Guided Tour Activity Descriptions
Konza Prairie staff or docents lead walking and driving tours. Your group’s special interests, background knowledge and age are matched to the guide’s experience and expertise for a rewarding, personalized tour.
Visitors may choose a guided hike from one- to six-miles, or a guided driving tour from your vehicle. Expect a total visit time of one- to five-hours, depending on your chosen activities. You may choose to spend the day at Konza Prairie and do both a hike and the driving tour.
Education Topics
While tour information can be tailored to group’s special interests, such as wildflowers or birds, all visitors will learn about:
- History and mission of Konza Prairie,
- Value of prairie research and ecology,
- Prairie conservation and management by grazing and fire,
- Local history of Native Americans and European settlers,
- Flint Hills geology,
- Signs of animals and seeds of prairie plants, and
- Plant and animal diversity of the prairie.
Education Program Activities
Nature Trail Loop. Part of the public trail system, our 2½-mile Nature Trail winds through lowland gallery forests, crosses Kings Creek, and climbs over ancient limestone ledges until it reaches upland tallgrass prairie, and at the highest point gives a spectacular view of the Flint Hills and the Kansas River Valley. Please allow minimum 2-hours to enjoy this 2.5-mile hike.
Enjoy similar vistas as the Nature Trail Loop, on the Kings Creek Loop (allow minimum 3½-hours for this 4.4-mile hike) or the Godwin Hill Loop (allow minimum 4½-hours for this 6.0-mile hike).
Hokanson Homestead. Just off the 2½-mile Nature Trail is Hokanson Homestead, settled by Swedish immigrants in 1878. Situated near Kings Creek within the gallery forest, the homestead site features an original limestone barn and other foundations, as well as a wildlife observation lean-to and outdoor seating area. Discover man’s impact on the land as you hike a short trail around the homestead. This hike is also recommended for groups with young children or varied ages. Allow an additional 1-hour to enjoy investigation of the site.
The following areas are open by reservation only.
Butterfly Hill Trail. A shorter trail and easier walk, recommended for groups with young children or varied ages. The Butterfly Hill Trail has all of the components of the 2.5-mile Nature Trail in a more compact area and with fewer and less steep hills. This trail overlooks the bison enclosure and provides a chance to see the herd at a distance. Allow minimum 1½-hours to enjoy this 1-mile hike.
Bison Loop Driving Tour. Konza Prairie manages a herd of approximately 300 bison, and arrangements can be made to take a driving tour into the bison enclosure. For the Bison Loop driving tour, you must furnish your own vehicles and leave one seat in each vehicle available for a guide. Participants are not allowed to leave the vehicle while inside the bison enclosure, but may have the opportunity to stop and observe the herd close-up. The number of vehicles is limited to two or three for large groups, and tour buses are not permitted. Large vans or a school bus are preferred. Allow minimum 1 ½- to 2-hours for the driving tour.
Station Headquarters Tour. For a quick overview of Konza Prairie research and local history of the site, you may arrange a guided tour of the Dewey limestone ranch house and barn (exterior only), bison corral, weather station and Hulbert Fire Demonstration Plots. Allow minimum 45-minutes for this 3/4-mile walking tour.
Konza Prairie Research. The Westloop Trail affords an up-close look at field research on Konza Prairie. The 1-mile hike passes several on-going research projects, including the Lloyd C. Hulbert Fire Demonstration Plots. These small-scale examples of the fire management areas on Konza Prairie show the effects of various burn treatments on the plant community. Allow minimum 1½-hours for this tour.
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