Map of District

Contact Information:
242 East Highway 56
P.O. Box 300
Elkhart, Kansas 67950

Phone (620) 697-4621
Fax(620) 697-4340

Office hours:

Monday - Friday 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. and 1 p.m - 5 p.m.

Closed on Federal holidays and weekends.

About the district:

The Cimarron National Grassland is one of 20 national grasslands administered by the U.S. Forest Service. The district manages about 108,175 acres in Morton and Stevens counties in southwestern Kansas.

It is the state's largest area of public land and the only parcel managed by the Forest Service.

Throughout the landscape visitors will see rock cliffs, cottonwood groves, grassy fields, yucca and sage brush. The elevation ranges from 3,150 to 3,540 feet. Native grasses and riparian vegetaton along the Cimarron River provide seasonal variety. The geology of the area is sandstone, shale, limestone, sand and gravel.

The drought of the 1930's, known as the Dust Bowl era, left the land in poor condition. In 1938, the federal government began purchasing the devastated land as land use projects to restore it and was renamed Cimarron National Grassland in June 1960. Today, the land is managed for wildlife, water conservation, livestock grazing, recreation and minerals production. On this grassland, federal land is interspersed with private land so it is important to know who owns the land you plan to recreate on and respect the property of private owners.

People living in this area experience mild winters, hot dry summers and cool evenings. Temperatures are moderate in the spring and fall seasons, accompanied by an occasional windy day. The grassland usually experiences less than 16 inches of precipitation per year usually from April to September. Snowfall is minimal and short-lived.

Many grassland visitors come to bird watch, take a scenic drive, hunt, picnic, camp, fish, and experience history up close.

Elkhart, Kansas, is the Morton County seat and is in the southwest corner of Kansas, at the intersection of Highway 56, Highway 27 and Highway 95.