Rock City Park
...A Geologic Wonder of Kansas
...A Geologic Wonder of Kansas
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Rock City Park and Nature Trail, located less than 10 minutes south of Minneapolis, Kansas in Ottawa County, is an area covered by huge natural, sandstone rocks. About two hundred of these unusual rocks, some with diameters up to 27 feet, occupy an area roughly the size of two football fields.
The volunteers who take care of this non-profit private park, encourage visitors to explore, learn and play on these massive boulders, sometimes referred to as cannonball concretions. As a well-preserved and protected site, Rock City is rich in native flora and fauna. ...escape naturally, in Ottawa County, Kansas!
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Rock City Park
1051 Ivy Rd, Minneapolis, KS A U.S. Park System National Natural Landmark
What else will you see?
As a well-preserved and protected site, Rock City is rich in native flora and fauna. Meadowlarks, eastern kingbirds, brown thrashers, mockingbirds and hawks are common residents and visitors as are owls and flocks of migrating birds. Wildflowers such as old plainsman, spiderwort and dame rocket grow around and even in the boulders. Most unique, are the ferns and mosses growing in the sides and crevices of the rocks. Some are thousands of miles from their nearest cousins, making them as unique as the rocks. |
Over 200 spherical boulders, ideal kids of all ages to explore,
rock climbers and outdoor enthusiasts. |
Rock climbing enthusiasts from across the country have discovered Rock City to be a great place to practice their sport. It’s a convenient and popular stop on their way to more mountainous challenges east and west of Rock City.
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Seasonal Gift Shop / Learning Center open daily
8a to 5p, May 1 through Labor Day 
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A great place for communing with nature, outdoor events, family reunions, weddings, picnics, day-trips.
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History of Rock City
How do you grow boulders in Kansas? These boulders weathered out of the sandstone that is the Dakota Formation, deposited about 100 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period. At that time this area was a river bed leading to the coastline of a vast inland sea that split North America in half. As the sea receded rivers deposited a ¼ to ½ mile deep layer of quartz sand that began to compact into stone. Groundwater, rich in calcium carbonate, easily circulated through this sandy rock. Perhaps impeded by a fossil or shell, a unique circular pattern began to deposit calcium carbonate in the open spaces between the sand grains, thereby cementing them together. |
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This process continued outward in all directions from these centers, growing larger and larger in a spherical shape, resulting in the formation of a number of round bodies buried deep in the earth.
Had this cementation continued, the rock would have become one solid mass of sandstone, but instead the rain, floods and wind weathered away the softer surrounding sandstone to expose the boulders seen today. The concretions show signs of cross-bedding, angled lines that formed in the sand as it was deposited, probably by water currents.
Had this cementation continued, the rock would have become one solid mass of sandstone, but instead the rain, floods and wind weathered away the softer surrounding sandstone to expose the boulders seen today. The concretions show signs of cross-bedding, angled lines that formed in the sand as it was deposited, probably by water currents.
