Mount Sunflower
Place Name: Kansas
Place Description: State: Kansas
Date: 07/22/2021
Elevation: 4,039 Feet
Prominence: 19 Feet
Miles: 0.1
Elevation Gain: 5 Feet
Lists: US State High Points
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Difficulty
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Solitude
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Kid Friendly
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Summit Views
The High Point Of Kansas
Not really a mountain, but the highest point of Kansas it is and a must for state high pointers.
Overall
2.5Pros
- Drive up
- Fun summit structure
- Peaceful
Cons
- Long way from anywhere
- Dirt roads can get very muddy
- Long drives, but doable with two other state High Points
Once you cross the Rockies, chasing state high points changes from peak bagging to high pointing.
One of these state high points is Mount Sunflower in Kansas.
Getting There
Mount Sunflower is located just across the Colorado state line and is accessed by a series of farm roads.
We drove across the border on I-70 and drove to Goodland where we took KS-27 south to Sharon Springs.
From here, go west on US-40 for about 15 miles towards Weskan. Turn right on Road 3 and head north for 11 miles on graded dirt. This road will pass through farms and by a few residences before turning left and one last right up to the high point.
There is a sign from KS-27 that heads west and is signed for Mount Sunflower. I believe it was around 20 miles. We opted for more driving on pavement.
The High Point
There is not a hike for Mount Sunflower. You can park right at the “summit.”
There is a picnic area and a cool little display sign to take a picture with. Don’t be fooled by the word “mount”, it’s nothing more than a low rise in an endless sea of farm land. Meanwhile, during our visit to the high point, there was a tractor working just across the fence line.
The Final Word
If you are a state high pointer, this is an easy one. It’s just way out in the middle of nowhere. We combined this with Panorama Point earlier that morning in Nebraska. It was a lot of driving, but the best way to tackle these two drive up high points.
We drove to Lamar, CO for the night and went for the Oklahoma high point Black Mesa the following day. Combining these three high points is the best way to get them!