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While Graham County has the usual recreational facilities found in other Northwest Kansas communities, it is outstanding in two areas: hunting and golfing. Graham County is located in the middle of some of the best upland game habitat in the United States, with over 68,000 acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program. CRP land, along with natural habitat along rivers and streams, we have a hunter's paradise. Dominant species are the ringneck pheasant and bobwhite quail, and the lessor prairie chicken is slowly making a comeback in huntable numbers across the county. Deer and turkeys are abundant, as well as numerous farm ponds to attract migratory waterfowl.
Very good fishing is available in area lakes and in farm ponds. Hill City, the county seat, is located 30 miles from both Webster and Norton reservoirs, and approximately 50 from Kirwin and Cedar Bluffs reservoirs. These bodies of water are populated with black bass, crappie, walleye, stripers, white bass, and several species of catfish. Populations vary from lake to lake, but specific information is available from Kansas Wildlife & Parks and in brochures widely available in the area.
Kansas Wildlife & Parks has a new program for upland game hunters entitled Walk-In Hunting.
The state contacts farmers and contracts with them to open part or all of their property to the public for hunting. In return, the state posts the ground and establishes the boundaries for public use. The area must be accessed on foot. This program is designed to open more hunting areas to the public by providing farmers protection from the two things they fear most: public liability and the problem of having hunters driving their vehicles all over their property. Farmers are paid a fee for their cooperation and encouraged to plant food plots and to leave portions of their property fallow for nesting habitat. A pilot program of this nature for fishermen is in the planning stage.
In addition, Jayhawk Outfitting is an Orvis Endorsed Upland Game Wingshooting Lodge. Complete hunting vacations that include everything from hunting licenses, lodging, home-cooked meals, and licensed guides to hunt on large tracts of prime leased hunting areas. For more information, contact Jayhawk Outfitting at RR2, Box 117, Hill City, Ks 67642 or phone (785) 421-2284. After you have harvested that trophy specimen, have it mounted locally by a internationally known taxidermist.
Prairie Trails Golf Course provides a nine-hole par 35 course with buffalo grass fairways and grass greens, located at the eastern edge of Hill City. Reasonable green fees, ready access, and a full schedule of tournament play make this an outstanding facility.
A modern
swimming pool, lighted tennis and volleyball
courts, and a newly-constructed baseball/softball complex round out the
recreational opportunities in the county. The recreation
commission sponsors summer youth programs in softball, baseball, golf
and volleyball and provides training clinics in basketball, wrestling,
and fishing.
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