Coronado Heights Castle, Smoky View, Kansas

Posted byChristi IfferganPosted inKansasTags:, , , , , , ,

Coronado Heights is a scenic overlook on the southern-most bluff in a series of seven, known as the Smoky Hills.

Coronado Heights Castle

Coronado Heights is named for Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, who visited central Kansas in 1541, looking for the Native American community of Quivira, where he was told “trees hung with golden bells and … pots and pans were beaten gold.” It is believed that Coronado gave up on his search for the seven cities of gold here and returned to Mexico.

In the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration built a picnic area & castle out of Dakota limestone.

Chain mail from Spanish armor was found in the area by Bethany college professor J.A. Udden in 1915. Others have found Spanish coins, a bridle, and lead bars in the valley.

Don’t let the winding dirt road deter you from making it to the top of the 300 foot bluff. A beautiful view of the surrounding area awaits you at the top!

A view of my rig from a castle window.


You can spot smoke in the distance from one of the controlled burns in the area.

If you haven’t heard of or seen these burns, it is fascinating. I have a link here on a great story telling why ranchers do this each spring.

Published by Christi Iffergan

Hi! I am Christi, a full-time RV traveller since August 2021. I have always loved to travel, but COVID-19 put a stop to that. I was fast approaching 50, my condo was being placed up for sale and I was ready for a major change. Originally from a tiny town in rural Southwest Virginia, I am the mother to one son and a rescue Shih Tzu, Cappy. For the last 20 years, I worked in public library systems around the Charlotte & Myrtle Beach areas. I met some amazing people and made great friends along the way. Follow along on my adventures as I travel the US. I hope that our paths will cross one day!

6 thoughts on “Coronado Heights Castle, Smoky View, Kansas”

  1. Burning has great benefits however, the risk to nearby houses has to be weighed carefully. These “burns” are beautiful to watch if you ever get an opportunity.

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  2. Nice article. Especially enjoyed the link to the story on burning the prairie grass. I think it is instructive of how “expert scientific truth” is not immutable. That which we “know” to be true may not be always so.

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