Castle Rock

I thought it was worth the detour to scramble over the rock formations. It's just so random to have flat farmland and then these huge masses of rock coming out of the earth. It was interesting to drive in the middle of a herd of cows to get to Castle Rock and the Badlands. Check out Monument Rocks and the Keyhole if you have time!

Definitely worth a stop! The road can be a little rocky, i would imagine you'd need a 4 wheel drive if it has recently rained or is muddy. Worth the detour.

So I took the chance to go see this amazing spot in the long boring drive through Kansas. Roads were dirt but pretty well kept until you hit the last mile to the actual rocks. The van made it down just had to go slow and navigate carefully through. It was a pretty peaceful spot and the kids ran out their energy and ate their packed lunches. The wind was pretty chilly but the point was to give them a break from our 12 hour trip back home. The nice thing was it circled out a different road that was nicer up until the last hill that was severally washed away and we almost got stuck. So be careful and make sure you drive slowly if you get down to the last mile till the castle rocks. Def picture worthy but just a one time stop for us. It was a hour round trip added to our drive. Make sure you have gas and potty breaks before going off the beaten path of the hwy bc once you commit there is nothing for at least 20-30 miles. (We barley made it to the neighboring town for a emergency potty break lol)

So much of the land in this part of the state is fenced off and you can see some similar badlands like areas all around, but can only view from afar. Castle Rocks is open to the public and is a treat to be able to check out up close. Great for some exploring on 4 wheels, or 2 feet.

Things to know: climbing the rocks is not allowed. Four wheel drive and some ground clearance is suggested, but you should be able to get to it on one of the two roads if you're careful and it hasn't rained lately.