The largest tract of public land in Kansas, preserving shortgrass prairie along the historic Santa Fe Trail.
Cimarron National Grassland
Cimarron National Grassland is the largest area of public land in the U.S. state of Kansas, a roughly 108,000 acre expanse of Great Plains shortgrass prairie administered by the U.S. Forest Service. Located primarily in Morton County in the far southwestern corner of the state with a small extension into Stevens County, the grassland lies along the Cimarron River and forms a natural counterpart to the Comanche National Grassland just across the border in Colorado.
The landscape is shaped by semi-arid climate, sandy soils, and high winds, producing a terrain that is mostly flat with gentle west-to-east slope. Bluffs rise above the river valley, sand sagebrush dominates many of the open areas, and cottonwood groves line the banks of the Cimarron and its tributaries. The grassland is dedicated to water conservation, wildlife management, recreation, livestock grazing, and mineral production, balancing working-land uses with habitat preservation.
Cimarron National Grassland is also a place of deep historical resonance. It preserves a significant stretch of the Santa Fe Trail, including the Cimarron Cutoff pioneered by William Becknell in 1822, and remains an important refuge for native prairie wildlife such as lesser prairie chickens, pronghorn, and a reintroduced elk herd.
