h winds through the hills for about 40 miles on US-160, extending from Medicine Lodge west to Coldwater. Startling scenery awaits around every turn on this route. Along some sections of the road, it’s more common to meet an armadillo or a Hereford than another rider or a car.
- Lake Scott
Lake Scott recreation
Giggles carry across the waters of Lake Scott (15 miles north of Scott City), echoing off bluffs of limestone that rise from the water and evaporating into the skies above. Two teenage girls zigzag their canoe toward a sandy crescent. They beach their craft and explore the shore.
Boating on Lake Scott, and the state’s many other recreational lakes, is an easygoing, unfussy affair. Take your pick at The Beach House, which rents canoes and paddleboats. Then, you can cruise along the cattails and spy on sunning turtles, cast a line for hungry bass, or set out on a scenic ride along a shoreline of shady cottonwoods. The 100-acre lake, with lots of coves and high canyon walls, provides easy-to-navigate protected waters perfect for a relaxing outing.
The Bridle and Mountain Bike Trail—ideal for horseback riding, hiking or mountain biking—has easy to moderately difficult terrain on a seven-mile path that circles the lake. A horse-camp area provides amenities for equestrian visitors.
- Keith Sebelius Lake
Fishing lakes are Kansas’ hidden gems, sparkling oases tucked in the folds and creases of prairie. Clark State Fishing Lake (70 miles southeast of Garden City) hides at the base of a golden limestone canyon. With a curvaceous shoreline that provides plenty of coves and shady cover, the protected waters harbor healthy populations of white and largemouth bass, walleye, channel catfish and panfish. And, waterfront campsites mean you can fish from dawn until dusk.
Smaller lakes like Clark are just the beginning of angling opportunities in Western Kansas. The 2,300-acre Keith Sebelius Lake (five miles west of Norton) is known for crappie, walleye and wiper, a feisty striped bass hybrid. Wiper and white bass also thrive at Cedar Bluff Lake (20 miles southeast of WaKeeney). No-wake rules keep the 80-acre lake serene at Meade State Park (12 miles southwest of Meade).
- Quivira National Wildlife Refuge
The low angle of the morning sun casts a bronze patina on the waters of Cheyenne Bottoms (nine miles northeast of Great Bend), silhouetting a striking array of birds. A slender white ibis stalks through the shallows. A pelican with its telltale pouch drifts in a nearby bay. Black-bellied plovers dip their wings and circle low for a landing.
That’s the kind of avian Grand Central Station you’ll find in west-central Kansas, where lush eastern and arid western prairies and low-lying wetlands converge. Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area and Quivira National Wildlife Refuge (18 miles southeast of Great Bend) provide a varied and abundant habitat that attracts more than 300 species of migrating birds from both the eastern and western United States. Naturalists believe more than half the nation’s shorebirds—as many as 500,000 geese and ducks—stop here for a rest on their way north.