Kanopolis State Park
Horsethief Canyon Trails

Long views of sandstone bluffs, deep canyons cutting through beautiful grasslands, and a sparkling lake tucked in the heart of it all.

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The Horsethief Canyon area of Kanopolis State Park is a pleasure to explore - the trails cross the grasslands and dip into the canyons. Side trails explore caves and the small streams that have cut the canyons.

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My son and I have only hiked this area once, and both of us have a strong desire to go back and explore it again.

Approach

From the junction of KS Hwy 156 and KS Hwy 140 east of Ellsworth Kansas, head east along KS 140 13.3 miles to the KS 141.

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Take a right onto KS 141 and head south 8.2 miles to the entrance to Kanopolis State Park via Venango Rd.

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Follow Venango Rd. and then Horsethief Rd 3.3 miles to the dirt Horsethief Canyon Trail parking lot on your right.

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Shortly after you enter the park you will pass near an entrance station where you will need to pay a fee.

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Coordinates for the hike: 38.6681300,-97.9983900

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Parking / Trailhead amenities

The dirt parking lot is large and level. There is a pit toilet and mapboard adjacent to the parking lot, as well as picnic facilities and access to the reservoir.

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Trail observations

The trail exits the parking lot between the toilet and the mapboard. The trail surface is occasionally muddy and in some places quite slippery.

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Trail statistics

The trail is 2.66 miles long. The sum of all the uphill climbs is 115 feet.

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Trail waypoints

0.14 mi	Trailhead	Take the trail between the toilet and the mapboard
0.22 mi	Go left	Head left along the stream towards the cave
0.51 mi	Head left	Head left at the arrow signpost with the blue ribbon "Horsethief Trail"
0.54 mi	Stay left	Branch - stay left at trail closed signpost
0.65 mi	Sign	Sign says "Two miles to cave"
0.72 mi	Parking lot	Parking lot and picnic area
0.73 mi	Follow purple	Following the purple trail which is a people only trail.
1.03 mi	Crumbly cliff	Crumbly cliff area
1.07 mi	Mucky	Very mucky here. There is no great way to cross.
1.36 mi	Side trail	Go right to the cave at 12, then return
1.38 mi	Cave	Return to the junction and head up the bluff to 11
1.44 mi	Stream	Ford stream
1.49 mi	Climbing	Climbing up the bluff
1.53 mi	Sharp right	At top of the bluff take a sharp right and follow the lip of the canyon
1.88 mi	On the edge	Following the edge of the canyon
1.96 mi	Sign
2.01 mi	Sign
2.09 mi	Sign
2.09 mi	Sign
2.26 mi	Go right	Leaving orange trail right onto green connector trail
2.26 mi	Retrace	At the blue trail, return to the parking lot via the same path
2.66 mi	End of trail	End of trail