Western Vistas

Historic Byway

Visit a rugged landscape on the culturally and visually fascinating route known as the Western Vistas Historic Byway. Imagine an ancient ocean once covering the shortgrass prairie. When the water receded and erosion set in, the ocean floor's limestone layers became not only flat plains but oddly placed and shaped buttes, mounts, and other chalk formations. Here, in western Kansas, is the Wild, Wild West of legend; this is where pioneers trekked, rustlers roamed, and Pueblo Natives sought refuge and hunted bison - all attempting to eke out a living.

The region surrounding the Byway is a geology and paleontology paradise punctuated with unusual rock formations and among the best fossil hunting areas in the world. Active fossil digs began with regularity in the 1870s. Early discoveries contributed significantly to the fossil record and included previously unknown and extinct animals, such as flying reptiles and toothed birds. While the area literally "rocks," its cultural history may be petrifying to some. Here you can experience El Quartelejo Museum and Jerry Thomas Gallery and Collection where Fossils Meet the Frontier and Art and History Tell a Story; then explore  Fort Wallace, "the fightin-est Fort in the West”; walk in the footsteps of bison hunter Buffalo Bill Cody; encounter the ruins from the migration of the Pueblo Indians to El Cuartelejo; and visit Battle of Punished Woman’s Fork, the site of the last conflict between the Northern Cheyenne and the United States troops.

Western Vistas Historic Byway Website

Things to do along the way

Photos

For more information about the Western Vistas Historic Byway, contact: