Forget Yellowstone, Visit This Midwest Escape With Roaming Bison, Scenic Prairie Views, And Fewer Crowds

The sprawling Yellowstone National Park may be home to the largest free-roaming bison herd in the United States, but it's not the only place in the country where you can see the burly beasts roaming wild and free. The Sandsage Bison Range Wildlife Area in southwest Kansas also has a pretty neat claim to fame, boasting the oldest publicly owned herd of bison in the entire state. 

Tucked away in the Midwest, right in the heart of the Great Plains, the range's rolling grassland views are quite spectacular. The 3,760-acre nature preserve has been around for a while — previously part of the now-defunct Kansas National Forest, the property dates back more than a century, according to the range's official visitor brochure. 

The Sandsage Bison Range Wildlife Area isn't currently open to self-guided tours. Instead, you have to reserve a guided excursion, which are usually available from March through October. But on the flip side, this helps keep the place from getting too crowded — unlike Yellowstone, which draws millions of tourists each year. As one visitor wrote in a Tripadvisor review of their trip to the Kansas range, it was so quiet that "The only sounds to be heard were the light breeze rustling the dry prairie grass and the bison munching."

Seeing bison freely roaming the Kansas range is pretty remarkable, as the giant grazers almost disappeared from the face of the Great Plains after they were hunted to near-extinction back in the 1800s, largely for their hides. Thanks to recovery efforts, the animals were eventually brought back from the brink. Bison were reintroduced to the Sandsage Bison Range Wildlife Area in the mid-1920s. The herd numbered around 100 in the 1980s, but its size has varied over the years due to bad droughts and other conditions, occasionally dipping to fewer than two dozen bison. Today, you'll most commonly find herd sizes between 80 and 100. 

This stretch of prairie could easily rank among the best parks to see bison roam, other than Yellowstone. Guided tours of the range have a bit of a safari feel, allowing you to get up close to the massive bovine. "Eventually, we spotted a small herd, drove up close, cut the ignition, and then sat there, marveling at the magnificent beasts," wrote one visitor on Tripadvisor. It's important to note that bison can be dangerous when encountered in the wild, so follow your guide's instructions at all times and always keep a safe distance between yourself and the animal. The herd is contained within a high-voltage electric fence, so be sure to keep a safe distance away from the barrier, too.

The Sandsage Bison Range Wildlife Area hugs the winding Arkansas River, one of the longest rivers in America. It's also right on the outskirts of Garden City, also known as the "Heartbeat of the High Plains," a subregion of the sweeping Great Plains. The wildlife area protects this unique region, which is one of the last remaining plots of native sandsage prairie that hasn't been turned into farmland. 

In this part of Kansas, the patchwork of tall grasslands, made up of sand bluestem, giant sandreed, and sand lovegrass, along with the shrubby sand sagebrush, stretches out about as far as the eye can see. Depending on when you visit, you may also be able to take in the seasonal sunflower blooms that blanket the region.

During your trek through the range, you'll likely see a few other critters scurrying about. More than 100 species of birds have been recorded in the wildlife area, including greater roadrunners, lazuli buntings, and bald eagles, according to eBird. Lesser prairie chicken and scaled quail have also been seen in the preserve, along with mule deer, kangaroo rats, spotted ground squirrels, black-tailed jack rabbits, and western hognose snakes. Be sure to bring a good pair of binoculars, as you never know what animals might make an appearance during your visit.