A scenic Flint Hills trifecta is only two hours from Kansas City
Chase Lake State Fishing and Wildlife Area, Cottonwood Falls, Kansas
Kansas yields scenic delights to those willing to leave the interstate.
By Roy Harryman
Publisher
While we don’t have mountains, we do have hills of flint, also known as the Kansas Flint Hills. These distant, rock capped hills roll off in an endless vista.
Up close, they are equally scenic, bursting with wildflowers and wildlife. A lizard may sunbathe on a rock while a prairie chicken scurries through tall weeds. Flint Hills streams, far from murky pastoral creeks, are nearly transparent in their clarity.
But where do you put boots on the ground? The Flint Hills are a lengthy belt of hills that begin in Oklahoma and continue nearly to Nebraska. The vast majority of that land is private. However, there are several excellent locations to get your fill of the hills. This post will focus on one fairly close trip that yields three destinations.
Flint Hills Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, Cassoday, Kansas.
Flint Hills Tallgrass Prairie Preserve
The Flint Hills Tallgrass Prairie Preserve is a 2,000-acre private refuge opened by The Nature Conservancy in 2023. This is not the Tallgrass Preserve run by the National Park Service. About six miles of trails cut through low-rolling hills, cottonwood draws and past the crystalline South Fork Cottonwood River.
Teter Rock is all that remains of the ghost town of Teterville, Kansas.
Teterville and Teter Rock
From here, the next step is to visit the ghost town of Teterville, which is about 15 minutes east down the gravel road you’re already on. Teterville is only a few foundations today, but a memorial known as Teter Rock is spectacular to view in the context of the eternal vistas surrounding it.
A 40-foot waterfall plunges over three levels of rock shelves near Cottonwood Falls, Kansas.
A 40-foot waterfall in Kansas
Now let’s mix things up and head to a 40-foot waterfall. That’s right! Heading back west we’ll pass through Cottonwood Falls on our way to Chase State Fish and Wildlife Area. Here, Prather Creek plunges down three levels of rock shelves before returning to the prairie below. (Note: There is more water in the waterfall during wet seasons; it may run thin during dry periods, so plan accordingly).
You’ve just spent a full day in the Flint Hills, only about two hours from Kansas City. Pristine prairie, a ghost town and an epic waterfall – not bad for a day trip.
Roy Harryman is the publisher of Kansas City Hiker.