Grant: Wide High Plains and Santa Fe Trail Traces

Grant County is mostly flat, offering far-reaching views over many miles. The High Plains in Grant County are home to deer, pheasants, wild turkeys, coyotes, rabbits, skunks, and occasional opossums. A trip through Grant can therefore be explored through its open landscapes, individual park offerings, and historic traces of the Santa Fe Trail.

Parks and Trails

At Frazier Park in Ulysses, Frazier Lake is the main attraction. The park has about four miles of hiking and biking trails. Nearly a mile of the trail network is paved with concrete or asphalt and leads to more challenging single-track sections. The trails’ length and surface provide two concrete points to consider when planning your route: some sections are paved, while others are more technically challenging. The different trail types are part of the same park offering, though they do not indicate how long it will take to walk or ride them.

Frazier Park Lake was restored as a water-based recreational amenity for the Ulysses community. Barb Dye Park offers something different: a large climbing structure, a basketball court, shaded picnic areas, and an additional swing set. The picnic shelter has nine tables. The parks’ offerings can be distinguished by specific interests: Frazier Park centers on its trails and lake, while Barb Dye Park brings together play, sports, and picnic facilities.

Building History and Traces of the Santa Fe Trail

The Historic Adobe Museum is a building made of adobe blocks, constructed in the 1930s and listed on the Kansas State Register of Historic Places. Its exhibit depicts the history of life on the High Plains through scenes, three-dimensional murals, and sets. The architecture and exhibit offer two different ways into the subject: the building itself reflects its period and construction method, while the staged scenes focus on life in the region.

Klein’s Ruts preserves an approximately 440-meter-long section of the Santa Fe Trail with four distinctive, parallel ruts. Lower Cimarron Spring was a stopping point on the Santa Fe Trail’s Desert Route. These sites reveal different aspects of the Trail’s history: Klein’s Ruts centers on a specific section and its ruts, while Lower Cimarron Spring highlights its historic role as a stopping point.

Regional Products

The annual Grant County Home Products Dinner showcases regional products and serves about 1,200 people at the Civic Center. The 2025 event was the 62nd edition. Dates and dishes may vary. If you want to include the dinner in your trip, check the date and menu in advance.

Getting to Ulysses

Ulysses Airport is one mile north of Ulysses on Highway 25. If you are making specific flight plans, check the relevant operating information in advance.

Discover more destinations: Wabaunsee County, Harper County, Ford County, Reno County, Montgomery, Crawford, Stevens County

For the overview of destinations: Kansas.