Elk City State Park

First off, let me say that I am not a state park campground person. I prefer more remote, national forest campgrounds. But this place is great! There are several different camping areas within the park. Some are the more "typical" state park type. Plenty of people close together, having a great time, cooking, kids playing, families hanging out. And yet there are some others where there is a much quieter vibe with lots of space. (Prairie Meadow). There are playgrounds for kids, disc golf, boating, hiking, and a swimming beach. There are flush toilets, showers, dump stations, and even a laundry area. Many sites have full hook-ups and most have water and electric. The campground is on a lovely large lake set amidst rolling hills.

Pick your campsite, hook up, and then go pay for your site. Here squatters get first choice on sites. Most sites are 30/50 Amp hook ups with water. Dump on your way out. They have two play ground areas, horse shoes, archery, boating, hiking, biking. The park is so big that you have big sites, small sites, no shade, lots of shade, level sites, unlevel sites. I am glad that we did a walk up check in instead of booking online.

We stayed here because we hadn't camped in Kansas and this was about the only thing I could find along our route. I really didn't expect much. Wow, was I surprised! We stayed in the Sunset Point section. The name describes one of its best features. The sunset over the lake was a highlight every day. There are also a number of great hiking trails of various difficulty levels.

When we arrived, no one was at the check station, so we we picked up a check-in card and drove straight to our reserved site. Note that there is a $5/day vehicle permit. This is reflected in my nightly rate ($21 site charge + $5 vehicle permit). Pay attention to site length. Some sites on the lake won't accommodate larger rigs or toads. The campground has clean electricity, good water and level sites. There is also a coin laundry in the campground ($1.50 wash, $1.00 dry). You can buy rolls of quarters at the camp office nearby. The campground has an 18 hole short game golf course and a Frisbee golf course. Fishing must be great, because there were fishermen everywhere. Verizon service was dependable.