Visiting Point of Rocks, Cimarron National Grasslands, Kansas

Point of Rocks is a landmark in the Cimarron National Grasslands, not far from the town of Elkhart, Kansas. While most of the Kansas landscape is flat, Point of Rocks is the 3rd highest point in Kansas and reaching 3,540 ft in elevation.

We boondocked at this location when visiting Point of Rocks , but if you are looking for a RV park near here, we have stayed at this one.

To get to the Point of Rocks you leave Elkhart, Kansas using KS-27 N, travel approximately 8 ¼ miles down KS-27 N, on your left there will be a dirt road entrance into the Cimarron Grasslands, follow this road for almost 3 miles.

On your way to Point of Rocks, while on 27, you will see a small brown sign indicating there is a photo opportunity near. It is a small overlook, that looks over a portion of the grasslands. It has some small plaques with information about the grasslands. It was an okay stop for pictures, but is not something we recommend you driving out for on its own. It is one of those stops that you make, only if you are already in the area.

After entering into the grasslands, you will see a sign for Point of Rocks Lake. It is on an off shoot road from the main one. If you want to drive down to the lake and check it out, it is not a long detour and we enjoyed it. We think this is an area that may be open to fishing part of the year. It was currently dried up and inaccessible, but there did appear to be bathrooms here.

Point of Rocks is still a couple miles down the main road.

The Point of Rocks has a small parking area for vehicles, but it can only accommodate a few vehicles at a time. There are many trails around point of rocks, some for driving and some that you can only get to by walking down a path of concrete steps built into the hillside. We absolutely recommend taking a small hike, walking down the steps, and viewing the grasslands from the lower elevation.

Point of Rocks is most commonly known for being a landmark along the Santa Fe Trail. This landmark was used as a beacon of hope to weary travelers, who were transporting goods from Missouri to Mexico. The Santa Fe Trail was a faster, shorter trade route, but water along this trail was sparse and hard to find. However, the area around Point of Rocks has naturally occurring springs that travelers were able to use for water. The Point of Rocks became known as a symbol of hope, that water was near, and that you were on the correct trail. American traders traveled this path, from 1821 until 1846, to reach their Mexican buyers.

In 1846, Point of Rocks saw the passage of American soldiers during the Mexican American War. As the Santa Fe Trail was used to invade New Mexico.

After the end of the war, settlers used the Santa Fe Trail, passing the Point of Rocks, as a route for westward expansion. As the railroad tracks began to stretch across the state of Kansas, the Santa Fe Trail fell into disuse, and the Point of Rocks became just another landmark.

To learn more about the history surrounding Point of Rocks, read here. https://www.nps.gov/safe/learn/historyculture/index.htm.