June 28, 2022
Photo by Richard Voss
BY ELAINE GIESSEL
If you are headed to Kanopolis Lake to cool off this summer, be sure to stop at Mushroom Rock State Park in this scenic area of the Smoky Hills region.
Considered one of the 8 Wonders of Kansas Geography, Mushroom Rock is the smallest, but one of the most unique parks in Kansas. Dinosaurs ruled the land when the cross-bedded Dakota sandstones that comprise the mushroom-shaped formations were deposited on the beaches of a vast inland sea.
That ocean provided Kansas with some world-famous Cretaceous fossils of marine reptiles and fish, which are featured at the Sternberg Museum in Hays.
There's no camping at Mushroom, but it's part of nearby Kanopolis State Park, which does have nice campgrounds on the lake.