Cimarron National Grassland

Cimarron National Grassland, in the far southwestern corner of Kansas near the Oklahoma and Colorado borders, is the largest block of public land in Kansas — a 108,175-acre unit of the National Grassland system protecting a sweeping expanse of shortgrass prairie, shinnery oak breaks, sand dunes and the Cimarron River corridor in the arid high plains of the Kansas Panhandle.

The grassland preserves the longest publicly accessible stretch of the original Santa Fe Trail ruts anywhere — some 23 miles of visible trail swales crossing the shortgrass prairie, a tangible connection to the 19th-century wagon-road commerce between Missouri and Santa Fe. The area also protects critical habitat for the lesser prairie-chicken, a declining shortgrass-prairie bird, and is a remote, beautiful expanse of the high plains. Cimarron National Grassland is a treasured historical and natural icon of Kansas.

Cimarron National Grassland offers driving and hiking the Santa Fe Trail segment (23 miles of visible trail swales on public land), wildlife watching for lesser prairie-chickens (in season, from established blinds in spring), birding (the grassland is excellent for shortgrass-prairie species), fishing in the Cimarron River (for channel catfish), camping at Cottonwood Campground, hunting (for deer, wild turkey and pronghorn), and photography of the wide-open high-plains landscape. Following the Santa Fe Trail ruts and watching the lesser prairie-chicken are the signature draws. The remote high-plains scenery and wildlife add depth.

Spring (April through May) is the best time for the lesser prairie-chicken ‘booming’ (lekking) displays — one of the most dramatic prairie-bird spectacles in Kansas, best seen from pre-dawn blinds — and for wildflowers on the shortgrass prairie. Fall brings comfortable temperatures and hunting. Summer is hot and windy. The Santa Fe Trail ruts and the sweeping shortgrass-prairie scenery are best appreciated in the cooler months. Spring for the lesser prairie-chicken and wildflowers, and fall for comfortable exploration of the trail and grassland, are the highlights.

The Cimarron River corridor in southwestern Kansas was a key route of the Santa Fe Trail — the commercial highway between Missouri and Santa Fe from 1821 to 1880 — and the grassland preserves 23 miles of visible wagon-road swales, the longest publicly accessible section of the trail. The region is the homeland of the Comanche, Kiowa, Apache, Cheyenne, and Arapaho peoples who knew and used this high-plains landscape. The grassland was established on former homestead and drought-damaged land in the 1930s. Cimarron National Grassland preserves the Santa Fe Trail heritage and the shortgrass prairie, a treasured historical and natural icon of Kansas.

Cimarron National Grassland occupies the high plains of the Hugoton Embayment in the far southwestern Kansas Panhandle — a flat to gently rolling surface underlain by the Ogallala aquifer and capped by shortgrass prairie and shinnery oak on sandy soils, cut by the Cimarron River valley, with sand dunes in parts of the unit. The region is part of the southern Great Plains’ High Plains physiographic section, eroded from the Rocky Mountains and deposited across the plains. The flat high-plains surface, the Cimarron River valley and the sandy soils created the shortgrass and shinnery-oak landscape of the grassland.

Cimarron National Grassland protects critical habitat for the declining lesser prairie-chicken, with established viewing blinds for their spectacular spring lekking displays. Pronghorn, mule deer, coyotes, badgers, prairie dogs, and a rich shortgrass-prairie birdlife of lark buntings, Cassin’s sparrows, loggerhead shrikes, and many more species inhabit the grassland, with the Cimarron River cottonwoods hosting migratory and riparian birds. Cimarron is an excellent destination for shortgrass-prairie birding, with the lesser prairie-chicken and pronghorn among the highlights.

Cimarron National Grassland protects one of the largest blocks of shortgrass and mixed-grass prairie with shinnery oak in Kansas — a largely intact southern High Plains grassland ecosystem, with the Cimarron River corridor, sand dunes and upland prairie supporting the declining lesser prairie-chicken and a full community of shortgrass-prairie wildlife. Grazing management, fire and controlling invasive trees (eastern red cedar) maintain the open-grassland character. Protecting the prairie, the shinnery oak, the Cimarron corridor and the lesser prairie-chicken habitat sustains both the ecology and the historical landscape of this high-plains grassland.

Cimarron National Grassland holds a treasured place among the historical and natural icons of Kansas — the largest block of public land in the state, protecting the longest publicly accessible Santa Fe Trail segment and critical habitat for the lesser prairie-chicken on the sweeping shortgrass prairie of the Kansas High Plains. On the homeland of the Comanche, Kiowa and Cheyenne, the visible trail ruts connect the landscape to the commerce that built the American West. Cimarron National Grassland is a cherished historical and natural icon of southwestern Kansas.

Cimarron National Grassland is in the far southwestern corner of Kansas near the town of Elkhart in Morton County, off U.S. Highway 56. The USFS ranger district office in Elkhart provides maps, information and permits for the lesser prairie-chicken blinds (advance reservation required — limited slots, so reserve early). Cottonwood Campground on the Cimarron River has free primitive camping. The Santa Fe Trail segment is accessed from the Point of Rocks area (a historic Santa Fe Trail landmark) and other trailheads. Roads are mostly gravel; come prepared for remote travel. Check the USFS for directions, permits and conditions before visiting.

The U.S. Forest Service manages Cimarron National Grassland and the lesser prairie-chicken blinds. Visitors help by reserving and using the designated blinds for prairie-chicken viewing (approaching leks on foot disturbs the birds permanently), not disturbing the shortgrass prairie or the shinnery oak (fragile in the sandy soils), packing out everything, and following all USFS rules. The lesser prairie-chicken is a declining species — disturbing leks can cause permanent abandonment. Protecting the prairie, the shinnery and the prairie-chicken habitat sustains both the ecology and the extraordinary wildlife of Cimarron National Grassland.

Cimarron National Grassland is remote and exposed — come fully self-sufficient with water, food and a full tank of gas (Elkhart is the nearest town with services). Summers are intensely hot with high winds and little shade; spring has the best conditions but can also be windy and stormy. The gravel roads are generally passable but can be rough or muddy after rain. Cell service is limited. Watch for rattlesnakes in the grassland and the Cimarron River breaks. Respect the remoteness, the heat and wind, the limited services and the rattlesnakes.

The Santa Fe Trail segment, roads and Cottonwood Campground are open to the public (camping is free). Lesser prairie-chicken blind access requires advance reservation with the Elkhart ranger district (very limited slots — reserve months ahead). Hunting is permitted with appropriate Kansas licenses and USFS rules; check the district for regulations. Stay on roads and designated trails to protect the prairie. Pack out all trash; leave no trace. Do not disturb lesser prairie-chicken leks. Check the USFS for maps, blind reservations, hunting rules and current conditions before visiting.

The small town of Elkhart (services, and the Morton County Historical Museum with Santa Fe Trail exhibits), the Oklahoma and Colorado borders nearby, the Santa Fe Trail Scenic Byway across southern Kansas, the Black Mesa country across the border in Oklahoma and Colorado, and the sweeping High Plains of the Kansas Panhandle lie near the grassland. The Kansas High Plains and the Santa Fe Trail define the region. Cimarron National Grassland anchors the historical and natural experience of extreme southwestern Kansas, easily combined with the Morton County Museum in Elkhart and the wider Santa Fe Trail Scenic Byway.

Reserve a lesser prairie-chicken viewing blind months in advance (very limited — contact the Elkhart USFS ranger district as early as possible for spring availability). Arrive at the blind well before dawn for the pre-dawn lekking display — one of the most dramatic wildlife spectacles in Kansas. Walk the visible Santa Fe Trail ruts at Point of Rocks for a tangible connection to the 19th-century commerce, scan the grassland for pronghorn and shortgrass-prairie birds, camp free at Cottonwood Campground on the Cimarron, and come fully self-sufficient — this is the remote high plains, far from services.