Sappa Park Campground

Arrived with enough daylight to check out the area that includes restrooms, playground, trails and a 1930's structure of unknown use.

Ten sites at end of road with power that are best to arrive early to attain power access. Phone number included in photos.

Signage indicates pheasant hunting during season and reservation to use premises.

Appears to be managed by the National Park Service as a natural preserve.

Spent the night in the primitive camping area of Sappa Park. Tall trees provided plenty of shade. There were a few cars that passed by on the road, but the area is patrolled by local cops, so it felt safe. We stayed in two tents and had a nice, quiet night. The next morning we drove farther down the road to see the sites where electricity is available. More sheltered back in that area and vault toilets available. Nice place and the town of Oberlin looks to have everything you might need in a pinch.

pretty big park with all the stuff you’d likely find in a state park maybe without the hook ups at least i didn’t find them or they were blocked off. but there’s a ton of trails disc golf out buildings and so on. id totally have stayed and hiked and explored if i had more time. pretty quiet save the one cop who patrolled the area once or twice just drove by and waved though

super clean for how big the park is and small the town is

Sappa Park consists of two areas.

The first area that you come to is a large open area with mature trees and two little blue signs that say "Camping". There is one 20-amp electric spot, picnic table, and trash at this location. The rest is all open, dry camping.

The second, more developed spot is another 1/2 mile up the road at the end of the road. It consist of 11 sites, picnic tables, available electric, a playground, and bathrooms.

Walking trails available throughout the park.

Dry camping appears to be free. If you want electric, call the city and they'll unlock the electric box. Electric appears to be $10/night. Donations are accepted in the slot at the bathrooms.

From the other reviews, there seems to be some confusion as to the exact location. From Oberlin, take US 36, and then make a left turn into Sappa Park. Follow the gravel road all the way to the end. It will end in a flag circle. There is a "shelter house" built by the WPA. The campground is beside the shelter. It looks like an arena (open field) outlined with telephone poles with electric boxes. The boxes are locked, and you will need to call the city (785-475-2217) to reserve and pay for your spot and have someone come unlock it (I found my spot and then called the city). Not all sites are equipped with both 30 and 50 amps, so ask about that when you reserve. Sites 7 and 8 have both. Sites 7 and 11 have the most shade. It's Kansas, so both the field and sites are flat.
There is water available, but it is clearly marked non-potable. I assume this might be for animals when they use the campground for an arena(?). It also has a nice playground.

We stayed here when our community was putting on an outdoor vacation Bible school. We were the night watchmen guarding other tents and an animal exhibit. You have to bring your own water, but there are Eco Toilets available. This area was a lake in 1938, but it has since silted in. In place of the lake are walking/biking trails. I would suggest wearing bug repellent for your walk on the trails since there are ticks in the underbrush. The camping areas are grassy and have nice trees around. There is a playground for kids as well as a disc golf course. It is very peaceful and quiet and we saw deer walking by early in the morning. There is a sign for the park 2 miles east of Oberlin on U.S. 36. You turn left and go about a mile on a winding road until you come to the end of the road. That is where the camping area is with electrical hookups and the Eco Toilets. To pay, you put your check in a box by the toilets. There is a shelter house that is locked, but rentable from the city office for a donation. If you want a quiet getaway to commune with nature, this is it! We have Nex-Tech cell service and had no problem with coverage.

Found this campground reviewed on another site, but the reviews missed a few things. I only found one area with small, blue signs with an arrows pointing to 'camping'. The camping area is on the left hand side of the road in a clearing with numerous large trees, past a few private residences. Trees have been trimmed to allow taller rigs, but placement is problematic when towing a car. There is a small defined road leading to site "1" (sign mounted on telephone pole, next to power outlet). I couldn't find any other electric boxes mounted on anything in the immediate area, so only one site has power. There is another sign on pole advising fee for electric hookup is $10 which must be paid in a box at the restrooms???....I didn't see any restrooms on the way in to this point in the park, and wasn't going to unhook toad to hunt for them....I ended up unhooking anyway because I couldnt get enough of a circle thru the trees to get pointed back out the road in (didn't want to run diesel pusher over grassy open area. The 'electric' consists of a household 110volt dual plug, covered inside a weather proof box....no breaker switch, so you would be plugging in 'hot'...not a risk I would take. There is also no way I would string a jumble of plug adapters from my 50 amp coach to a probable 15 amp connection...'hot'. I opted to run genset to keep batteries happy. There are frost-free spigots x 2 in the immediate area, but signage advises water is non-potable....odd? What ELSE would you want a spigot in a campground for? There was no dump station that I could see...but I didn't unhook the car to do a tour of the park. With signs indicating 'camping' and no public restrooms you must assume that anyone setting up in a tent will be depositing human excrement in the bushes....ick. I couldn't find any more information online with the city that administers this park either (map, facilities available, fees).

There are mounds of dog doo EVERYWHERE, in spite of the doggie bag dispenser near a shaded bench. Made me GLAD I'm not in a TENT! The plus features of this site?
near Oberlin (3 miles east, all kinds of services in town, gas, food, auto repair, etc.), signage to find the park off highway is good, but once off highway, confusing about where the park is vis a vis private residences. The trees offer protection from the vicious wind....and, FREE, if you don't use their elec. hookup.