First Kansas Designated Scenic Backroad Created in Russell County

The Post Rock Scenic Byway Committee and the Lucas Area Chamber of Commerce are excited to announce they have created the first state of Kansas designated scenic backroad.

The backroad starts in Luray at the first log cabin in Russell County, then heads south down Luray's Main Street toward Bunker Hill. Just north of Bunker Hill, the backroad turns east to the Dorrance Road north of Wilson Lake. From there it goes south and ends at the Dorrance City Park.

The backroad has yet to be named.

Along the route you will find rolling hills with beautiful views, remains of limestone farmsteads and the first log cabin in Russell County in Luray. Luray also has several very nice limestone buildings downtown and the old stone church.

Going on south toward Bunker Hill you will come to the Bunker Hill Cemetery. The first person buried in the Bunker Hill Cemetery was Chief Spotted Horse, one of the Skeede soldiers. He died of lung fever near Bunker Hill on his way to the Indian Territory. The local people have decorated his grave every Memorial Day since 1871. Bunker Hill is the birthplace and home of Mother Bickerdyke, who was a nurse during 19 battles in the Civil War from 1861 to 1865 and was a lawyer and an advocate for veterans after the war.

In Dorrance, you will find the Dorrance Historical Museum, the Dorrance Bankery and a very nice little city park.

There is access to walk-in hunting and fishing along the Saline River and water activities at Wilson Lake.

When the State Scenic Byways program was developed in 1996, there were always plans for a backroads program, but the program details were never established. The Kansas State Byways Advisory Committee and the Kansas Department of Transportation are now working on details of the program.

(Information courtesy Connie Dougherty, Director, Lucas Area Chamber of Commerce.)