The 5 Best Outdoorsy Towns to Explore in Kansas

For obsessive seekers of hidden gems, planning your summer road trips around these outdoorsy towns in Kansas will prove ultra-worthy. After my first summer dipping toes in picturesque lakes, bopping down shockingly green trails, and shielding my eyes against rocky ridges aglow with burning sunsets, I’ve returned to Kansas every June for my adventure fix. I've discovered it's best to find a small town base camp where you can easily take day trips to swimming coves, towering bluffs, and scenic trails worth the trek.

1. Scott City

After many years scouring the state, I can confidently rattle off the best outdoor towns in Kansas, and the first is Scott City. Not a city at all, this small town in southwest Kansas is the perfect launching point for exploring the most iconic and exotic landscapes in the state. It’s just 15 miles from Lake Scott State Park, where you can find grassy, waterfront campsites with startling views of a lake crowned with golden plateaus and bluffs.

One of the state’s best-kept secrets, locally known as Battle Canyon, is hiding less than 1 mile south of the park’s entrance. A little farther north, just 30 miles from Scott City, you’ll find Monument Rocks and Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park. Both exhibit, incredibly and unexpectedly, chalk rock formations. Monument Rocks features spires towering 70 feet above the surrounding ranchlands, while the badlands feature canyons plummeting 1 mile below the surface. It’s one of the youngest Kansas state parks and arguably the best.

2. WaKeeney

If it’s the hiking towns in Kansas you’re after, one of my favorite small towns near state parks is the wonderfully sleepy WaKeeney. It’s in northwest Kansas, right off I-70, and you’ve probably driven past it a million times on your way to and from Colorado. It’s one of those blink-and-you’ll-miss-it towns, with under 2,000 residents. I booked a mind-blowing Airbnb in a church there, staying several days while exploring the surrounding area on day trips.

Just 20 miles south of WaKeeney is Cedar Bluff State Park, which is home to my favorite hike in Kansas. It’s a difficult, unmarked trail that scrambles down the bluffs from the Cedar Bluffs Overlook and leads to a white pebble shoreline with lapping, aquamarine water. In the opposite direction, 50 miles northeast of WaKeeney, is another reservoir at Webster Lake State Park. It’s an epic spot for a glorious Kansas sunset and for kayaking on the massive, calm lake surrounded by rolling prairie. There’s also a mowed grass trail, about 3 miles long. It’s easy but confusing because it loops over itself near the middle. Just keep making left turns all the way and you’ll make it back to the start after about an hour. 

3. Cottonwood Falls

Not every year is a good year for chasing waterfalls, but in seasons with frequent, heavy rains, you can find several impressive areas. This year has been one of those times, and a whole new category of outdoor destinations in Kansas has been unveiled for me. My favorite waterfall is also the one most likely to be flowing later in the season, even with less rainfall. It’s found near the small town of Cottonwood Falls, and the waterfall is called Chase Lake Falls. It flows from Prather Creek, on the east side of Chase Lake.

In addition to the waterfall, Chase Lake is also a pretty lake with striking blue water, surrounded by wide, rolling hills. It’s ideal for beginner-level paddleboarding or kayaking. After returning to the town of Cottonwood Falls, you can head north 5 miles and find the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. It’s a massive 11,000-acre site featuring native prairie, a bison herd, hiking trails, and a wonderful nature center.

4. Hiawatha

For a classic Kansas prairie experience, I have a soft spot for Hiawatha, about 90 miles northwest of Kansas City. Similar to my experience in WaKeeney, I discovered this small town in Kansas for nature lovers thanks to the unique lodging options. I booked a family cabin at the Country Cabins Hiawatha, where we slept in lakeside solitude while venturing out on day trips to the surrounding rural area. The main draw is the Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Area, a refuge cradled between the Loess Hills and the Missouri River Flood Plain. It’s an important birding area featuring a 10-mile auto tour, about 30 miles from the cabins. We spent several hours watching migratory waterfowl like swans, snow geese, and dozens of species of ducks. The next day, we set out again from the cabins, exploring Indian Cave State Park (in Nebraska), 30 miles north of Hiawatha. It’s a massive 3,000-acre preserve including a limestone cave with petroglyphs. 

5. Lucas

Finishing off my list of the best outdoorsy towns in Kansas is Lucas, a small town with only a few hundred residents. This rural area harbors one of the best hidden gems in the state, a prairie hiking trail that opens up into a remote cove full of sandstone spires. The Rock Town Trail skirts the northeast corner of Lake Wilson, just 8 miles south of Lucas. The lake is the only attraction in the area, but it’s so remarkable that it’s enough to make Lucas an iconic town. Its remoteness, excellent water quality, and superior swimming conditions make Lake Wilson top my recommendations for beach lakes in Kansas. 

Each of these incredible adventure towns in Kansas is worthy of its own road trip, bringing you closer to nature through the lakes, bluffs, waterfalls, and prairies that are emblematic of the Midwest. Pairing these beautiful parks with the small towns that support them is the perfect way to support conservation and local, small businesses while making unforgettable memories.