Want to know one of my most controversial travel opinions? Kansas is beautiful.
I grew up in Missouri, surrounded by similar fly-over states in the Heartland—so I might be biased thanks to the amount of time I spent in Kansas as a kid. The same for Nebraska, Iowa, Arkansas, and Illinois.
Against popular opinion, I feel strongly that Kansas is one of the most stunning places in the world.
Sure, it’s flat as a pancake, but that’s part of the magic. The land is so flat that you can see the Earth’s curvature on the horizon.
While Montana’s state moniker is ‘Big Sky Country’, that label feels a lot more appropriate for the flat plains of Kansas. They make you feel like a tiny speck amid an ocean of sky and land—or golden wheat, depending on which part of the state you’re passing through.
And who doesn’t like feeling dwarfed by Mother Nature? Isn’t that the point of getting into the great outdoors?
So let’s revisit Kansas with rose-colored glasses. Here’s a love letter to all the fly-over states that are regularly listed as the least lovely in the US—and proof that mountains and lakes aren’t the end-all of great scenery.
Here are the most beautiful places in Kansas.
Flint Hills
The Flint Hills are home to ecologically important tallgrass prairies—some of the last in the world.
Some of these grasses grow up to ten feet tall, obscuring the horizon. That’s an important feature of Flint Hill’s rolling prairies, as these grasses provide shelter and nourishment for millions of birds and mammals.
In other words: The biodiversity is off the charts, making Kansas a fantastic place to spot birds on seasonal migrations. If you want to explore the extensive wonders of Flint Hills’ tallgrass prairies, then head to the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve or Konza Prairie.
Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area
And speaking of birdwatching, the Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area is a hot spot for millions of those migratory birds.
Like the tallgrass prairies, Cheyenne Bottoms is a crucial ecological site for thousands of species. It stretches over 41,000 acres, making it the largest interior wetlands in the US.
If you want to see millions of waterfowl, shorebirds, and songbirds, then head to this spot in late April and early May. Along with plenty of birdwatching, you’ll also be able to spot the ample wildlife that rely on the wetlands, from bobcats to mink to bats to armadillos.
Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park
This park stretches over 330 acres of badlands. If you’re new to geography, badlands are a dry terrain area. They usually have steep slopes, little vegetation, and plenty of rock debris.
In other words: No farming. That makes for rugged natural wonders like Little Jerusalem.
Here, you’ll find dozens of narrow canyons that weave between towering sedimentary rocks. In fact, the area got its name from how tight some of these passages are, which recalled the narrow streets of Jerusalem.
If you enjoy wandering through these giants, you can also explore nearby Kansan wonders like Castle Rock and Monument Rocks.
Ozark Plateau
Here’s where my Missouri roots come into play. The Ozarks is a stretch of rolling forests that stretch through a narrow belt in the Midwest.
These expansive hills are still rugged and remote—and filled with caves perfect for escaping the law, which legends like Jesse James did back in the day.
Though you won’t find too much of the Ozark Plateau to explore in Kansas (its confined to the southwest portion of the state), it’s one of the US’s most underrated forests—once again, in my humble and Missouri-influenced opinion.
Those caves are really worth writing about, as the limestone that forms them is hundreds of millions of years old.