Visit Bird Runner Wildlife Refuge

Discover the Tall Grass Prairie

Once arrangements have been made, visitors may hike, camp, or enjoy the cabin on their own, or they may request guided tours to introduce them to a particular aspect of the prairie, such as the wildflowers, tall grasses, geology, or birds. There is no fixed admissions fee. Instead, visitors are invited to make a donation to the not-for-profit educational organization Prairie Heritage, Inc. Recommended donations: $35 for daytime activities, $50 for overnights.

A small retreat cabin, designed and built by Wayne Corn, nestles into a remote spot where the prairie meets a wooded ravine. Rudimentary camping facilities are also available. There is a large Lakota-style tipi for sleeping, a campground for people who bring their own tents, a quaint outhouse for sanitation, and decks for stargazing and wildlife-watching. There is an old ranch road to the campsite and cattle trails through the tall grass. The native prairie at Bird Runner has never been plowed and continues to thrive as it has for the past ten thousand years.

Bird Runner Wildlife Refuge is for people who want to experience solitude on the prairie, to hear the owls and the coyotes, or to feel the slow changes of dusk and dawn. It is for people who want to learn about the grasses, wildflowers, prairie birds, and other wildlife. It is a place for relaxing, exploring, meditating, and creating. It is not a place for crowds, loud noises, or hurry. Come and enjoy the rhythms of the prairie. Come and appreciate the peace of the Tall Grass. See What It's Like!

The Wanderer Package

(for groups of up to 20, half-days)

1. Meet at Bird Runner Wildlife Refuge for an orientation to the Tall Grass Prairie, including the geology, flora, fauna, and the role of burning and grazing.
2. Enjoy a guided tour of the prairie. See the grasslands, the limestone creeks, the gallery forests, and the fossil-bearing rocky outcrops.
3. Then do what visitors cannot do at most parks - wander at will across the prairie. Wade in the creeks, sketch the grasses, follow the game trails, watch birds at the ponds, look for fossils in the rocks. Feel the wind, look at the clouds, find the meeting place of earth and sky. Wander away from the group and lose yourself in the Tall Grass Prairie.

Full days and overnight camping also available.

Visits by appointment only. For more information or to schedule a visit, contact Margy Stewart at zzstew@flinthills.com