Coronado Heights near Lindsborg, Kansas has always been a place for incredible views of the nearby landscape. Recently the park was closed due to heavy rains and a large mudslide that covered the main road up. They cleared the mudslide and we trecked up there Saturday. Monday the area received 9 inches of snow but warm temps had mostly melted it.
Coronado Heights is a prominent, isolated hill overlooking the Smoky Hill river valley. It is the last of a row of erosional hills extending to the north which are capped by the sandstone of the Dakota Formation. It is 300 feet above the surrounding valley floor, offering sweeping vistas of the surrounding countryside. The eroded face of Coronado Heights reveals a panorama of geological history as well, covering 230 million years of time. At its base are gray and red shales that made up the floor of an ancient salt water sea. At the top is the Dakota Sandstone, a mixture of marine, fresh water and subtropical fossil material.
The castle at Coronado Heights was constructed by the Works Progress Administration in 1932. They also built the stone picnic sites, restroom, and stone front gate at the park.