Oz Wille, Lawrence, hikes across a Flint Hills landscape to find a spot for some photographs of the terrain

There’s no need to follow the Yellow Brick Road.

There’s plenty of asphalt, concrete, gravel and dirt passageways to keep people busy touring the varied natural, historic and otherwise interesting scenery throughout Kansas and along its edges.

Here’s a rundown of some special places for roadside viewing:

Flint Hills

This one’s obvious, expansive and easy. Where else can you cruise at 74 mph — OK, make that 70 mph — on a major interstate highway and see some of the best ranch land around?

The Kansas Turnpike allows that to happen. Just cruise between Wichita and Topeka, and midway through you’ll be cutting through the tallgrass prairie that remains largely pristine. Better yet, follow Kansas Highway 177 from Council Grove to Cassoday.

The region includes the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, a 10,984-square-foot area boasting a wide array of wildflowers and, of course, tallgrass. The preserve is in northern Chase County, 16 miles west of Emporia on U.S. Highway 50 and then two miles north on Highway 177.

But the Flint Hills are about more than plants. In Cottonwood Falls, the Chase County Courthouse stands tall as a majestic example of Second Empire architecture, and today — after 136 years in use — it remains the oldest courthouse in Kansas that remains in operation.

For more about the Flint Hills, visit www.ksbyways.org.

Castle Rock

In Gove County, south of Interstate 70 in western Kansas, stand the remnants of a massive inland sea: Castle Rock. The site once had been the floor of the sea, and the rocks were carved some 80 million years ago by erosion.

The rocks are set apart from others in the area, jutting skyward amid prairie grasses and sandstone bluffs. The surrounding badlands also offer plenty to see.

To get to Castle Rock, take Interstate 70 to Quinter, which is exit 107, and head south for 15 miles, then east for four miles, then back north for three-quarters of a mile (follow the directional signs, which are posted at each intersection).

For more information, visit www.kansastravel.org/castlerock.htm.

Cathedral of the Plains

Architecture fans could be awed by the “Cathedral of the Plains,” which is Saint Fidelis Catholic Church in Victoria.

The building — a Romanesque design, containing European features, fixtures and works of art — provides seating for 1,100 people.

At the time of its dedication in 1911, it was considered the largest church west of the Mississippi River. It remains imposing today, with towers stretching 141 feet into the sky, and the limestone-block exterior walls running 220 feet long.

One note: The building isn’t an actual cathedral, but received its popular nickname from William Jennings Bryan during a visit to St. Fidelis in 1912.

The church is just south of Interstate 70, between Hays and Russell. Take exit 168, then head about a mile south to the church.

For more information, visit www.stfidelischurch.com.

Gyp Hills

The Gyp Hills — the common name for the Gypsum Hills, or Red Hills — are filled with rolling hills, mesas, canyons and buttes in south-central Kansas, near the Kansas-Oklahoma border.

Gypsum is a soft rock commonly used as an ingredient in Plaster of Paris and in wallboard. As such, visitors can see sinkholes and even entrances to caves that have worn over the years.

To see the area, visitors may drive between Coldwater and Medicine Lodge along U.S. Highway 160, and also south along U.S. Highway 281.

For more information, visit www.ksbyways.org.

Wind farms

Some decry their mere existence as anathema to the natural beauty of the heartland. But there’s no arguing the industrial might displayed by new wind farms popping up in Kansas, as utilities look to take advantage of the state’s windy weather to generate electricity.

Among the most visible and accessible sites is the Smoky Hills Wind Farm, which is near Ellsworth along Interstate 70 in western Kansas.

Drivers can watch as each turbine’s tri-fan blades turn in the wind.

Trails

It’s not so much the beauty of the terrain that takes your breath away — it’s how the well worn ruts capture the imagination of today’s travelers, wondering just how people could traverse the prairie on horseback, in covered wagons.

These days, people can rely on motor vehicles to follow, or at least approach, sections of the Oregon Trail, Santa Fe Trail and others used by explorers and settlers on their ways west.

For more information, visit www.vlib.us/old_west/trails.html.