Hotel at a Glance: Cedar Crest Lodge

With a massive garden and 13 ponds spread across 111 hilly acres, the Cedar Crest Lodge is a rustic retreat in southeastern Kansas. You can take a stroll or go for a bike ride on multi-use trails; 6 stocked ponds await fishermen. If the weather’s nice, play a game of bocce ball or horseshoes before retreating inside to cozy up around the brick fireplace.

• Wake up to a multicourse breakfast of egg dishes, pastries, and fresh-squeezed orange juice.
• Get pampered with a full-body Swedish or hot-stone massage at the Cedar Crest Spa.
• Guest rooms and suites are each uniquely decorated; furnishings may include a four-poster bed with a handmade quilt, wooden floors, and an in-suite whirlpool tub.
• Keep your eyes peeled for wildlife such as white-tailed deer and waterfowl; the National Wildlife Federation recognized the inn’s grounds as a Certified Wildlife Habitat.

Pleasanton, Kansas: Civil War History amid Natural Beauty

Named for Civil War general Alfred Pleasonton, Pleasanton is steeped in the history of the war. The town is located near the border between Kansas and Missouri in an area that witnessed fierce battles and skirmishes both before and during the war. Although Pleasanton’s Mine Creek Battlefield is closed between late October and early April, the John Brown Museum in nearby Osawatomie offers year-round tours of the cabin that served as Brown’s base of operations.

Those with an appetite for nature can head for the Marais des Cygnes National Wildlife Refuge, a 7,500-acre tract of forest and prairie in Pleasanton. The area around the refuge is home to dozens of species of mammals, including red foxes, mink, and mountain lions, as well as an array of birds ranging from herons to red-tailed hawks.

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