Mount Sunflower Route Map

The Route...

Kansas Highway 27

Kansas Highway 27

Kansas Highway 27

Signs along the way were a real help as landmarks were non-existant...

Wallace County Road

Wallace County Road

Turning south again and getting closer...

Wallace County Road

Mt. Sunflower rises to the right of the road in this shot...

Mount Sunflower Road

The road or trail to the summit. We decided to hoof it from here...

Mount Sunflower Road

The crux of the climb, crossing the cattle grate...

Prairie Coneflower

Prairie Coneflower was everywhere around here...

Bull Thistle

A plant Kansas and Michigan both share, the Bull Thistle...

Mount Sunflower Road

The clouds were looking ominous but we managed to avoid any rain...

Buffalo Bur

Solanum rostratum

Rush Skeletonplant

The curiously named Rush Skeletonplant (Lygodesmia juncea)

Western Wallflower

A common plant of the west with many close relatives, the Western Wallflower (Erysimum asperum)

Mount Sunflower Road

This may seem a bit lame but this was the first wild cactus I had ever seen, so I was quite excited...

Scarlet Globemallow

The pretty blooms of the Scarlet Globemallow (Sphaeralcea coccinea)

Mount Sunflower Road

Approaching the summit...

Mount Sunflower -- 4,089'

Mt. Sunflower (4089'), highest point in the state of Kansas...

Mount Sunflower -- 4,089'

Looking north from the summit...

Mount Sunflower -- 4,089'

Looking west, into Colorado, from the summit...

Mount Sunflower -- 4,089'

Looking south, down the access road, from the summit...

Mount Sunflower -- 4,089'

Looking east from the summit...

Mount Sunflower -- 4,089'

One of the more enjoyable highpoints I've visited...