Just eight miles northeast of Larned, a half mile north of US-56 and the Arkansas River, Pawnee Rock was once one of the most important landmarks on the Santa Fe Trail. However, so much of the original 60-foot-high tower of Dakota sandstone has been quarried—to build houses as well as the roadbed of the Santa Fe railroad—that it’s little more than a stubby hump. But you can still get a grand view of the surrounding countryside from the easy trail that leads to the rock’s much-diminished summit.
