Clark County is home to the Big Basin Prairie Preserve, a beautiful native prairie with two large circular depressions or ‘sinkholes’ in the earth: Big Basin and Little Basin.
We ventured in to Little Basin, which is where St. Jacob’s Well is located, a pond that is said to never have gone dry. One place said that legend called it bottomless, one site said 64 feet, while the Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism website lists 58 feet as its depth.
Tips to note from The Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism site: Big Basin Prairie Preserve is home to herds of American bison allowed to graze as part of the natural process of maintaining the prairie ecosystem. Vehicles are allowed only on specified minimally-managed trails. Hiking is permitted, but visitors should not approach or harass the bison as they are wild animals and can be unpredictable. It is not possible to outrun a bison.
We did see some bison, but were thankfully far enough away that this wasn’t an issue. The road we took was very rough and probably not accessible if you don’t have a truck or SUV. Definitely bring walking/hiking shoes if you want to try to walk down to St. Jacob’s Well; I wasn’t planning on hiking and wore sandals and had to sit out of that part of the adventure.
On the way to Big Basin we stopped in Minneola for a play pit stop. The boys loved the classic metal climbing structure.
Links:
http://ksoutdoors.com/KDWPT-Info/Locations/Wildlife-Areas/Southwest/Big-Basin-Prairie-Preserve
Best Quest with Weston & Sully 