We love a good cave, especially when it’s attached to history. These rocky Faris Caves in Kansas were carved by hand, and accessible via hike! Come check them out for yourself sometime. If you’ve got your hiking legs ready to go, head out to Kanopolis for a fantastic adventure.
Today our destination lies on the Smoky Hill River trail just off of Kanopolis Lake, where the historic Faris Caves were dug right out of the natural stone.
Steven Rodriquez/Flickr
The hike here is stunning, and as long as you’re well prepared with bug spray, you’ll enjoy the walk through the forested area. It’s a little tough to get to, but once you’re here, it’s a real treat.
Steven Rodriquez/Flickr
This beautiful area was once inhabited by Native Americans before this sandstone was carved in the 1880s by a man named Charles Griffee. Three caves were dug out of the rock wall, and used as a shelter and temporary home.
Steven Rodriquez/Flickr
Though the caves are musty and often waterlogged these days, you can see they’d be great places to store goods or escape the summer heat.
Steven Rodriquez/Flickr
The 12 foot rooms keep everything pretty cool, and helped the Faris family as a temporary spring house and later on, a schoolhouse as well. Living near these caves must have been nice in the summer heat!
Steven Rodriquez/Flickr
Though the soft rock is carved up in many ways, each carving is a person who visited, whether that was this year, the 1970s, or much, much earlier. Because the stone is so soft, it’s hard to tell for sure.
Steven Rodriquez/Flickr
The trails are open sunup to sundown, and we recommend a good pair of shoes and plenty of stamina for hiking.
Steven Rodriquez/Flickr
You’ll want to drive out to the intersection of 22nd Road and Avenue N, taking Avenue N west and following the road north until you hit the end. Feel free to use the map below to find your way, or the address listed at the bottom of the article. Happy hiking!
Steven Rodriquez/Flickr
Tell us about your favorite historic spot in Kansas! If we haven’t seen it before, we’ll make sure to feature it in an article just like this one.
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Address: Faris Caves, Kanopolis, KS 67454, USA
