A rare remnant of unspoiled tallgrass prairie lies between Council Grove and Strong City, Kansas. This 11,000 acre preserve, created in 1996, gives a small sampling of the vast grassland expanse that once dominated North America's Great Plains.
      The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve has also maintained the 1880s Jones cattle ranch. Making use of the limestone outcroppings, Stephen F. Jones used hand-hewn limestone as the main building material for the majority of his farm buildings. Today, the park service has converted the 11 room main house, a two story barn and numerous outbuildings into park attractions and vistor centers.
Self-guided tours of the Flint Hills ranch takes in the Spring Hills Farm buildings, a scenic overlook trail, a four mile backcountry trail through the upland prairie, and the Lower Fox Creek one room school house. The ranch was added as a National Historic Landmark in 1997.