Hit the road for these outdoor day trips that are an easy drive from Wichita

Several times this year, I’ve been so desperate to get out and go somewhere yet felt weary of being around people that I’ve proposed to my husband we drive to Kansas City to get takeout barbecue at a new-to-us restaurant, find an uncrowded outdoor spot to eat, then drive back to Wichita.

He laughs every time I suggest it, but I’m not joking.

Instead, we’ve been finding places close to Wichita to explore for a couple of hours at a time: driving to Goddard to ride our bicycles on the Prairie Sunset Trail or hiking at Santa Fe Lake and Cheney State Park.

As our stay-close-to-home lifestyle stretches longer into the summer, I’ve again had the urge to branch out farther: day trips with the feeling like we’re really traveling. I’m thinking of destinations where we wouldn’t stay overnight and – with the right planning – would not need to stop for beverages, food or, in some cases, gas.

Here are several outdoor day trips from Wichita that are on my to-do list, many of which I’m embarrassed to admit I’ve not yet visited though I’ve lived here for two decades. One silver lining of the limitations on travel due to COVID-19 is that I’m spending more time exploring nearby outdoor excursions.

Maxwell Wildlife Refuge

Prairie tours are postponed at Maxwell Wildlife Refuge, about 60 miles north of Wichita, but you can drive through the refuge on the main entry road at no cost. There’s a chance to see elk, bison and other wildlife. Cliff Peterson, the refuge’s manager, said the views are beautiful at dawn and dusk but it’s not uncommon to see some of the 220 bison next to the road even in the heat of the day in August.

Drive slowly when bison are in the road, and stay inside your vehicle in the open range sections of the 2.5 mile drive. There’s no longer an observation tower but there are areas where fence separates you from the herd and you can get out for a scenic vista over the prairie and McPherson State Fishing Lake. You can also enjoy a picnic lakeside or walk the short nature trail along the creek south of the lake.

Regional zoos

I’ve felt comfortable being able to keep a safe distance from other visitors during outings to two zoos since the start of the pandemic. Visit on a weekday, if possible, when visitor numbers are smaller.

It’s been a couple years since I’ve been to Rolling Hills Zoo, six miles west of Salina, where they have wide walkways and plenty of room to roam away from others. In addition to 120 animals on 65 acres, there is an outdoor special exhibition featuring animatronic dinosaurs through Oct. 12 included with admission. The zoo is open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; tickets are $7 to $13.95 per person based on age.

Rolling Hills is one of seven zoos in Kansas accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) along with Garden City’s Lee Richardson Zoo, also on my list to visit. The zoo is about a 3.5 hour drive west of Wichita and has about 300 animals. There is a drive-through option if you want to stay inside your vehicle. You can see many of the animals from a car, others require a short walk from designated parking spots up to the exhibits. The zoo is free if you choose to walk through and $10 per vehicle for driving access. Day passes are free for members of reciprocating AZA facilities, including the Sedgwick County Zoo. Summer hours are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, with vehicle traffic closing at 6 p.m.

King of Trails: Allen County

Allen County, about 115 miles east of Wichita, is the self-proclaimed King of Trails in Kansas. From Iola, the county seat, you can access the Southwind Rail Trail, Lehigh Portland Trails, the Prairie Spirit Trail State Park and another dozen short trails open to pedestrian and bicycle use.

Lehigh Portland is a trail network covering 10 miles of wide, crushed limestone trails as well as single-track natural-surface trails through woodlands, prairie and around a 100-acre spring-fed quarry lake on the south side of Iola.

Southwind Rail Trail follows a railbed for 6.5 miles from Iola south to Humboldt. To the north, a short paved trail connects the Southwind to the Prairie Spirit Trail State Park, another rail-trail that stretches north from Iola for 51 miles to Ottawa.

Ottawa also is an access point for the longest rail-trail in the state. The Flint Hills Trail State Park will be 117 miles when complete, and currently 94 miles of the trail are developed from Council Grove to Osawatomie in various levels of surface completion. Among those developed miles, 20 miles between Allen and Osage City are under construction with an expected completion around Labor Day. The closest segment to Wichita is the 20.5-mile segment starting at Council Grove (access and parking is east of 6th Street and north of Walnut Street) and ending at Allen, where construction begins.

The state park trails do not have an access fee like most other Kansas state parks.

Scenic byways

I’ve been on bits of many of the state’s 12 designated byways but there are three that I’m considering driving in their entirety as day trips.

Prairie Trail Scenic Byway would be convenient to wrap around a trip to Maxwell Wildlife Refuge. This 80-mile route runs through central Kansas; from Wichita you’d pick it up in Canton and head northwest to Ellsworth. Among many possible outdoor detours in this area are Kanopolis State Park, Mushroom Rock State Park and Coronado Heights, the castle-like stone structure with a 360-degree view of the Smoky Hill River Valley. If you’re driving through in August or early September, you might find fields of sunflowers (please respect private property).

The Gypsum Hills Scenic Byway runs east-west for 42 miles along Highway 160 from Medicine Lodge to Coldwater. This area southwest of Wichita is known for its red-colored butte-and-mesa landscape, viewable on either side of the highway and from overlooks on the route. There’s an additional 22-mile scenic gravel drive south of the byway that would add an hour to this excursion. Coldwater Lake offers swimming, water-related sports, a nature trail and other outdoor activities.

Northeast of Wichita, the Flint Hills National Scenic Byway is a 47-mile route through the tallgrass prairie from Cassoday to Council Grove. There are places to stop for photo ops of the largest remaining intact tallgrass prairie left in North America as well as hiking, including 40 miles of trails at the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Strong City, or walking, biking and horseback riding from the westernmost trailhead of the Flint Hills Trail State Park in Council Grove.

Cross Timbers State Park

After hearing a friend rave about the Ancient Trees of the Cross Timbers trail, I’m looking forward to exploring Cross Timbers State Park, known for its sandstone rock outcrops and hardwood forests. About 80 miles east of Wichita, many still refer to this area as Toronto Lake for its most popular feature. For those who fish, my friend says her kids have had great luck at nearby Woodson State Fishing Lake.

The Ancient Trees hike sounds a lot like my favorite hike at Mount Rainier National Park. It’s a little over a 1-mile loop open to hiking only and has interpretive signage among old growth oaks. The state park has four other designated trails ranging from a half-mile to 11 miles long, and those are open to mountain biking and jogging in addition to hiking.

Most Kansas state parks, including Cross Timbers, have a day use fee of $5 per vehicle that can be paid with cash at a self-pay station or online at https://ksoutdoors.com/State-Parks for $6. There are $25 annual passes available online, too. If you’re planning to fish, ages 16 and older must have a fishing license.

This story was originally published August 7, 2020 at 5:01 AM.