Day Trip to Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve

Less than 100 miles from Wichita, Kansas is the vast Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve – perfect for a day trip celebrating Global Wellness Day! These hand-built stone walls stretch for miles and miles across the property.

A newly constructed visitor center blends in naturally with the surrounding terrain and sports a rooftop laced with grass.

There are many more trails than I remembered from my childhood excursions with our family to this quintessential Kansas location. I guess my siblings and I were more interested in completing our hikes so that we could get back to our games of hide-and-seek in the old stone barn!

Stephen F. Jones and his family built the sprawling estate in 1881 to the tune of well over $1 million in today’s currency.

A lovely shot of the front of the 19th century home, which was undergoing a rehabilitation project that prevented us from touring the inside.

The trails and pastures provided plenty to keep us busy, though, and we enjoyed a close-up visit with some bison along the way.

Other wildlife greeted us along the path, including this surprising box turtle.

Colorful wildflowers also beautified the landscape.

After our morning of traipsing through the tallgrass we were ready for some sustenance and made our way to a cafe in nearby Strong City. With a nod to our state motto (“ad astra per aspera”), Ad Astra Food & Drink served up a variety of homemade fare.

The interior had a rustic modern vibe and the service was excellent. Our tasty bison burgers quickly filled us up, having been served following the homemade hummus appetizer, which was flavorful, but too salty.

Next we walked off the newly ingested calories along the cobblestone streets of Cottonwood Falls. Several antique shops and artisan galleries were fun to peruse.

This iconic Chase County Courthouse towers at one end of the main street, making one wonder what the now nearly empty streets were like back in their heydey…

Just be sure you don’t embark on this excursion for the sake of visiting the less-than-remarkable namesake of Cottonwood Falls….

And so ended a refreshing fall day trip to Tallgrass Prairie, an area of the country well worth preserving and well worth visiting!