Fort Scott is in southeastern Kansas, about 90 minutes south of Kansas City on US Route 69. It's the kind of place you need a car to reach — there is no commercial air service and no passenger rail. The Frontier Military Scenic Byway, which runs through Fort Scott, connects it to other Civil War-era sites in the region.
From Kansas City, take US-69 south. From Wichita (about 2.5 hours), take I-35 east to US-54 east. The drive through southeastern Kansas takes you through tallgrass prairie and small agricultural towns.