Coronado Heights

Really dug this. It was a neat place to stop off on our road trip New Year’s Day 2016. It’s not very well marked at all. Another reviewer did an excellent job with the details so I won’t be long winded with this one. But it’s a neat place with a lovely view and some space to stretch your legs and take a short walk or hike. Plenty of picnic tables, a few inside the castle and several more outside. There are a few different spots where guests can build a small fire as well. Very crude restroom facilities with no stalls or door, but better than having to go behind a bush at least! Almost no signage here as I mentioned earlier. There is a circular winding, narrow, but well cared for road leading up to the park and castle. We had a very windy picnic and enjoyed a bit of exploring. I’d come back!

This was a great find. My son and I was on a drive and wandered on this place. The view was fantastic. If your in the area this is a must see.
No not mistake it

Apparently this spot got its name after a Spanish dubloon was found up on the hill. It was supposed this was the farthest north Coronado ventured.
I came here with my boyfriend and we had to dodge a busload of tots who were jumping through the little castle, but it was well worth the adventure. The lichen-​covered rocks that were laid down with such purpose by the Work Progess Administration in the 1930s… The ridiculously cute matching BBQ pit across the site… The view of giant Kansas sky… The fact that you’re in the middle of nowhere (pardon the exaggeration, folks) on top of a miniature castle and you’ve just climbed through a hole in the ceiling to get to where you’re at. If you don’t enjoy the legend, you’ve got to enjoy that.
If you’re coming through the Salina/​Lindsborg area you should check it out– weather permitting, of course. There are some steep hills so rain and ice could make this place tricky. Great place to stop and picnic, rest from the road or bring the kids. Even a whole busload of them.

My husband and I escape to Coronado Heights for beautiful scenery — preferably at sunset– while visiting family in the Salina area. I came here as a kid on many a school field trip, and I still enjoy walking around the Heights.
This place gets 5 stars for being all the tallest natural site in the area and for the views!
It’s not too hard to get to. Just look for the «castle» on top the hill outside Lindsborg. Directions from Lindsborg: Drive to the north end of Main St, turn left on W Swenson Ave, right on 13^th Ave, left on W Coronado Heights Road (a dirt road).
Caution: you might not want to up there after heavy rains or when there’s a lot of snow on the ground! (I risked my neck and a visiting Chinese friend’s neck one snowy December day when it was snow-​packed, ice-​covered road. I chugged the car up, but we had to gracefully slide our way down.)
Info from the Internet:
It is a dominant geological feature of the Smoky Valley in central Kansas, three miles northwest of Lindsborg. It rises 300 feet above the surrounding plains. It is one of seven bluffs along the west side of the seven mile wide valley of the Smoky Hill River. It is southernmost of the seven low hills which are sometimes referred to as the Spanish Buttes. The park was crowned with the «Spanish Castle,» built with federal WPA funds, in 1936.