Theodore Roosevelt Presidential LibraryPublic Lands Directory

Alerts and conditions

Park Closure Visitor Center Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays in Winter Months

Beginning November 1, 2026 through March 31, 2027 the visitor center and bookstore will be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, but the historic ranch buildings will remain open seven days a week with normal winter hours of 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Caution Dangerous Highway Crossing

Highway 177 is 60 mph with a blind spot directly across from the house. Safely use the highway underpass to the Fox Creek Trail just south of the visitor center parking lot. Be smart, stay alive.

Overview

Tallgrass prairie once covered 170 million acres of North America, but within a generation most of it had been transformed into farms, cities, and towns. 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.

From the National Park Service

History

The designation history for this site (every law, proclamation and order, and the administration behind each) is being researched and checked by the Library’s historians.

What to see and do

Activities

  • Arts and Culture
  • Cultural Demonstrations
  • Astronomy
  • Stargazing
  • Fishing
  • Freshwater Fishing
  • Food
  • Picnicking
  • Guided Tours
  • Self-Guided Tours - Walking
  • Hands-On
  • Hiking
  • Backcountry Hiking
  • Front-Country Hiking
  • Living History
  • Junior Ranger Program
  • Wildlife Watching
  • Birdwatching
  • Park Film
  • Shopping
  • Bookstore and Park Store

Browse hiking, biking and paddling routes on AllTrails

Plan your visit

Hours

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve Hours: Hiking trails are open 24/7; no camping, no open flames, no drones. Prescribed fire and cattle/bison operations may close specific trails. Watch for signs. Trail maps available at the Visitor Center and most trailheads. Cell phone tour information is available at the kiosk and on the waysides. Visitor Center and historic buildings are open daily from 8:30 am - 4:30 pm May 1st through October 31 and 9 am to 4:30 pm November 1 - April 30. Visitor Center closed Monday and Tuesday, from November 1 to March 31.

Getting there

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 Emporia**

Visitor centers

Weather

Typical weather for the preserve ranges from lows of 0 degrees in the winter and highs of 90 + degrees in the summer. Prevailing prairie winds attribute to winter blizzards and occasional summer storms. Thunderstorms that form on the Great Plains have a rare chance of producing tornadoes. Lightning poses a danger when hiking into the prairie. Please check current weather conditions at NOAA before hiking into the preserve.

Phone: 6202738494

Whose lands these are

These lands are the ancestral and present-day homelands of Native nations. A section on whose lands these are is being prepared with tribal review. In the meantime, Native Land Digital offers a starting point.

Photos

limestone mansion of the ranch
Historic 1881 Spring Hill Ranch house · NPS
three level limestone barn
Historic 1882 Spring Hill Ranch barn · NPS
tallgrass hiking trails
Hike among the tall grasses in the fall · NPS
butterfly milkweed wildflowers
Summer wildflowers on the prairie · NPS

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