Red Hills Roads Less Traveled

   "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood..."  And you probably know the rest of this Robert Frost classic. Well, the Red Hills offers many roads seldom traveled. Here is a sampling of some of these routes. While they are mostly public roads, they all pass through private properties of ranchers who take great pride in their livelihood and their country way of life. While most of the sand and gravel byways become challenging in very wet weather, for most of the year they are quite accessible. A slow journey on one of these trails will fill your senses with amazing sights, sounds, smells and views. I'm sure if Robert Frost had visited the Red Hills, his famous poem would have been prairie-oriented and much more interesting. 

The serene valley of the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River valley on Aetna Road

is carpeted with morning fog.

A side trip into the Cave Creek area (by permission of landowner) 

reveals some beautiful gypsum outcrops.

Flower Pot Mountain (yes it's called that on the official Kansas Gazetteer), while not

an actual mountain peak, is the iconic landmark of the Red Hills.

The author takes a break from a peaceful Lake City Road trip.

The Gypsum Hills Scenic Byway west of Medicine Lodge in colder times.

The Gyp Hills Scenic Drive southwest of Medicine Lodge is one

of the most beautiful trips in Kansas. It's a side loop off of the official

Gyp Hills Scenic Byway on U.S. 160 towards Coldwater and begins about 

three miles west of Medicine Lodge.

These roadside observers on Cottage Creek Road in southwest Barber County 

seem unimpressed by human visitors.

Iron infused soil of the Red Hills provides the name-sake color of this region.

The beauty of the Red Hills in Clark County west of Ashland is 

easily observed from U.S. 160.

A backroad trip on Bitter Creek Road, Barber County.

While a county-maintained road, it's best to not try it after heavy rain.

Another view just off of Bitter Creek Road.

A side trip on blacktop to Clark State Fishing Lake results in

lasting memories of a beautiful water feature of the Red Hills.

From the east-side blacktop to the western side of Clark

State Fishing Lake the road changes to a gravel/sand base but worth the effort!

A broad vista of beautiful Red Hills rangeland looking north from Hackberry Road

along the Oklahoma border in Barber County.

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     There are so many back roads less traveled in the Red Hills to make any adventurer happy and delighted to have experienced this amazing place in the Kansas Outback. And in the final stanza of that famous poem, "... I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference!"