Why you should visit the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve

I am a huge fan of visiting National Parks and anything to do with the National Parks system. They always do a great job of preserving history and nature. This was my second National Preserve to visit, Big Thicket in Texas was my first. Tallgrass prairie preserve was unique and beautiful and unlike any other park or preserve that I have previously been to in my travels. 

Visitor center

I highly recommend always starting at the visitor center when you visit a national park/preserve. They have up to date information on any closures happening in the park or of any other dangerous conditions that you need to be aware of when visiting. In my experience, the rangers have always been helpful and at Tallgrass Prairie preserve it was no different. The ranger on duty was kind, informative, and even gave my daughter her first junior ranger badge! 

I have heard of the Junior Ranger program but not looked into it to much yet as my daughter is younger than the recommended age group. The ranger was kind enough to offer one to us and explain more about the program. We look forward to continue to utilize this program as our daughter grows older. 

I also have a national parks passport book that I love to get stamped. Even though it is not a national park, they still have stamps here for your book! If you are interested in getting your own National Parks Passport book, you can look at them here (https://shop.americasnationalparks.org/collections/passport-books) or pick one up at any national park you visit. 

One of the cool things that they had was a touch table for kids. They have a sign that says please touch and explains that these items were collected by park rangers. It also talks about how you should leave any items where you found them to help maintain the integrity of the park. I love that they have a safe space for kids to explore and learn. 

The visitors center also had some cool exhibits to look at and some different things to feel such as winter pelts. We enjoyed walking around this small but informative area and interacting with the exhibits. 

Spring Hill Mansion

The Spring Hill Mansion is a short uphill walk from the visitor’s center. The walk has a bit of an incline but it has an easy to follow path. I loved exploring this house! It is so interesting to me to see the home and imagine the family who lived there and how they lived. You are able to explore the whole home, which is also really cool. So often you are only able to see portions of historical homes that they have restored. 

When you enter from the back ( which is where the path leads you to), you can either go down the stairs or up. Going down you will see places such as the spring room where they kept their cold and perishable items. It is really neat to see the different processes they used when they did not have modern conveniences like we do today. 

In the home. there are four total including the basement. Be prepared to climb a lot of stairs if you want to explore all of the floors. Going out the front door, you are rewarded with a beautiful view of the prairie. If you do not wish to do anymore stairs, you can take the path from the front of the house to the back. There are several other parts of the homestead you are able to see if you follow this path including the outhouse! Ha!

Lower Fox Creek School 

Another interesting historic building that you can access at the Tallgrass National Prairie Preserve is the Lower Fox Creek school. This school is a short distance away by car from the visitors center. There is a small parking lot a short walking distance away from the school. If you prefer to walk, there is also a trail that you can take from the visitors center to the school that is 6.1 miles in distance round trip. 

The school is restored and looks similar to how it would have been in the past.  We loved getting to imagine what it would have been like for them and to see what it looked like. Another great thing about going to the school, is that it is a great way to get to see Bison up close!

See the bison

There are two areas that the ranger said we should be able to see Bison. One was behind the visitors center and the other was by the Lower Fox Creek school. While we were talking to the ranger, she looked out the back of the building and let us know that there were none there at the time and the best place to try and see them was by the school. 

The ranger was absolutely right! Tthis was a great viewing spot for the bison. We saw a bison not far from the road when we turned onto the school house road! So fun and cool to be able to see him! A short distance away from the school is a trail that you can follow and it allows you to walk among the bison. When following the trail, there is a gate not far from the school. If you go through it, you will continue on the path to where the bison roam. 

When we were initially walking towards the gate, we had planned on going in as we could see groups of bison in the distance but nothing very close. As we neared the gate however, we saw a bison start to come over the top of the hill. We had been heavily warned to keep a football field distance away from them and with him walking towards us, it kept us from going inside the gate. We didn’t mind as this allowed us to have great views of the bison while being safely behind the gate. What a great experience!

Bottomland nature trail

After we had visited the school house and the bison, we headed over to the Bottomland nature trail. We chose this trail as it allowed us to see parts of the tall grass while still being on a paved path, making it easy to take a stroller. It also was a quick hike which was perfect for us because we were running out of time on our visit. 

There were two loop trails we could have done on this nature trail. One was .5 miles and the other was an additional .75 miles. We chose to do the shorter one due to our time constraints. I was amazed at how beautiful it was! There were quite a few beautiful flowers along the path and the bluest sky. The grass was decently tall in July when we visited but it was still growing! It will be the fall before it reaches its tallest height. 

One word of caution if you are not a fan of grasshoppers, this is probably not the best hike for you. I have never seen so many at one time jumping from grass to grass. They frequently jumped across the path and several even landed on us while walking. If you don’t mind the grasshoppers, a nice feature they have is several benches along the trail. This allows you to stop and enjoy the sounds and sights of nature.

Things to know

One of the best things about this preserve is the fact that it is free to enter! Many national parks can cost $30 for a vehicle to enter so it was nice to have this perk. Trails are open 24/7 but the visitors center and buildings have limited hours. You can check those out here 

https://www.nps.gov/tapr/planyourvisit/basicinfo.htm . You will also want to bring bug spray to use if you go on any of the hikes. We were warned about the ticks and chiggers by the Ranger and on the posted signs. Lastly, there are limited resources in the area. Be sure to plan ahead for what you might need. We found a restaurant in Strong City called Jacalito that was not far from the preserve. It was delicious and makes for a great stop for lunch or dinner. 

The Tallgrass National Prairie preserve is a must see. I loved staring out across the prairie. I did not expect it to be that special, but it truly is very beautiful. We loved our visit here and I would recommend you add it to your bucket list!

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