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Kansas Flint Hills Scenic Drive
A Flint Hills Journey
Tall grass stretches as far as you can see in the Flint Hills of east-central Kansas, an area of rock knolls and prairie that extends roughly from Wichita north to Abilene and east to Emporia. Winds play across the nearly treeless landscape, creating swaying patterns of wheat and grass that roll on for miles. The region, one of the last true prairies in North America, is a rare reminder of the time when open grasslands covered vast expanses of our continent.
Native Americans learned to survive in this unsheltered countryside. Today, Flint Hills ranchers still follow the ancient Indian custom of burning off their pastures to encourage the new growth. Flames often cast an eerie orange glow in the skies. Rains transform the blackened landscape into vibrant shades of green.
Towns steeped in Old West lore put out the welcome mat for visitors. Some of these communities such as Council Grove owe their origins to the historic Santa Fe and Chisholm trails, which once passed through the Flint Hills. Marshall "Wild Bill" Hickok kept an uneasy peace in Abilene, end of the trail for countless cattle drives.
German-Russian Mennonites settled Hillsboro, and Swedes migrated to Lindsborg. Descendants of both groups still reside in the towns, proudly keeping their Old World traditions alive.
