Coronado Heights - Lindsborg, Kansas Coronado Heights Park is a scenic overlook and park on a 300' promontory a few miles northwest of Lindsborg, Kansas. In the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a picnic area and castle like building out of Dakota limestone. It is rather cool and the view is spectacular - reminiscent of the view from Sterling Castle in Scotland. The winding drive up to the heights is beautiful, with many trees, yucca, and sumac. The park has grills and fireplaces, including a fireplace in the "castle," which is otherwise unlighted except for the windows. There are many stone picnic tables located around the edge of hill, with views in all directions. When visited in July of 2007, the castle and grounds were clean and in surprisingly good repair. There is a stone rest room building, but from a distance it wasn't clear what condition it is in, and it didn't look like there was a regular path to the rest rooms. Coronado Heights receives its name from Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, who visited central Kansas in 1541, looking for the Native American community of Quivira, where he was told "trees hung with golden bells and ... pots and pans were beaten gold." Coronado didn't find his gold, and it is unknown if he actually ascended the heights now named after him near Lindsborg, Kansas. There is also a 3 mile mountain bike trail with two loops around the base of Coronado Heights Park. Take Coronado Avenue (Highway 4) 3 miles north of Lindsborg to Coronado Heights Road (unpaved). Go 1 mile west, just past Smoky Hill Cemetery and turn right at the stone gate. You will see Coronado Heights Park from many miles. Open 8 AM to 11 PM. Coronado Heights Park was closed for most of the 2019 summer, because of a land slide on the road up to the park, but it reopened at the end of August.
copyright 2007-2019 by Keith Stokes |
