Witness Some Of The World's Most Unusual Rock Formations At A Little-Known Kansas State Park

Kansas is home to a number of unique ecosystems, including the Flint Hills, one of the largest remaining tallgrass prairies, and it's also got some pretty cool rock formations. Out in western Kansas, you can visit an uncrowded alternative to Badlands National Park, and in central Kansas, there's Mushroom Rock State Park, which has unique, mushroom-shaped sandstone features that seem to sprout from the ground like it was a giant's garden. It's about a 90 minute drive northwest of Wichita, a bustling and underrated Kansas city.

At just five acres, it's the smallest state park in the Sunflower State, but it's well worth a visit to see this unexpected geologic marvel. "Everyone has preconceptions or misconceptions that Kansas is flat and boring. And then you find these little pockets of weird geology that seem so out of place," Jon J. Smith, a sedimentary geologist with the Kansas Geological Survey, told Thrillist. "They still hold some mystery and wonder and are just as interesting as if I didn't know how they were formed."

The largest of these sandstone formations are over 25 feet around, according to the Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks, and you're able to walk through and around them; the trails are all short and easy. While most Kansas state parks require a small parking fee, there's no cost to park at and enter Mushroom Rock State Park.

To understand how the rocks at Mushroom Rock State Park came to be, you first have to go back to the Cretaceous Period, between 66 million and 145 million years ago. At the time, much of what is now Kansas was underwater. Mushroom Rock State Park was near the edge of the vast inland sea, and beach sand helped form the rocks you can see today. For those into geology, they're a part of the Dakota Formation. A combination of millions of years of erosion and the different sediments in the rock layers have led to the distinctive shape of these rocks. Along with the mushroom shaped rocks that gave the park its name, there's a number of other, unusual round rocks called "concretions."

They've long been a landmark for people in the area, including Indigenous Americans and pioneers, like Kit Carson, legendary frontiersman, who is said to have visited and loved the area. It became a state park in 1965.

If you want to explore more natural beauty in this part of the Sunflower State, it's about a 35-minute drive from Coronado Heights. This Kansas historic site has unparalleled panoramic views of the surrounding Smoky Hills, and like Mushroom Rock State Park, it's on the list of the Kansas Sampler Foundation's 8 Wonders of Kansas Geography.