My favorite picture is the flag waving at the school house from 1892
Weather forecast
Sat, Jun 20Start
Peculiar, MO
83°
66°
💧 43% · 0.04″
En route
Strong City, KS
86°
65°
💧 12%
Overnight
Hays, KS
86°
62°
💧 91% · 0.44″
Forecast via Open-Meteo
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Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve
Jr. Ranger Badge
Junior Ranger badge — visitor center closes 4:30 PM
Game Plan
Arriving ~10:40 AM gives the kids all the time they need. Grab badge books first thing.
- Southwind Nature Trail (1.75 mi loop) — The classic family loop — rolling Flint Hills views, passes the historic Lower Fox Creek schoolhouse.
- 1881 Spring Hill Ranch grounds (0.5 mi stroll) — Limestone barn and ranch house, self-guided; kids love the three-story barn.
- Bison herd — ask at the VC about the Scenic Overlook Drive or the ranger bus tour into the pasture
- KS-177 itself is a designated scenic byway through the Flint Hills
Sunrise, Sunset & Golden Hour
Sunrise
6:02 AM CDT
Sunset
8:53 PM CDT
Be set up by (sunrise)
5:32 AM
Be set up by (sunset)
8:33 PM
Sunrise spot — Day 1 departure is relaxed — you WON'T be at the prairie at 6 AM. Catch sunrise from home in Peculiar (same time) or from wide-open I-35 heading south.
Sunset spot — Tallgrass Prairie bison pasture ridge or KS-177 heading north to Hays — the Flint Hills west horizon is completely open. Any roadside pullout between Strong City and I-70 works.
You'll be on the road near Hays at sunset. US-183 or any I-70 rest area west of Hays faces open plains — textbook Great Plains dusk.
Trip Journal — Day 1
👨 Jason
📝 Day summary
Memory of the day
The prairie was far more impressive that I expected it to be. We didn't venture far from the visitor center as it was hot and we didn't take water, but the rolling grassy hills, the puffs of clouds in a striking blue sky, and the variety of wild flowers everywhere...it was just striking. Might need to come back to the preserve for a day trip sometime, it's only a couple hours from home.
Grateful for
A low key start to the trip
🎹 Sunrise / sunset moment
Thunderstorms prevented a peek at the sunset today
Notes
📷 Photos
👩 Michelle
📝 Day summary
Memory of the day
When you’ve got a name like “TallGrass Prairie”, you’ve got a decidedly humble claim to fame. But behind Kansas’ modest offerings lies a park with rolling beauty and a little peek at the “heart” of the heartland. We hiked among the amber waves of grass (spotting wildlife and gorgeous foliage), explored a furnished 1800’s ranch house, sat in desks at an 1800’s one room schoolhouse, felt pelts and artifacts from native animals, and met a 36-year-old horse named “Badger.” We were struck by the beauty of it all.
And then of course we topped off our day with burgers and double-dips at Braum’s.
God is good.
Notes
📷 Photos
🚂 Elijah
🙂
“The best part of my day was I got to meet Badger the horse.”
★★★★★
🏅 Badge earned
Notes
📷 Photos
💜 Nevaeh
🙂
“The best part of my day was seeing all the flowers and touching them!”
★★★★☆
🏅 Badge earned
Notes
📷 Photos
🏎️ Greyson
🙂
“The best part of my day was getting my Jr Ranger badge!”
★★★★★
🏅 Badge earned
Notes
If you zoom really far in you can find my bright green shirt, but my legs are a speck!
📷 Photos
