Shutterstock
They’re free to visit all year
About 25 miles southwest of Salina, in the Smoky Hills of Ellsworth County, giant sandstone formations rise from the open prairie like something that doesn’t belong.
Mushroom Rock State Park covers just five acres, making it the smallest state park in Kansas, but the rock formations inside it rank among the strangest in the country.
The Kansas Sampler Foundation voted the park one of the 8 Wonders of Kansas Geography. That kind of recognition for a park this small tells you something about what’s out there.
![Plate: No. 28; On March 9, 1869 a joint resolution of Congress authorizied the changing of the Union Pacific Railway Company, Eastern Division's name to the Kansas Pacific Railway Company.; Although all of the photographs published in Across the Continent on the Kansas Pacific Railyway (Route of the 35th Parallel) are attributed to Gardner, some of the images may have been taken by one of the other photographers Gardner supervised on the expedition. "As official photographer for the expedition, Gardner was allowed to published all the expedition photographs under his name. In 1867, he stated in a deposition that although a photograph was identified on the mount as a 'Photograph by A. Gardner,' it simply meant that it was printed or copied in his gallery--he was not necessarily the photographer. The other photographers on the expedition were Dr. William A. Bell, William R. Pywell, and Gardner's son, Lawrence, who apprenticed on the expedition." [Katz, D. Mark (1991). Witness to an era: the life and photographs of Alexander Gardner: the Civil War, Lincoln, and the West. Nashville, Tennessee: Rutledge Hill. Page 220]; Images most likely published in 1869. "Along with images made by photographers under his [Alexander Gardner's] supervision, his photographs were published in an album titled Across the Continent on the Kansas Pacific Railyway (Route of the 35th Parallel), offered for sale on April, 1869." [Marien, Mary Warner (2006). Photography: a cultural history. London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd. Page 132]](https://wheninyourstate.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/220Kansas20hides20100-million-year-old20stone20mushrooms20in20a20five-acre20park-1024x576.jpg)
Wikimedia Commons/Gardner, Alexander
An ancient sea left these rocks behind
Go back about 100 million years to the Cretaceous Period, and an inland sea covered much of western Kansas.
Sand and sediment piled up along the edge of that water and eventually became part of what geologists call the Dakota Formation.
Groundwater moved through the sandy rock and deposited calcium carbonate between the grains, cementing harder bodies called concretions. The softer sandstone around them wore away over millions of years.
The harder tops stayed put on narrower stems, and you got mushrooms made of stone.
Shutterstock
Pulpit Rock stretches 27 feet across
The biggest formation in the park goes by Pulpit Rock, and it measures 27 feet in diameter. You reach it on the North Trail, a path so short it covers just a tenth of a mile.
The South Trail crosses a small bridge to a free-standing mushroom rock with open prairie views in every direction.
Two other formations round out the park, one shaped like a second mushroom and another that looks like a giant shoe. You can walk right up to all of them, but carving or marking the rocks is off limits.
Wikimedia Commons/Internet Archive Book Images
Kit Carson and gold rushers came to see them
Long before anyone made this a park, Native Americans used these formations as meeting places and trail markers across the Smoky Hills.
Early American explorers like John C. Fremont and Kit Carson reportedly visited the area.
When the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush kicked off in 1859, travelers heading west on the Smoky Hill Trail went out of their way to find the rocks.
Government survey crews noted them in 1862 while planning the Kansas Pacific Railroad route, and the first geology reports followed in 1866 and 1868.
Wikimedia Commons/SMU Central University Libraries
Over 300 people showed up for dedication day
Until 1963, reaching the rocks meant bumping along a rough trail across private land. That year, Ellsworth County built a road through the area and opened it to cars.
The Ellsworth County Historical Society pulled together five acres from two private landowners and donated the land to the state.
On April 25, 1965, more than 300 people gathered for the dedication ceremony that turned those five acres into an official state park. Today the park runs as a satellite of nearby Kanopolis State Park.
Shutterstock
No fees, no permits, just show up
You don’t need a reservation, a permit, or even a dollar to walk in. Mushroom Rock State Park stays open year-round for day use only, so no camping here.
You’ll find picnic tables and a restroom on site, but no grills or fire pits. Bring your dog if you want, just keep it on a leash.
The park sits one mile south of Carneiro, Kansas, and you can get there from K-140 or K-141 on county roads.
Wikimedia Commons/FUBAR007
Drive the Prairie Trail Scenic Byway while you’re here
Mushroom Rock sits along the Prairie Trail Scenic Byway, a state-designated route through McPherson and Ellsworth Counties.
The road follows paths that Native Americans, explorers and pioneers wore into this landscape over centuries.
You’ll wind through rolling Smoky Hills terrain with wide prairie views and curved roads that keep things interesting.
Other stops along the byway include Kanopolis State Park, the town of Lindsborg with its Swedish heritage, and the Maxwell Wildlife Refuge, where you can see bison and elk.
Shutterstock
Kanopolis State Park is four miles down the road
Kanopolis State Park sits about four miles southeast of Mushroom Rock and holds the title of the first state park Kansas ever established, back in 1955.
It wraps around Kanopolis Reservoir in the rolling hills, bluffs and woods of the Smoky Hills. More than 30 miles of trails cover hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding.
Horsethief Canyon has towering Dakota sandstone bluffs, caves and early Native American rock carvings on Inscription Rock.
The Buffalo Track Canyon Nature Trail runs one mile through native plants and geological formations.
Wikimedia Commons/IveGoneAway
Kansas has 11 different landscapes, not just flat plains
Most people picture Kansas as flat and empty, but the Smoky Hills region sits in one of 11 distinct physiographic regions in the state. You’ll find rolling hills, sandstone bluffs, wooded canyons and creek valleys here.
The same Dakota Formation sandstone that built the mushroom rocks also carved the dramatic bluffs and canyons at Kanopolis.
About 50 miles northeast, Rock City in Ottawa County holds over 200 giant spherical boulders in an area the size of two football fields. Rock City carries a National Natural Landmark designation.
Shutterstock
Climb 200 giant stone spheres at Rock City
Rock City sits about four miles south of Minneapolis, Kansas, in Ottawa County.
Its 200-plus concretions are spherical rather than mushroom-shaped, ranging from about 10 to 20 feet across. They formed the same way, from calcium carbonate cementing sand grains in the Dakota Formation.
No other place on Earth packs so many giant concretions into one spot, which earned it a National Natural Landmark designation in 1976.
The park stays open year-round with a small admission fee, and you can walk among and climb on the boulders.
Shutterstock
Meadowlarks and wildflowers fill the open prairie
The land around Mushroom Rock spreads flat and wide, with open views in every direction.
Native prairie grasses and seasonal wildflowers cover the Smoky Hills region, and you may hear meadowlarks and dickcissels calling from the grass.
The nearby Kanopolis Wildlife Viewing Area has a surfaced ADA-accessible trail, photo blinds and an observation deck built for birding.
Spring and fall bring the most comfortable weather for exploring, though you can visit any time of year.
Shutterstock
Sunrise turns the sandstone gold
Most people spend 20 to 30 minutes walking the two short trails and circling the formations.
The park works best as part of a longer drive along the Prairie Trail Scenic Byway or a day trip that pairs it with Kanopolis State Park and Rock City.
If you time it right, sunrise or sunset light hits the sandstone and turns the whole scene a different color.
Visitors come from around the country and leave surprised that geology this strange sits in the middle of Kansas.
Wikimedia Commons/Lylegentry
Explore Mushroom Rock State Park in Kansas
You can find Mushroom Rock State Park one mile south of Carneiro, Kansas, in Ellsworth County. The park stays open year-round for day use, and admission is free with no permits needed.
Two short walking trails, each about a tenth of a mile, lead you straight to the major formations. Picnic tables and a restroom are on site, but there’s no camping, no grills and no fire pits.
Kanopolis State Park manages the property.
This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.
Read more from this brand:
Mississippi3 days ago
Illinois6 days ago
California4 days ago
Rhode Island1 day ago
Iowa6 days ago
Indiana6 days ago
California5 days ago
Kansas5 days ago