camping in kansas (Fort Scott, Perry, Kanopolis: motels, house, to buy)

[prairiestone]

i am form out of state but recnetly bought a nice 6 acre parcel in fort scott.. i am planning a trip back ther ein october and will stay in that area for 2 days and camp on my land ther.. after that i have a couple weeks to travel through the state and was wondering if anyone can recoomend some good camping areas... possibly state lands but not essentiial.. last time i stayed at motels but the cost was too high so wanted to enjoy the more natural way and camp in my basic tent. your recccomendations would be greatly appreciated

[quesera]

I hope linking this is O.K.

USGS - LAKES AND RESERVOIRS IN KANSAS

We've been camping at Perry, Kanopolis and Cedar Bluff. The kids loved it!

[prairiestone]

ty qusera.. that site is a help/// o wnated to go near kanapolis and salina area also last visiit i was at the flint hills and tall prairie preserve in strong city and i want to go back ther.. the campgrounds were full that time as they had the symphony at the preserve. but in october should be great to camp there

[melkreeves]

Perry is nice... we also enjoy going to Lake LaCygne, which is about an hour north of Fort Scott on 69 Hwy. Its a smaller park but has a marina, trails, fishing, and wildlife galore. There are people who live there year round and it offers six small cabins, full electric and water sites and sites with no electric or water that are right on the lake.

[Mom of an Okie]

Just had a friend and her family camp here and they really like it.
http://springlakervresort.com/

[Ellie C.]

If you ride horses, these people have overnight pack rides in the Gypsum Hills:

http://www.gypsumhillstrailrides.com/index.html

This area is one of the most beautiful in the state, IMHO. I hope it remains unspoiled. Well worth a visit. I'm sure there are other places to camp there as well.

[kygman]

Prairie, I'm glad to see somebody else camps in a tent. Most people get these motor homes or "campers" complete with A/C, Microwave, TV and satellite,etc. That's not camping! That's taking your house with you! Just give me a good tent and my Coleman stove and lantern.

[jtur88]

There is a designated "State Fishing Lake" in most counties in eastern Kansas, and some in the western part of the state. Camping is rustic (only a picnic table and pit toilet, usually) but it is safe and it is relatively green and scenic and shady, and best of all, it is FREE. The locations of the fishing lakes is indicated on the Rand McNally road maps, but you often have to make inquiry in a nearby town to have somebody tell you how to find them. In some cases, the effort to establish a fishing lake failed, the lake dried out, and there is nothing there, but it is still usable for camping. There are also many towns in Kansas that allow free overnight camping in one of their city parks, which are often in pleasant locales near the edge of town, so they will be quiet and away from town activity at night. (Free camping in town parks is more common further north, like the Dakotas, but there are some in Kansas, too.) .

There are lots of chiggers in the grass in Kansas, which cause miserable bites. Best way to combat those is to buy a few ounces of "elemental sulfur" in any drug store, and lightly dust your socks, shoes and pants cuffs with it.