Wildlife Watching Sites in
Northwest Kansas

Click on the map markers or the names in the list below to learn about
             wildlife watching opportunities in Northwest Kansas!

- Click on the map for businesses offering nature-based lodging
 and exploration opportunities in northwest Kansas.

Wildlife Watching in Kansas     Site Index

Highway-based Wildlife Trails are in the works for Kansas! These will be routes, utilizing public roads, which offer a framework for people to see the best the region has to offer for viewing wildlife.  The Western Kansas Rural Economic Development Alliance is leading an effort to form two highway-based wildlife trails in Western Kansas.

 

Audubon of Kansas has completed a brochure with website support for "Tallgrass Prairie Parkway" Wildlife and Natural Heritage Trail in eastern Kansas. For a copy or for more information, contact Ron Klataske at aok@audubonofkansas.org or (785)537-4385.

It's not exactly the Alps but it is the highest point in Kansas! Mount Sunflower, 0.5 miles east of the Colorado border in Wallace County, has an elevation of 4,039 feet and consists of a gently sloping hill of shortgrass prairie. Fun-loving visitors fill the register with comments typical of mountain-climbing adventurers.

Many species of western wildlife are found in the surrounding grassland. Pronghorns are here as well as south of U.S. 40 between Sharon Springs and the Colorado border and on K-27 north from Sharon Springs to the Sherman County line. Mule deer, coyotes, black-tailed jackrabbits and swift fox all live in the surrounding prairie. Early morning and late evening are the best times to watch for them. Along the sand roadways are many burrows of both nocturnal (active at night) Ord's kangaroo rats and diurnal (active in the day) thirteen-lined ground squirrels. Ground squirrels are also common on Mount Sunflower itself. The most visible birds in the area include horned larks and Lapland longspurs during winter and early spring. During summer, vesper sparrows, Cassin's sparrows, and western meadowlarks are found. You may also spot ferruginous, Swainson's, and red-tailed hawks and, if you're lucky, golden eagles.

If you are here in the spring, take a side excursion to the old Sherman State Fishing Lake.  Due to the fact it is dry most of the time, it is now a state Wildlife Area. There are excellent viewing opportunities for deer fawns on late May and early June evenings.

Camping not allowed.

Discover what to see, eat and do in Kansas.
Plan your trip today, at TravelKS.com!

No developed trails.

Click the icon to find a birding list for Wallace county.

Click the icon to locate nearby Geocaches

Directions: From Sharon Springs travel 15.5 miles west on U.S. 40 to an intersection with a gravel road. Follow signs to Mount Sunflower, 11 miles north and 1 mile west. Sherman State Wildlife Area lies along the Smoky Hill River, 8 miles south and 3 miles west of Goodland.  For a Google Map of this site, click here.

Ownership: Private; Ed & Cindy Harold

Questions or comments about Natural Kansas may be directed to
Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism