Mushroom Rock State Park – Brookville, Kansas - Atlas Obscura
Places near me Random place

Mushroom Rock State Park

Brookville, Kansas

Curious rock formations in a tiny Kansas state park. 

View all photos
Wikimedia/Lylegentry (CC BY SA 4.0)
Flickr/Lane Pearman (CC BY 2.0)
369
782
Related Stories
(Derek A. Young/Flickr)

Atlas Recommends: 5 Places You Should Visit That Sound Good Enough to Eat

juliegerstein June 16, 2011
Top Places in Kansas
Comanche's final resting place: on display at the University of Kansas
Comanche, Survivor of the Battle of the Little Bighorn
Lawrence, Kansas
Grave of Carrie Frances Kiene
Topeka, Kansas
Kansas State Capitol Cupola
Topeka, Kansas
 See All

Just north of Kanopolis Lake and a mile south of US-40 at Carneiro is Kansas’ smallest state park. It may be a mere five acres, but the tiny park is home to some unique and very unexpected rock formations.

The state park was named, somewhat obviously, for its mushroom rocks. These formations occur when hard rock sits atop softer rock; the soft rock underneath erodes away over time, leaving the harder rock perched precariously on a soft rock “stem.”

From Mushroom Rock State Park’s website: “…The Dakota formations are the remains of beach sands and sediments of the Cretaceous Period, the interval of geologic time from about 144 to 66 million years ago. Sandstone and sedimentary rock is held together by natural cement. The concretions that make up Mushroom Rocks are cemented calcium carbonate. The largest rock measures 27 feet in diameter.”

Know Before You Go

Mushroom Rock is located just one mile south of Carneiro (1/4 mile east of 25th Road and Avenue K) in Ellsworth County.

mushroom rocks geological oddities geology
Nearby
Coronado Heights Castle
16.11 miles
The Höglund Dugout
16.80 miles
Stenhuset (Stone House)
18.13 miles
Want to see fewer ads? Become a Member.
Near This Place
Lindsborg, Kansas

Coronado Heights Castle

Marking the spot where a conquistador gave up his search for the fabled Seven Cities of Gold.
The Höglund Dugout
Lindsborg, Kansas

The Höglund Dugout

This mid-19th-century dugout was once home to a Swedish family as they erected their homestead.
Swedish Stone House.
Lindsborg, Kansas

Stenhuset (Stone House)

The oldest house in Lindsborg, Kansas, includes some fascinating inscriptions.
Lindsborg, Kansas

Swedish Phone Booth

A unique blue and yellow phone booth in America's "Little Sweden."
Related Places
The mushroom rock
Zegartowice, Poland

Grzyb skalny w Zegartowice (Zegartowice Mushroom Rock)

This mushroom-shaped rock has frustrated and fascinated locals for centuries.
Beli plast, Bulgaria

Stone Mushrooms of Beli Plast

In a long-dry lake bed, these groups of massive stone pillars bear a striking resemblance to clumps of everyone's favorite fungi.
Koyulus, Kazakhstan

Ybykty Canyon

This small canyon is home to a treasure trove of geological oddities.
Healy, Alaska

Suntrana Canyon

This often-overlooked canyon dazzles and intrigues with its many layers of colors, shapes and odd formations.
Appears in 1 List
View from one of Green Lake's limestone reefs
List

The Most Wondrous State Parks to Visit During the Government Shutdown

Check out these state-run alternatives to the United States' national parks.
Kerry Wolfe January 9, 2019
In partnership with KAYAK

Plan Your Trip

From Around the Web