I thought that Kansas would be a drab state to visit. I admittedly didn’t know much about the state, and only really associated it with bad weather and the Wizard of Oz. So when we talked about planning a road trip to all of the National Parks in Kansas, I was only moderately excited.
I’m happy to report that I was COMPLETELY wrong about my assumption! Kansas is a great, road-trip worthy state!
This post shows how you can complete a loop through Kansas to visit all of the National Park Units in the state. This was a (5 day / 4 night) portion of our route on our recent Midwest National Park road trip. We will share a bit about each park, as well as provide some insights on places to stay and other things to do along the way. We hope this post is useful for your planning!
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What Are the National Parks in KS?
There are five park units that are managed by the National Park Service in Kansas. These park units are listed below:
- Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park
- Fort Larned National Historic Site
- Fort Scott National Historic Site
- Nicodemus National Historic Site
- Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve
In addition to these parks, there are portions of several trails that pass through the state. This is because, historically, Kansas was a key pathway westward in various chapters of American History.
Map of Kansas National Parks: Our Route
Yes. It is true that road tripping to all of the National Parks in Kansas will take you on some pretty uneventful stretches of road. Especially in the western part of the state, there are a lot of farms and open prairie land that extend as far as the eye can see.
Even so, my appreciation of the beauty and history of the Sunflower State surprised me, and I looked forward to some of the sights that you’ll catch (think massive wind farms, grazing livestock, etc.).
The map below shows stops at each of the 5 park units. We added some additional jaunts to our route, but we’ll keep this map in its most basic form to show that the route to the parks is pretty straight-forward and contained.
For our trip, we started at the southeastern most stop, Fort Scott National Historic Site after staying at the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. We then proceeded “clockwise” around the state until we ended up at the Brown v. Board of Education site. Afterwards, we travelled back into Kansas City, Missouri to continue our trip.
Kansas National Park Road Trip Itinerary
This 5 day, 4 night itinerary will take you to each National Park in KS. If you’d like to add to this trip, we’ll share how we made this itinerary part of a longer road trip with stops in Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska in an upcoming post.
Fort Scott National Historic Site – Day 1
Start the Kansas leg of the trip at Fort Scott National Historic Site. At this site, you get to learn about the role Kansas played in westward expansion at the very site of the fort that served as a reinforcement of the Indian Frontier and the westward expansion of the US.
This site also does a great job of interpreting the history of “Bleeding Kansas” leading up to the Civil War, and the influence that neighboring states had on the political leanings of the state of Kansas.
The park staff were great to talk to and local to the area (so able to offer some personal stories of growing up close to the site). One unexpected thing that we learned was based on an observation Jason made about the number of dead armadillos that we saw on the side of the road as we drove through Kansas and western Missouri. We learned that weather events and flooding had caused an influx of the armadillos (not native to the area). The park staff even offered that the rodents disturbed the parade grounds some evenings, and had turned out to be quite the headache!
When you’re there, walk the parade grounds, and make sure to step through some of the preserved buildings.
Stay in Emporia, Kansas
After visiting Fort Scott for the day, we recommend staying in Emporia, Kansas. Emporia is about a 2 hour drive from Fort Scott, but will will position you well for your visit to Tallgrass Prairie on Day 2.
Emporia, KS is a college town with a population of just over 24,000 people. It had a lazy, artistic vibe, which made us interested to explore a bit even though we were tired from being on the road. On our quest to find a good spot for dinner, we checked out the Emporia State University campus which was located in the downtown area.
We did have some difficulty finding places adjacent to the campus to eat that didn’t require a decent wait (we went on a Friday night with no reservations), so we ended up driving down the town’s Commercial Street just a bit to Radius Brewing Co., and had some great burgers. Our waiter recommended that we try the Pretzel Bread and Dip appetizer which was served fresh, and was exactly the local taste we were craving.
We loved our hotel selection, the Hampton Inn Emporia which was right off of the exit. The hotel was clean and quiet, and the free breakfast was great – better than most other Hampton’s in my opinion. Also, staying in Emporia makes it so you’re only about 20 minutes from Tallgrass Prairie on Day 2.
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve – Day 2
Tallgrass Prairie deserves a day (or more if you have it) of its own! This is a gorgeous prairie experience complete with herds of American Bison, historic buildings, diverse catch and release fishing, and more!
We recommend arriving early to get a ride on the ranger-led van tour (this used to be a bus tour which we learned was scaled back during the pandemic). On the tour, you can get the closest views to the Bison and learn about their relationship to the prairie. In essence, they rely on the tallgrasses, and the grasses rely on them (and their “fertilizer” as well) for its continuance.
The Visitor Center has nice displays about the prairie wildlife and history, and the staff were beyond welcoming. We visited in May, so the grasses were not super tall yet. Being early in the season though, we got to see a number of baby bison which was pretty awesome! As the summer wears on, the grasses get much taller – taller than a person! We’ll have to make it back someday to get that experience.
Stay in Great Bend, Kansas
After a day in Tallgrass Prairie, drive west about 2.5 hours to stay in Great Bend, Kansas. Great Bend puts you about a half hour from the Day 3 stop, Fort Larned National Historic Site, and is the most populated town within close range of the site (~16,000 population).
We spent most of Day 2 in Tallgrass Prairie, so we arrived in Great Bend with minimal time to explore. En route to our hotel, we spotted a Perkins Family Restaurant. While we typically try to frequent local restaurants on our trips (and Perkins is a chain), it’s hard for me to pass up a Perkins as we used to have one around where I grew up, and it closed. Since then, I crave Perkin’s buttermilk pancakes often, and don’t have much opportunity to get it unless I’m traveling.
We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Great Bend, but I cannot in good conscious recommend it based on our experience. The night that we stayed there was a little league travel baseball tournament, and the other guests were noisy, messy, and rowdy – and it went unchecked by the hotel. There aren’t a lot of well known accommodations in the area, but you can explore reviews of the available options here.
Fort Larned National Historic Site – Day 3
Fort Larned was an interesting site. When you visit, you are taken back to the 1860s when the fort served as an army post along the Santa Fe Trail.
The Santa Fe Trail is known as the Great Prairie Highway, and was the primary path for oxen-drawn wagons across multiple states. Its role in westward expansion of the US is tumultuous as many newer arrivals faced rugged (often lawless) conditions in search of a new home, and many indigenous inhabitants fought for and ultimately were pushed from their land.
When we visited, we actually drove past the entrance to the park because our GPS took us to the administrative building instead of the main entrance. Although we saw signage for the main entrance, we were confused as to whether or not we were in the right place because we could see the fort from the road. That being said, once you park your vehicle, you have to walk back across a bridge that leads you to the fort.
The volunteer that was staffing the Visitor Center when we visited was engaging and knowledgeable. He emphasized the interpretation of various perspectives in the telling of the story of the fort.
Make sure to walk a portion of the Santa Fe trail when you visit!
Stay in Hays, Kansas
After exploring Fort Larned, you will proceed about an hour north to Hays, Kansas to stay near your Day 4 stop. We chose to stay in Hays, KS because it was one of the towns where the legendary lawman, Wild Bill Hickok, was marshal.
Hays felt like a larger town with a population of about 21,000. There were more places to stay and options for dining. We ended up at Hickok’s Steakhouse and had some hearty (and tasty) Kansas-cut steaks. We also stayed in a comfortable and well-kept Holiday Inn Express Hays. After our less than stellar experience the night before, our faith in the brand was restored.
Staying in Hays will put you about an hour away from the stop in Nicodemus, your Day 4 stop.
Note: Depending on how much time you spend at Fort Larned, you may want to visit Dodge City (about an hour to the southwest). In Dodge City, you can explore the famous Boot Hill museum to learn about life in the “wild west”. If you do this, keep in mind that you will have to backtrack to get to Hays.
Nicodemus National Historic Site – Day 4
Nicodemus National Historic Site was one of the most unique National Park Sites that we’ve visited to date. This site is located in the remote reaches of central Kansas, and preserves the history and buildings of the first African American settlement built west of the Mississippi River during Reconstruction (the period of time following the Civil War).
The site is unique because it continues to function as a town. People, mostly descendants of the first homesteaders in the area, continue to inhabit the town. The population is super small (only 14 residents whom the Park Rangers seemed to know by name), but continues to draw a larger group of engaged descendants and advocates to the annual Emancipation Celebration.
Make sure to visit the Visitor Center and watch the video which features the voices and images of some of the town residents.
Stay in Topeka, Kansas
After exploring Nicodemus, you will proceed east about 3 hours and 45 minutes to Topeka, Kansas. Topeka is the capital city of Kansas, and has a population of over 125,000 residents. When we arrived, it was later in the evening, but we wanted to explore this neat city.
We stayed at the beautiful, boutique Cyrus Hotel, Topeka which was just a short walk from the Capitol Building and steps from dining and entertainment. One regret that I have is that we arrived so late that we didn’t get to do much more than walk a few blocks before it was too dark. We ended up eating dinner at our hotel restaurant, The Weather Room, which did not disappoint!
Our hotel did not offer a free breakfast, and we opted to grab some grub from the nearby Hanover Pancake House which we highly recommend. The food was great, we had an awesome waitress, and we observed a robot that helped to deliver large orders in action (that was a new experience for us)!
Note: If you’re like us and want to visit all of the National Park units, you may consider a jaunt up to Southern Nebraska to visit the Homestead National Historical Park unit. This trip adds some time to the route, but will keep you from leaving this remote site orphaned for another special trip. The site itself is awesome and well worth the effort to push through to visit.
Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park – Day 5
The Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park is located in the actual school that was at the center of this landmark US Supreme Court case argued by (then civil rights lawyer, later the first African-American US Supreme Course Justice) Thurgood Marshall. The decision continues to be relevant today as it declared that schools segregated based on race were inherently unequal, overturning the previous Dred Scott decision (typically summarized by the phrase “separate but equal”).
The site does a masterful job of interpreting the impact of segregation on individuals. Some of the displays and sounds give visitors the uncomfortable experience of what it might have felt like to have been subject to the uproar of a crowd when segregating schools.
Make sure to listen to the protest music and read about activists that continue to advance the call for freedom and equality.
Resource Highlights for this Kansas Road Trip Itinerary
Ready to book this Kansas national park road trip? Here’s a summary of the places we stayed and recommend.
Book your hotel stays (via Booking.com): We recommend the Hampton Inn Emporia (Day 1), the Holiday Inn Express Hays (Day 3), and the Cyrus Hotel, Topeka (Day 4). I skipped Day 2 (Great Bend, KS) because our experience wasn’t great, but you can explore reviews of the available options here.
You can also book a rental car near you (via RentalCars.com).
Reading to take a road trip? Check out how to plan a road trip of your own!
Happy exploring!
