the U.S. Geological Survey recognized it as the spot with the
highest elevation in Kansas
(4,039 feet above sea level), it provides vistas of the High Plains and the
short-grass prairie, and because the Harold family has so effectively
commemorated this site.
Part of the fun of getting to Mt. Sunflower is crossing the cattle guard at the Harold pasture. Cattle have the right-of-way! Photo KSF
Mount Sunflower was designated as Kansas' highest point by a United States Geological Survey in 1961.
In
the late 1970s Ed Harold decided to commemorate this site, homesteaded
by his grandparents in 1906. The most famous attraction at the site is
the sunflower sculpture made from railroad spikes and welded together. The other sunflower that runs through the heart of the Kansas frame was designed and created by Kelley Sommerfeld and financed by the Wallace County Chamber of Commerce. A
stone memorial gives a few details about the grandparents, Edward and
Elizabeth Harold. There is a covered picnic area and a register in a
mailbox.
At 4,039 feet above sea level, Mount Sunflower is the highest point in
Kansas. Located in Wallace County, just east of the Kansas-Colorado
border, Mount Sunflower is more than 3,300 feet above the state's
topographic low point in Montgomery County in southeastern Kansas. Much
of Mount Sunflower's elevation is due to the uplift of the Rocky
Mountains to the west. Mount Sunflower is on private property, but the
landowners accommodate visitors who want to conquer its lofty
summit and gaze at a typical High Plains, shortgrass prairie landscape.
The Wallace County website adds some description to Mount Sunflower Mount Sunflower
is surrounded by a typical western Kansas pasture.During the summer months, the yucca plant blooms with all their
glory, and many types of Kansas wildflowers dot the native buffalo
grass.The smell of
sagebrush assures you that you are indeed in Kansas.Wildlife is abundant on the "mountainside".Antelope, deer, prairie dogs, coyotes, jack rabbits and foxes
make this spot their home.Many
types of birds spend the summer months raising their young on the
prairie. Hawks, owls pheasants, swallows, and larks are common. A herd of cattle also preside in the pasture.
DIRECTIONS: From Goodland. To reach Mt. Sunflower, take K-27 south from Goodland or
north from Sharon Springs. Turn west on BB Road for 12 miles, south on
6 Road for four miles, west on X Road for three miles, one mile south on 3 Road,
then one and one-tenth mile west. Finally, turn north about three-tenths of a mile to Mount Sunflower.
Or, from the town of Kanorado, go 22 miles south on 3 Road, then one and one-tenth mile west and three-tenths mile north.
From Weskan. Three miles west of Weskan in Wallace County on U.S. 40, then 11 miles
north, and one mile west. Cross a cattle guard and continue north on a
pasture driveway and head toward the tall dead branch planted in the
High Plains soil.
