Pillsbury Crossing in Riley County, Kansas, by the Kansas Geological Survey.
Pillsbury Crossing is a beautiful natural limestone slab that pioneers used to cross Deep Creek in Riley County, Kansas. The ledge terminates in a picturesque waterfall about 50 feet wide that drops about five feet. Below Pillsbury Crossing, Deep Creek flows into the Kansas River.
The waterfall is named for Josiah Pillsbury, a Free-State settler from New Hampshire who came to Kansas Territory in 1854 with the third party of the New England Emigrant Aid Company. First settling in Lawrence, he pre-empted land and located the Zeandale colony near the crossing in the spring of 1885. Pillsbury was a member of the Free-State Topeka Constitutional Convention and of the famous Topeka legislature of 1856. He was also elected a delegate to the failed Leavenworth Constitutional Convention.
Josiah Pillsbury.
Deep Creek’s 59 acres, part of the Pillsbury Crossing Wildlife Area, provide public access to one of the most scenic areas of the northern Flint Hills region.
Visitors can canoe, kayak, or take a small boat upstream as far as half a mile. Other outdoor activities in the area include boating, camping, hiking, bird-watching, and fishing for channel catfish, spotted bass, largemouth bass, carp, and bullhead catfish. Picnic tables and toilets are available along the hiking trail. Primitive camping is available with special permits from the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism.
In 1967, Dr. and Mrs. Edwin J. Frick of Manhattan donated Pillsbury Crossing Wildlife Area to the Kansas Forstry Fish & Game Commission through Wildtrust. It is now owned by Kansas Wildlife & Parks.
The Kansas Sampler named this spot one of the eight wonders of Kansas Geography.
The park is open from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Camping, swimming, hunting, and the consumption of alcoholic beverages are prohibited. It is located six miles southeast of Manhattan, Kansas.
To get to Pillsbury Crossing Wildlife Area from I-70, take exit 316 and go north on Deep Creek Road five miles. Turn right on Pillsbury Crossing Road, approximately two miles to Pillsbury Crossing Lane. These are all dirt roads. You will pass the 1892 Deep Creek Schoolhouse as you come north from I-70. The schoolhouse still serves as a community meeting place and stands as a monument to the settlers who came to the Deep Creek area.
To get to Pillsbury Crossing and Deep Creek Waterfall from Manhattan, drive south on Highway 177 two miles to Deep Creek Road. Turn left and drive three miles to Pillsbury Crossing Road. Follow Pillsbury Crossing Road for two miles.
Pillsbury Crossing in Riley County, Kansas, by the Kansas Geological Survey.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, June 2025.
Also See:
Sources:
Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks
Kansas Sampler
Kansas Travel
Travel Kansas
Visit Manhattan