Improvements have been made to the access road to Coronado Heights.

The Smoky Valley Historical Association owns Coronado Heights. According to the organization, the ¾-mile road to the top of the hill has been graded and smoothed. This will provide visitors with a much more pleasant visit to the Kansas landmark located about 3 miles northwest of Lindsborg.

The heavy rains of this spring and summer washed out sections of the road making the trip up and down Coronado Heights hard on vehicles and aggravating for visitors. Recent work has made the road much more pleasant for drivers until funding can be raised to make more permanent repairs.

The Smoky Valley Historical Association of Lindsborg is a small, non-profit organization established in 1919 for the development and improvement of Coronado Heights for the benefit of the general public.

Coronado Heights Park is a scenic overlook and park on a 300′ promontory a few miles northwest of Lindsborg. In the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration built a picnic area and castle like building out of Dakota limestone. The winding drive up to the heights is lines with many trees, yucca, and sumac.

The park has grills and fireplaces, including a fireplace in the “castle,” which is otherwise unlighted except for the windows.

Coronado Heights receives its name from Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, who visited central Kansas in 1541, looking for the Native American community of Quivira, where he was told “trees hung with golden bells and … pots and pans were beaten gold.”

Coronado didn’t find his gold, and it is unknown if he actually ascended the heights now named after him near Lindsborg.