Fort Scott National Historic Site
Promises made and broken! Who deserves to be free? The fight for freedom! Soldiers fighting settlers! Each of these stories is a link in the chain of events that encircled Fort Scott from 1842-1873. All of the site's structures, its parade ground, and its tallgrass prairie bear witness to this era when the country was forged from a young republic into a united transcontinental nation.
About 1.5 hours from Kansas City by car.
Fees & passes
Free. No entrance fee here.
Hours
| Fort Scott National Historic Site | Daily · Sunrise to Sunset |
When to go
May draws the most visits here and January the fewest, averaged over 2021 to 2025.
Visitor centers
- Visitor Center ↗Passport stamp
The Visitor Center for the site is located on the ground floor of the post hospital which is located at the entrance to the site near Old Fort Blvd. Summer hours are April 1 through September 30. If you plan to visit outside of this time, please see the exception below.
Explore
Things to do
- Healthy Parks, Healthy People10-20 Minutes
Fort Scott encourages outdoor exercise to improve health. Get out and walk to help reduce stress, improve brain function, and instill a sense of well-being. Take advantage of a gentle stroll through Fort Scott's beautiful grounds.
Opens on the Park Service site - Discovering Life at Fort Scott15-120 Minutes
Living History Programs
Opens on the Park Service site - Virtual 360 Fort Scott Tour60-120 Minutes
Take a tour of Fort Scott through a series of 360 degree panoramic views of the buildings, furnished rooms and exhibit areas.
Opens on the Park Service site
Films
National Park Service productions, public domain.
Events
- Murder and Mayhem at the Fort10/3106:30 PM · free · registration required
- 06:30 PM · registration required
- Spring Civil War Encampment-TENTITIVE DATE04/1009:00 AM · runs through Apr 11 · free
- Independence Day Celebration07/0409:00 AM · runs through Jul 4 · free
- Naturalization Ceremony09/1710:30 AM · free
News
- Murder and Mayhem at the Fort ↗2026-10-12
Fort Scott National Historic Site will offer four special candle lantern tours on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, as part of its Murder and Mayhem at the Fort program.
- Fort Scott National Historic Site to Host Special Naturalization Ceremony on September 16 ↗2026-08-31
Media outlets and the general public are invited to Fort Scott National Historic Site on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, for a Special Naturalization Ceremony at the fort’s parade ground.
- Labors on the Frontier ↗2026-08-31
Saturday through Monday, September 5-7, 2026, Fort Scott National Historic Site will take you on an exploration of the labors and leisure on an 1840s frontier post.
- Join Fort Scott NHS for the Sights and Sounds of American Independence ↗2026-06-29
Celebrate American independence with the sounds of cannon fire and immersion in America’s history while honoring the men and women who have defended the United States through the growth of our nation.
Map
Interactive map by the National Park Service
Historic landmarks nearby
Public land nearby
Distances are approximate. Wilderness Atlas publishes a center point and an acreage for each area rather than a boundary, so each area is treated here as a circle of the same size and the figure is the gap to that circle.
Kansas guidebooks
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject.
Reference
Activities
Weather & climate
Spring and autumn are pleasant with mild temperatures. Summers are generally hot and humid, while winters are mild with periods of cold weather, snowfall, and ice storms. Thunderstorms, some severe, are common throughout the spring and summer. During periods of severe weather, visitors should seek shelter, as the area is prone to lightning strikes. Visitors are advised to check the weather prior to traveling.
Questions people ask
Does Fort Scott charge an entrance fee?
No. Fort Scott is free to enter.
Source: National Park Service
What are the hours at Fort Scott?
Standard hours are Sunrise to Sunset, every day.
Source: National Park Service
How busy is Fort Scott?
25,254 recreation visits in 2025, number 315 of 387 units that report visitation.
Source: Most visited parks
Is there cell service at Fort Scott?
At the park's reference point, FCC coverage maps show Verizon 5G, AT&T 4G LTE, and T-Mobile 5G. Coverage inside the park varies by location.
Source: FCC Broadband Map
When was Fort Scott established?
1978. It covers about 0.0 square miles.
Source: Wikipedia
What is the weather like at Fort Scott?
Spring and autumn are pleasant with mild temperatures. Summers are generally hot and humid, while winters are mild with periods of cold weather, snowfall, and ice storms.
Source: Weather & climate
Follow this park
- Alerts feed (RSS)
- Every active Park Service alert for this unit, one item each, rebuilt with the nightly data refresh.
- Add dates to your calendar (.ics file)
- Fee-free entrance days that apply here and each published hours exception, as all-day events.
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