Trails › United States of America › Kansas › Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve

West Branch Trail

Trail2.2 km · 1.4 miBest Mar–May, Sep–Nov

Next nearby hike: Prairie Fire Loop 1.0 mi · 1.7 kmExplore Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve →

Tallgrass Prairie National PreserveTallgrass Prairie National PreserveDavis Trail · Tallgrass Prairie National PreserveGas House Cutoff · Tallgrass Prairie National PreservePalmer Creek Loop · Tallgrass Prairie National PreservePrairie Fire Loop · Tallgrass Prairie National PreserveScenic Overlook Trail · Tallgrass Prairie National PreserveSouthwind Nature Trail · Tallgrass Prairie National PreserveEndStart5 kmN ↑

West Branch Trail other trails nearby (tap a dot to open it)

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USGS National Digital Trails (US public domain) · OpenStreetMap · Basemap: OpenFreeMap (OpenMapTiles, © OSM contributors).

7-day forecast

Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0)

Best time to hike

Best months: Mar–May, Sep–Nov · highs 13–26 °C (55–79 °F)

  1. J5°-5°22
  2. F8°-3°34
  3. M14°2°68
  4. A19°8°86
  5. M24°13°136
  6. J28°18°149
  7. J31°21°116
  8. A31°21°110
  9. S26°16°96
  10. O20°10°76
  11. N13°3°52
  12. D6°-3°32

Average high °C · low °C · precipitation mm per month. Highlighted: best months.

How we pick months

Best months are those where the 1981–2010 average daily high is 10–27 °C (50–81 °F), the average overnight low is 0 °C (32 °F) or warmer, and average precipitation is 200 mm (7.9 in) or less. Values are long-term monthly averages for the ~1 km cell at the trail point on the map, from CHELSA V2.1 climatologies (Karger et al., CC0), not a forecast. Higher or more exposed parts of a route can be colder, wetter or snowier.

About this trail

West Branch Trail is a trail of about 2.2 km (1.4 mi) in Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Kansas, United States of America. It lies about 13 km north of Cottonwood Falls. It connects with Prairie Fire Loop.

Short summary written from the trail facts on this page.

Trail facts

Length
2.2 km · 1.4 mi (agency length field)
Source
USGS National Digital Trails (US public domain)
Managed by
National Park Service
Data from
National Park Service
Nearest town
13 km N of Cottonwood Falls (Chase County, Kansas) · GeoNames
Park or forest
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve
Connects to
Prairie Fire Loop (at its start or end)
Best months
Mar–May, Sep–Nov
Country
United States of America
Region
Kansas
Continent
North America
Route centre
38.4803, -96.5867
How it’s scored

Hikers can rate difficulty from 1 to 10 (1 = flat, short, easy walk for anyone; 3 = gentle hills, a little effort; 5 = moderate climbs, some fitness needed; 7 = steep or long, solid fitness required; 10 = extremely strenuous or technical; long steep climbing; experienced hikers only). The community average is shown once at least 3 people have rated the trail; until then the official or computed score is used when we have one.

Nearest trails

distance from the trail centre

Prairie Fire Loop

1.0 mi · 1.7 km · Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve

Palmer Creek Loop

1.3 mi · 2.1 km · Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve

Gas House Cutoff

1.5 mi · 2.4 km · Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve

Scenic Overlook Trail

2.2 mi · 3.5 km · Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve

Davis Trail

2.3 mi · 3.8 km · Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve

Southwind Nature Trail

3.5 mi · 5.6 km · Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve

All trails in Kansas → · All 36,834 trails in United States of America →