when I can take time to walk trails, but just couldn't leave my mom alone while I did that today.

The rangers and staff are so incredibly kind. We were stuck on the scenic overlook trail due to a herd of bison blocking the path and had to call the visitor's center for help. They sent a park ranger out in a car to transport us past the bison. The park ranger even had cold water for us and the other people we were stuck with. Got an up close encounter with the bison as we rode through the herd from the safety of a Jeep. A beautiful preserve and all around great experience.

A very beautiful place to visit if you are in the area or just driving through, which is what we were doing. We went in September. We stopped at the visitor's center first & looked at their little museum, then we went on one of the little hikes. There's were some one homes at the beginning with plaques that told a bit about them. When we got to the end of the trail, on top of the hill, it was a beautiful view & very peaceful. I'm very glad my husband & I stopped here on our way to Oklahoma City.

It's not too far off the beaten path, so I think it's worth visiting. It's not bad for what they've got - the farm and house are neat to see. The displays in the barn are honestly a bit sad, but do have a lot of information to offer. The people are great, however, and there was a holiday "party" of sorts the day we went. I really thought there was a a recording of holiday music playing, but they were playing live downstairs. If you take a small hike off the backside of the house, you'll find a spot where you might get to enjoy some Kansas wind.

One of my favorite places to hike around in Kansas. Plenty of neat trails and views of the flint hills!

Great hidden away place to spend the day hiking. Husband and I went for a hike and a very nice ranger gave us a lift (off trail) to do some bird spotting and take us to a spot with great views. She was very nice and informative, simply wanted us to have a wonderful experience and get to see a little more of the preserve than we would normally have. What a wonderful day!