One of the nicest rides in Kansas…
While Kansas is not known for high mountains or winding roads, there is a little known scenic highway that can make for a great day ride or great way to get off the interstates for a few hours. This ride starts at Highway 177 as it crosses I-70 just south of Manhattan and winds thru the Flint Hills down to Cassoday.
Heading north to south, you come to Council Grove and the historic Hays House restaurant. Established in 1857, it is the oldest continuously operated restaurant west of the Mississippi. The food at Hays House is great and they have a big buffet featuring some of the best fried chicken in the area. If camping is your style, the Army Corps of Engineers lake just north of town is a nice place to spend an evening next to the water.
Heading south toward Strong City, you will enjoy long sweeping turns with gentle elevation changes and some of the prettiest vistas in Kansas…especially in the spring or after a good rain, it’s like riding on a 50 mile long golf course. You will enjoy riding in some of the last tallgrass prairie left in the country and there’s a National Park featuring educational tours…FUN STUFF. Here’s some information from the website listed below.
“Tallgrass prairie once covered 140 million acres of North America. Within a generation the vast majority was developed and plowed under. Today less than 4% remains, mostly here in the Kansas Flint Hills. The preserve protects a nationally significant remnant of the once vast tallgrass prairie and its cultural resources. Here the tallgrass prairie takes its last stand.”
Just a few miles south is Cottonwood Falls. On Friday nights, the Emma Chase Café sponsors street music from a variety of musicians. On the third Sunday of each month they have a biker breakfast that is usually well attended. Many of these small towns have unique buildings and architecture. The Chase County court house is no exception.
We’re back on the road heading south to Cassoday, home of one of the largest monthly bike events in the nation. Cassoday’s first Sunday breakfast rides started in 1991 and if you happen to attend on a day with exceptionally nice weather, there is likely to be over 5000 bikes stop in. Plenty of vendors here from youth organizations selling breakfast burritos to some excellent BBQ, biker apparel and occasionally some local dealerships set up a display. One of the crowd favorites is the M&M Choppers dyno trailer…what a wonderful sound to hear the hot bikes at full throttle.
I hope you can find time to enjoy this ride sometime…it really is a nice one.
Hays House: http://hayshouse.com/
Tallgrass Prairie Preserve: http://www.nps.gov/tapr/index.htm
Emma Chase Café: http://www.emmachasecafe.com/default.htm
Cassoday: http://cassodaybikerun.com/home
While Kansas is not known for high mountains or winding roads, there is a little known scenic highway that can make for a great day ride or great way to get off the interstates for a few hours. This ride starts at Highway 177 as it crosses I-70 just south of Manhattan and winds thru the Flint Hills down to Cassoday.
Heading north to south, you come to Council Grove and the historic Hays House restaurant. Established in 1857, it is the oldest continuously operated restaurant west of the Mississippi. The food at Hays House is great and they have a big buffet featuring some of the best fried chicken in the area. If camping is your style, the Army Corps of Engineers lake just north of town is a nice place to spend an evening next to the water.
Heading south toward Strong City, you will enjoy long sweeping turns with gentle elevation changes and some of the prettiest vistas in Kansas…especially in the spring or after a good rain, it’s like riding on a 50 mile long golf course. You will enjoy riding in some of the last tallgrass prairie left in the country and there’s a National Park featuring educational tours…FUN STUFF. Here’s some information from the website listed below.
“Tallgrass prairie once covered 140 million acres of North America. Within a generation the vast majority was developed and plowed under. Today less than 4% remains, mostly here in the Kansas Flint Hills. The preserve protects a nationally significant remnant of the once vast tallgrass prairie and its cultural resources. Here the tallgrass prairie takes its last stand.”
Just a few miles south is Cottonwood Falls. On Friday nights, the Emma Chase Café sponsors street music from a variety of musicians. On the third Sunday of each month they have a biker breakfast that is usually well attended. Many of these small towns have unique buildings and architecture. The Chase County court house is no exception.
We’re back on the road heading south to Cassoday, home of one of the largest monthly bike events in the nation. Cassoday’s first Sunday breakfast rides started in 1991 and if you happen to attend on a day with exceptionally nice weather, there is likely to be over 5000 bikes stop in. Plenty of vendors here from youth organizations selling breakfast burritos to some excellent BBQ, biker apparel and occasionally some local dealerships set up a display. One of the crowd favorites is the M&M Choppers dyno trailer…what a wonderful sound to hear the hot bikes at full throttle.
I hope you can find time to enjoy this ride sometime…it really is a nice one.
Hays House: http://hayshouse.com/
Tallgrass Prairie Preserve: http://www.nps.gov/tapr/index.htm
Emma Chase Café: http://www.emmachasecafe.com/default.htm
Cassoday: http://cassodaybikerun.com/home
