Agave Ridge Nature Trail


Cedar Bluff State Park, KS

Agave Ridge Nature Trail has a 1 mile loop and a longer 5.4 mile loop that includes the 1 mile loop. (FYI, the pamphlet pdfs will probably try to download.) Here is a pdf version of the pamphlet for the hiking trail. While looking for that, I found another useful pamphlet listing hiking trails. Here is a pamphlet of the state managed hiking trails in Kansas.

Panorama of the prairie near the animal tracks sign

On Tuesday, we planned to hike the whole loop, but we found ourselves back at the parking lot after 1 mile. John saw the other trail in the distance, but he was not sure whether we passed it or were approaching it.

We might have missed the turn because the trail marker blew over…

On Wednesday, we went back to find the turn that we missed to do the entire trail. We knew the 1 mile loop took about 18 minutes, and the turn was about the middle. We started looking at 8 minutes into the hike. Sadly, we found it at the animal tracks sign we looked at on Tuesday.

You can see the long trail in the distance, but the turn is just past the sign

There is a little bit of an optical illusion. The turn is in the picture above, immediately to the left of the top of the sign. The grass on either side of the trail camouflages the path.

Panorama of “not-the-bluffs”

We came upon a turn in the trail that led to a mowed circle that appeared to be a scenic spot. There are supposed to be some bluffs along the trail, but both of us thought, “wow, these are some puny bluffs.”

A selfie at “not-the-bluffs”

About half a mile later, we came across the actual scenic view of the bluffs.

Panorama of the bluffs out to the lake

Bluffs are broad rounded cliffs that are often found along the edge of water, while cliffs have steep vertical rock faces.

Selfie of the Cedar Bluffs
Probably a dried up Yucca plant, but it looks like a prairie pineapple

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *