K-27 is a long north–south state highway that parallels Kansas

Kansas

Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

' western border with Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

. It begins in Elkhart

Elkhart, Kansas

Elkhart is a city in and the county seat of Morton County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,205.-Geography:Elkhart is located at...

 at the Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

 state line and travels through the seven counties that border Colorado until reaching its northern terminus in Cheyenne County

Cheyenne County, Kansas

Cheyenne County is a county located in Northwest Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 2,726. Its county seat and most populous city is St...

 north of St. Francis

St. Francis, Kansas

St. Francis is a city in and the county seat of Cheyenne County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,329.-Geography:St. Francis is located at...

, where it ends at the Nebraska

Nebraska

Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....

 state line (effectively becoming like-numbered Nebraska Highway 27

Nebraska Highway 27

Nebraska Highway 27 is a highway in Nebraska. It is divided into three segments. The southernmost segment begins at the Kansas border and goes north to Haigler. The middle segment begins at Interstate 80 near Chappell and goes north to Oshkosh...

).

Time zones

The highway changes time zones not once, but twice, during its trek through Kansas, the only highway in the state to do so. Central Standard Time is observed in Morton and Stanton Counties after entering Oklahoma, but the time zone changes to Mountain Standard Time when the highway crosses from Stanton into Hamilton County. Hamilton and the next three counties to the north (Greeley, Wallace, and Sherman) observe Mountain time, but clocks revert back to Central Time at the Sherman County-Cheyenne County line.

Concurrencies

The highway has a seven-mile (11 km) concurrency with US-36, the major east–west route through the northernmost counties of Kansas. The concurrency runs through the town of St. Francis before K-27 continues north towards Nebraska and US-36 heads west to Colorado. In Goodland, the highway briefly shares a route with U.S. Business 24, spur of US-24 which runs through downtown Goodland.

K-27 also makes a brief jog along a half-mile concurrency with US-50 and US-400 in Syracuse

Syracuse, Kansas

Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,812.-Geography:...

. US-160 and K-27 also meet briefly in Johnson City

Johnson City, Kansas

Johnson City is a city in and the county seat of Stanton County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,495.-Geography:Johnson City is located at...

; however, K-27 remains along its alignment during this concurrency.

The only concurrency with another state highway is with K-51, an east–west route, in Morton County near Richfield

Richfield, Kansas

Richfield is a city in Morton County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 43.-Geography:Richfield is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 48...

.

Towns along the route

• Elkhart
  Elkhart, Kansas
  Elkhart is a city in and the county seat of Morton County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,205.-Geography:Elkhart is located at...
  
  
• Richfield
  Richfield, Kansas
  Richfield is a city in Morton County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 43.-Geography:Richfield is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 48...
  
  
• Johnson City
  Johnson City, Kansas
  Johnson City is a city in and the county seat of Stanton County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,495.-Geography:Johnson City is located at...
  
  
• Syracuse
  Syracuse, Kansas
  Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,812.-Geography:...
  
  
• Tribune
  Tribune, Kansas
  Tribune is a city in and the county seat of Greeley County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 741.-History:The city is named after the New York Tribune, of which Horace Greeley of Chappaqua, New York was the editor....
  
  
• Sharon Springs
  Sharon Springs, Kansas
  Sharon Springs is a city in and the county seat of Wallace County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 748.-History:The community is named after Sharon Springs, New York, some of whose families founded its Kansas namesake....
  
  
• Goodland
  Goodland, Kansas
  Goodland is a city in and the county seat of Sherman County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,489.-History:...
  
  
• St. Francis
  St. Francis, Kansas
  St. Francis is a city in and the county seat of Cheyenne County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,329.-Geography:St. Francis is located at...