Driving the interstates of Kansas to get to the big cities of Wichita, Topeka and Kansas City can give the motorist misconceptions about the geography of Oklahomaâs neighbor to the north. Travel off the beaten path to explore some unexpected geologic formations that makes one think Kansas isnât so flat after all.Â
Mushroom Rock State Park
Doug Stremel
In central Kansas sits
Mushroom Rock State Park, the smallest unit of the state park system situated about 30 minutes west of Salina near Highway 140. Considered one of the eight wonders of Kansas geography, the park gets its name from the fungus-shaped rock formations, some measuring almost 30-feet wide, that date to the Cretaceous Period. The Dakota sandstone caps withstood millennia of weathering to create the top of the hoodoo (a tower of rock). Many stop at the 5-acre park as they travel the Prairie Trail Scenic Byway, an 80-mile route that cuts through northcentral Kansas.Â