Santa Fe Trail Tracks in Dodge City

Unfortunately there is a lot of construction going on with dirt trucks and ground getting leveled. It looks like many tracks are torn up by the construction at this point. We saw a few remnants of trails but I would have to guess that many that were here are gone now. Rain and wind has eroded many trails but not as much as whatever construction is going on. The pathway is now cracked and covered in dirt...we couldnt even see there was a cement pathway at first. Many markers were taken down and are sitting in a pile too. Kinda disappointing. Would have loved to see this before construction.

Pretty cool to walk across history. Recommend looking at a satellite picture on google maps to see the tracks. Sadly, the place is neglected but still worth the visit.

Very interesting to see. The signs explain how to find the tracks which are the large grooves dug into the soil by the wagons. Its not the individual ruts of a few wagons, these are not visible after more than 150 years.

Personally I couldn’t see the tracks. But got the idea of where they were. Site needs some love and updating. Better signage, fixing benches, etc

Kinda neat being in the middle of a vast prairie and seeing the worn paths on the hill sides.

We couldnt find them and the people after us couldnt find them either. They may want to stake them out.

Signs laying on ground. Unable to clearly see any tracks

A nice stop just outside of Dodge City. If you are having difficulty finding the ruts pull our your Google Earth and you will easily see where they are..

Peaceful and free. But benches were broken, trash was scattered about. Not sure its being well maintained. Spouse and kiddo said they did find ruts tho.

Love the Informational sign describing the trails and history. The path up to the top of th he hill is easy and gradual. I Love History!

Very cool piece of History to see these still in place. Even without human interaction these tracks that were made by so many countless pioneers century and a half ago will one day be gone due to the natural erosion. Considering that Dodge City is the windiest city per capita in the US, not Chicago, these are definite must see.P.S. if you want something cool to check out look at the satellite images on Google Maps or Google Earth and trace the Santa Fe Trail as far as you can it can still be seen as the wagon ruts are deep enough to be visible.

Very Cool piece of history but dont expect any services.

A wonderful place to see a part of the history of Dodge City great hiking easy accessible from US route 50

Just ok - they did have a lot of signage, so we were able to read about what we were supposed to be seeing. It was just really hard to make out the actual tracks; we had to guess. Went home and looked at satellite images from Google, and then we could really see those tracks!!

Ive been here several times. My only issue with it, is that its hard to locate where the tracks are unless youre using your cell phone satellite images to locate them from the air. Its an interesting bit of history though.

Great little pitstop full of info on the Santa Fe Trail. Stop in and allow yourself to look at it at is wouldve been many years ago

Informational and accessible but I left unfulfilled. The trail is difficult to discern through the vegetation. Id like to see some window-type panels that show the trail"s position on the ground as you look through them.

The trail is short and neat. Jest a few minutes out of Dodge City. Lots of cool flowers and hidden history. Only takes a few minutes to enjoy.

We always like to stop and take a little stroll on the Santa Fe Trail and check out the old track I love history and history is where wed learn from

This was a nice and unexpected stop on the way to Dodge City. Some signage helps with the history and walkways are paved, good to stretch legs after a long drive. I think if I had taken an unpaved path, I would have had better luck finding some of the old wagon tracks.Visited in the spring, saw some beautiful wildflowers. I wonder if the pioneers had time to take in their beauty?

You gotta have a open vision here to see where the trails are. My wife couldnt see them till I explained the layout of the land then she seen them

The trail is short so dont expect to get your mile walk in here. There are a few dirt trails that run off the main trail. These ones are a bit longer but weeds get in the trail. Expect to get some burs on your clothes/shoes.

The 21 year old version of me stopped here on my first road trip across the country in March of 81. The prairie grass hadnt started growing for the season yet so the tracks were visible, but yikes it was windy, cold, and miserable. I think I remember it being a muddy path back then and not a nice walkway like now.Fast forward to October 2020, 39 years and 20-ish cross country trips later to the second time I came through central Kansas with a "get off the beaten path" attitude. Seeing that I was going to pass close to the Santa Fe Trail site and Dodge City I decided to roll through and see how much theyve changed in four decades.Answer: the Santa Fe Trail site now has a nice, partially, slightly elevated walkway and a covered display area with several interpretive info boards. The weather was perfect this time, still with the ever-present wind but sunny, warm, and dry. The prairie grass was still thick from the summer growing season and the tracks were not visible, at least without leaving the walkway. Even so, it was worth the stop to be standing out on the prairie at such an historic site. Recommended if youre in the area.Dodge City has changed quite a bit since 81, but thats another review.

Its nice this is a historical place, but for the life of me I could not see any of the tracks. I even went out hiking in the grass

Easy access and parking for our RV . Short walk up to the top of the hill. The actual tracks are far away to see much. Reason for the 3 stars. You can see a water hole with the tracks on the top of the bank.Bring binoculars!!

Well worth to pull off the highway and read the markers. Couldnt see the tracks due to the tall grass.Like another reviewer said, its a good idea to look at the satellite image on the map and youll see the walkway is in the middle of some tracks.

Nice little historical marker with information signs but I never saw any tracks. Grass was grown up so much that anything would have been covered up. The view from the site was great though. Vast plains with hills and valleys.

I think I saw some tracks but wasnt 100% sure they say its easier to see them in the evening so definatly gonna have to go back.

Very cool piece of history! Note: the ruts/tracks are large and could easily be mistaken as just small hills or terraces in the landscape. A google map overhead will help identify them!

Its a nice view of the Kansas prairie. The ruts are kinda visible but also look like its from mowing. On a nice day its worth it if its hot or cold skip it.

Peaceful place to pull off of the road for a quick walk on the long trip. Couldnt really make out the trail, but the information was interesting and the site was great for a sunset walk.

Good stop, but cannot see wagon ruts due to.grass is grown up. Can see them great via Google Earth. Interesting to see how.clear the ruts are from the sky.

Accessible, beautiful countryside. The ruts can be challenging to see. It would be helpful if a sign with the trail ruts overlaid on a modern photo was added to the other helpful signage. The sidewalk to the top of the hill is nicely done. Be sure to admire the native plants.

Kind of hard to see when driving on the road. The history was cool but I could not see any tracks. It is a nice place to take a walk though, and has excellent views of the prairie.

Its small doesnt take 30 minutes to go thru, but its very educational you can see some tracks and there is a piece of an old canal that was abandoned in the 20s but its a really great stop if your driving thru especially to educate kids on how great this country is and how hard it was to build and how everything you read on google and in the media today about how awful this country is is instantly disproved when you stop and actually take in the history of this country at sites like this.

If you look closely you can see the tracks.

A great road stop. If you stand at "The Sign" and look off in the distance you can still see them. The wild flowers were beautiful.

It does take a bit of imagination to "see" the tracks (its been 150 years after allbut just being where so many cattle and commerce had passed through before railroads is kinda neat. Its really a supporting part of a much larger picture that one gets from visiting Dodge City and the area.

The wind was killer but it was worth pulling over to walk a bit and read about the trail. Looking around gives you a sense of what it might have been like to cross Kansas.

Not much to see. Mostly left up to your imagination. A place to stop and stretch your legs. On the up side, glad to see a spot like this preserved. Interesting history in its part of how the West was settled. Such hardships they endured. Think we could do that?

Cool stop if you are driving by, but I would not go out of my way for a stop. We think we saw the trails, but not 100% positive about that. Dont plan on spending a day, as there is not a ton to look at or read.

While in some ways, you couldnt really see much more than some indentions in the land, it was an awe inspiring moment to realize that we were standing in the wagon tracks of the Santa Fe trail and picture in our minds the wagons bumping and rumbling along their way west with their hardy and determined occupants.

Great stop! More than just a sign or billboard, it had a lot of interpretive displays!

Awesome historical site. Very humbling to think of the struggles people had to deal with going through here in the old days. Its nice this area has been spared the plow so we can enjoy it today.

Need a little imagination to see the ruts. But they did nice job creating a walk way. If you head to Cimarron about 1 mile go south you will cross the Arkansas river. It is dry most of the time. But you will see better why the wagons went up the hill to keep from getting stuck. Then you can better understand what you see when looking for the ruts and why seeing history is way better than reading or a picture.

Amazing, you can see the history

Uh couldnt see the actually trail but it was very cool to see what the people had to encounter back in the days. My oldest daughter learned about this the day after we visited and she couldnt be much happier to tell us about it.

Awesome to see the history of our ancestors

Beautiful views of the high plains prairie and valley of the (now dryArkansas River. Faint wagon trails still visible across the landscape.

Neat place to stop off the road to get out and stretch. Very lonely place. Neat to see the old wagon wheel ruts cemented in the earth all those years ago. It makes you think about the struggles the people went through that traveled the trail.