Fees & Passes

Free

No entrance pass required

An entrance pass is not required to access Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve.

Other National Park Service sites may require an entrance pass or fee. Depending on your trip plans, an interagency pass may save you money.

Entrance fees and passes not accepted at the preserve, as there are no fees needed to enter the preserve. While National Passes are not sold at the Preserve, they are sold nearby at these locations. Great Plains Nature Center - 316-683-5499 (Wichita, KS) Harry S. Truman NHS - 816-254-9929 (Independence, MO) Quivira NWR - 620-486-2393 (Stafford, KS) Cimarron National Grasslands - 620-697-4621 (Elkhart, KS)

Fees are not required to visit the preserve.

2025 Free Entrance Days in the National Parks

Come experience the national parks! All National Park Service sites that charge an entrance fee will offer free admission to everyone (other fees, including timed entry or reservation fees, may apply). Mark your calendar for these entrance fee-free dates:

• Monday, January 20 — Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
• Saturday, April 19 — First Day of National Park Week
• Thursday, June 19 — Juneteenth National Independence Day
• Monday, August 4 — Anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act
• Saturday, September 27 — National Public Lands Day
• Tuesday, November 11 — Veterans Day

 

Group and School Tours

Free guided tours for schools and organized groups may be reserved a minimum of two weeks in advance by calling [phone] (hit 270).

 

Nearby Camping

The preserve does not allow camping or overnight parking. The nearest locations are five miles south on K-177 in Cottonwood Falls at Bates Grove Park and Swope Park. Call the Cottonwood Falls City Office at 620-273-6666 for more information or ask a ranger for directions.

Chase State Fishing Lake

Administered by Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (3 miles west of Cottonwood Falls) provides a shelter house, fire rings and grills, picnic tables, and pit toilets for use by campers, picnickers, and anglers.

Council Grove Reservoir

Administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (17 miles north of the preserve) provides camping, picnicking, fishing, and hunting opportunites. Call the Council Grove Lake Office at 620-767-5195 for more information.

 

As a fee-free site America the Beautiful Passes are not sold here, however you may obtain these passes at the following locations:

• Great Plains Nature Center - 316-683-5499 (Wichita, KS)

• Harry S. Truman NHS - 816-254-9929 (Independence, MO)

• Quivira NWR - 620-486-2393 (Stafford, KS)

• Cimarron National Grasslands - 620-697-4621 (Elkhart, KS)