Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve
Tallgrass prairie once covered 170 million acres of North America, but within a generation most of it had been transformed into farmland. Today less than 4% remains intact, mostly in the Kansas Flint Hills. Established on November 12, 1996, the preserve protects a nationally significant remnant of the once vast tallgrass prairie ecosystem. Here the tallgrass makes its last stand.
The preserve is located in northern Chase County, Kansas 2 miles north of intersection U.S. Hwy 50 and Flint Hills National Scenic Byway 177 (K-177) west of Strong City. Watch for brown attraction signs. 2 miles north of Strong City, KS on K-177 16 miles west of Emporia, KS on U.S. Hwy 50 and 2 miles north on K-177 17 miles south of Council Grove, KS on K-177 85 miles northeast of Wichita on I-35, U.S. Hwy 50, and K-177 60 miles southwest of Topeka on I-335 (Kansas Turnpike) to Em
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Fall wildflowers at the preserve
Fall is the season for another assortment of color on the prairie
Historic 1881 Spring Hill Ranch house
Historic 1881 Spring Hill Ranch house
Historic 1882 Spring Hill Ranch barn
Historic 1882 Spring Hill Ranch barn
Hike among the tall grasses in the fall
Hike among the tall tallgrass species in the fall
Summer wildflowers on the prairie
View a collage of summer flowers among a carpet of green in the spring and early summer