For those who want to experience Clinton Lake, but still want the creature comforts of home, consider glamping for your trip. Find all the best glamping sites for your Clinton Lake, Kansas camping adventure with The Dyrt. The Dyrt makes it easy to find glamping near Clinton Lake.
This recreation area is part of Clinton Lake
This recreation area is part of Perry Lake
$12 - $48 / night
This recreation area is part of Pomona Lake
This recreation area is part of Melvern Lake
Carbolyn Park is located in eastern Kansas along Dragoon Creek, just east of Pomona Lake. The scenic park appeals to family campers, sportsmen and water sport enthusiasts. The reservoir covers 4,000 acres and offers excellent fishing and boating opportunities.
Fishing, boating, picnicking, and hunting are favorite activities on and around Pomona Lake. The lake's fish and wildlife resources provide ample opportunities for sportsmen and women. Three nearby trails meander around Pomona, providing visitors with hiking and nature study opportunities. Deer Creek Nature Trail and Witches' Broom Trail are short trails for hikers. The Black Hawk Trail offers a 33 mile loop with several trailheads. It is a popular hiking, horseback riding, and mountain biking path.
Pomona Lake is situated among the rolling hills, mixed grasslands, croplands and forests of eastern Kansas. Wildlife and numerous species of birds can be observed at this secluded, heavily shaded campground. Bald eagles, white-tailed deer, Canada geese, wild turkey, crappie, walleye, channel catfish and other wildlife can be found here.
Numerous parks lie on the banks of Pomona Lake, offering additional boating, fishing, swimming, hunting, and hiking opportunities. The town of Lyndon, Kansas is less than 10 miles away, with limited restaurants and shops. This small town is home to 22 historical sites and the smallest Carnegie library still in use.
$14 - $20 / night
Traveler
Pne of the closest to the Kansas city metro lots of glamping
Scout
The campsite was okay. It was a busy weekend and we were not in a preferred spot, but it was wooded. The ranger at the gate was horrid. He was rude, yelled at each person coming through. He was especially annoyed at me for wearing a mask. He wasn’t and was within 3 feet. Lawrence is a college town with high rates of covid across the campus. He is talking one on one with these kids several times a day! He seriously grabbed my phone out of my hand when I asked him not to. The dump station has pooling sewer water and the water was not working. The park lacks maintenance, and it could be cut backs due to covid. Clinton lake it nice, but beware if heading out for camping.
UPDATE--I ended up with Covid a week later. Pretty sure it was my interaction with the park ranger that did it.
Ranger
Great please to camp, not to crowded. Got busier on the weekends, empty on the week. Nice showers and toilets, laundry. Campsites were large, many had a good footprint enough to set up a large tent. We have a 20’ round yurt and had plenty of room. Lots of hiking trails in this park, some paved. Nice lookout point. Dog park was nice, well gated and taken care of, had water station for thirsty dogs. We spent 25$ a night for a 30amp electric site. Campground was well maintained. Only minutes from the historic town of Westin, amazing parks, lots of pubs and little restaurants. Nice place to walk around. I would camp here again.
Traveler
We missed a KOA in Kansas City because of construction. Went to Lawrence KOA instead. Glad for the misfortune. The park has all you need for short or long term camping and RV trips.
Guidesite: large. private. shaded. amenities: clean. well maintained. attractions: hiking. biking. close to Kansas City (40 minutes) I would go camping here again.
Legend
This was one of our favorite Kansas State Parks. At the end of May, it was almost empty. We had our pick of sites. We got a prime tree shaded spot on the water. In fairness, most sites are on the water or have a water view. Spectacular sunsets.
There was only 1 small bath house open while we were there, but it was clean and the shower was hot. It was one of those push button kind that only stayed on for a min. Not a problem to just keep pushing.
We road bikes, but the cold spring winds made kayaking impossible. In the summer, I can see why this place would be a fun destination. Swimming, boating, fishing, horses, archery, wide open spaces.
The roads within the park are not the best. Also, online reservations must be made 48 hrs in advance, otherwise, its day by day.
LegendGetting to the state park off I 29 and through the countryside was easy as the route had Weston Bend SP signage. We followed the SP signs to the campground(CG) where the gate was not manned so we headed to get water, but someone was sitting in the dump station waiting for another person to arrive so we went around this one-loop CG to see if there was a convenient spigot. There are spigots but with a larger rig, you will block the road, and/or you will be on a hill. We went back around and the person moved so we could get water. After that, we headed to pull through site 28 with electric(50/30/20 AMP) only. The site is long but has a 1/4 moon turn so we had to pull back around to get better positioned on the pad so we could disconnect our 39’ 5th wheel and F450 for our 3-night stay. There were tree branches overhead that we could not avoid. RVers next to us in site 30 had just arrived as well and were having trouble getting their travel trailer unhitched and leveled due to the pad’s slight incline and unlevel asphalt. They got their trailer positioned so they could get somewhat level. We got a solid two bars on both Verizon and T-Mobile. Due to our proximity to Kansas City, we got a lot of OTA channels. A satellite connection would be iffy in most sites here due to the number of mature trees. The trees in a lot of sites would also scrape the top of larger rigs. There’s a variety of sites with most being good for regular trailers versus tall rigs, and tent sites. They have a nice shower house with 1 washer and 1 dryer both for$1.50. There are also vaulted toilets here and there. There’s a 1.7-acre fenced dog park that includes one large area for large dogs and two other areas with one dedicated to smaller dogs. The dog area is at the front park entrance away from the campground and it would be a long walk to get there, so we drove up. There are a lot of hiking trails here plus an old tobacco barn that’s worth a look.
GuideWe stayed a week at Clinton State Park’s campground at site 92 in the middle of July with our two dogs.
Pros: The park itself is very big so the sites were pretty big which is always a big plus. Sites come with a picnic table and a fairly large fire ring which we unfortunately never got to enjoy because we were here during a heat wave (100+ almost every day). The park is also at a lake so there’s a beach access area where you can go and swim or just sit by the very large lake. There’s also a marina and boat ramps for anyone who has a boat, which we sadly did not. Of course, it’s important to mention this was one of the most affordable places we’ve ever stayed, granted, it was with a non sewer site but still.
Cons: The check-in situation was not very good. We received our site number upon reservation but we didn’t receive any instructions on when and where to check-in or if anyone would even be there to check us in. We also weren’t aware we’d have to pay for a parking pass for both our RV and towed vehicle which is normally $5/day but since we were there 7 days they gave us the annual passes which came out to $50 total for both vehicles. This one obviously most likely just has to do with the time of year we were here and it’s out of the park’s control but there were SO MANY BUGS especially at night. We hung our outside string lights like normal and, as you’ll see in the photos, they were absolutely swarmed with bugs. We’ve never seen so many bugs in one place, not even close. We also, as mentioned above, stayed at a W/E only site in the Prairie Clover Campground and each campground only has one dump station (2 total for the whole park) and the one for ours was closed for construction, which we were not made aware of, so we had to drive a pretty good distance to take our honey pot to the only one that was open. The bathrooms/showers were extremely hot because of no ventilation, had a lot of bugs, and the showers only give you one temperature and one pressure level, neither of which were great, and the lights in both are on a sensor and they went off within about 5 minutes of being in there and no matter how much you motioned it wouldn’t come back on so you’re stuck showering in the dark. Lastly, our Verizon service wasn’t very good, only about 2 bars of LTE. We both work full time remotely so this was concerning but luckily with our jet pack connected to an antenna we were able to get around 3 bars of LTE which was enough for us to work off of.
Overall: This is a nice, affordable state park/campground overall, not exactly the prettiest but it’s big and offers big sites and a large lake you can enjoy. It would have been much more enjoyable to stay during a cooler time of the year when there wasn’t so many bugs and on a site that had sewer (a non sewer site was our choice to be fair) so you didn’t have to worry about the dump station situation. Also not having wi-fi or great phone service was inconvenient but we had enough to make it work. We don’t plan to spend a whole lot of time in Kansas but if we came back through anytime that’s not spring or summer we’d definitely consider staying here again.
TravelerMy husband and I got eaten alive by mosquitoes within a minute of getting it of our car. Needed to use the restroom and there was no toilet seat, the place looked and smelled disgusting, and it was simply unusable. I will not be back.
RangerRolling hills and lots of green with many of trails and recreational facilities including more unusual things like archery. Lake is surprisingly big, good wildlife and birding. Popular place for bike and road races, that’s what brought us here. Camp sites have pretty trees but most sites aren’t so shady. Also has cabins.
RangerThe potential is there as the lake is a pretty lake. The problem is that most if not all of the campgrounds are so fare removed from a view of the lake, you might as well be in a random pasture.
The campgrounds are clean, safe and well maintained. Just not very pretty.
GuideClinton is somewhat close to us, so that is its big pull for us. The biggest pull for me is stopping in Lawrence on the way home. Lawrence is a college town with great restaurants and shops. Clinton had great views, questionable bathrooms, however. Depending on when you go, you may get rowdy college kids nearby. We always find ourselves going back for the convenience.
ScoutNot bad, but Clinton is just not very rural place in general. No much of a view in this spot eather
TravelerLots of spots to choose from. Can be packed, especially on holiday weekends. I usually come here with larger groups of people or to test out new gear since it's the closest to my house. Campground 1 is definitely the best area. Lots of easily accessible trails, but water views are non existent and water access is not close.
GuideIf you enjoy no privacy and camping on top of your neighbor, look no further! If you the your dogs like we do, expect to keep them tied up on a short line and for the park rangers to come check every few hours. For a place with issues of bodies in the lake and homeless squatters, strange for rangers top consistently come into other campsites to check on illegal activity. We tried to go swimming once and was met with piles of dead fish on the swimming beach. Plus side, it's close and bathrooms are clean.
GuideI stayed at the free site a ways from the lake called Woodbridge public use area and the hiking trail that connected this spot to the lake was killer as well as the campground was beautiful I camped in the rain for 2 of the 3 nights I stayed here and it was still a very very enjoyable experience and it FREE!!
TravelerHad a large family gathering here. crowded but clean and fun.
GuideWe love this campsite, especially in the off months! We always get a great private campsite, but I can see where in more popular months, it can get crowded! Bathrooms are clean, dog friendly! Hiking trails are great too!
GuideIt's good for kids because it has a field and a playground. Some primitive sites do NOT have a fire pit. Bathrooms are bug filled. Even the showers that close all the way. Some campers look like they live there.
ScoutWe have tent camped here often. Most of the sites are spacious. It's not unusual to find a site with no neighbors. The campground is uphill from the lake but the are hiking trails to the lake as well as other trails around the park. Vault toilets and flush toilets with showers are available. They could be better maintained. Overall it is a nice quiet campground for a quick getaway. Also, very close to Lawrence.
TravelerWeird campsites, not enough trees, super loud at night due to traffic, the lake is disgusting and we ended up leaving after one night. Would never return.
TravelerFree dispersed camping at camp area 3. Showers have warm water. Very muggy in the summer.
ScoutOverall it’s a very nice park, close to the lake and lots of space. The biggest drawback is some pretty poorly maintained showers & bathrooms. The larger shower houses were fine but the satellite vaulted toilets looked like they hadn’t been swept in a few years. If you’re an rv camper who showers in your rig it’s a great place, if your a tent camper be ready for some ick.
TravelerAnother great state park. Stayed in camp ground 1 in the off season so wasn’t too packed but it was busy. The great part is that the sites are so large, at least on the lake side, which is actually a bit away from the lake, but accessible by stairs from the camp sites. Plenty of distance between campers. The gravel pads and paved roads made it very easy to get into spot and set up. The park had all the amenities and not too far a drive from town for supplies if needed. In addition to a number of hiking trails, they had a disk golf course and an archery range. The park has a day use fee of $5 a day per vehicle which is independent from the state camping fee. But they offered me an annual pass (calendar year) of $25 for the day use.
GuideGood shade. Well maintained and good sized spots. We’ve also rented cabins which are nice.
TravelerSites are nicely spacious. Stayed on site 141 and it had much room and privacy. Bathrooms were clean most of the time except late Saturday I guess most people back from their activities and lots of use but overall site camp was great. U can see deers along the way too and the hiking trails are nice view of a creek but make sure u take hiking boots as some spots are very muddy
LegendI was having a difficult time finding a campground with availability on our way back from Colorado since we were leaving on the Sunday before Memorial Day. We decided to stay a couple of extra days and we found sites available at this one. There are two separate campgrounds at Clinton State Park, and we stayed at campground 1. We checked in with the camp host since the office was already closed. We asked for water, electricity, and somewhere close to the bath house. I guess two out of three aren’t bad. The bath house that we were closest to was closed for the season. The open one was at least two hundred yards away. Getting up in the middle of the night, we decided to drive to it in the dark. We didn’t understand why we couldn’t get a site closer to one of the open bath houses since there were several available sites. Another disappointment was that with all of the recent rain, we had a huge puddle separating our pull-through from our picnic table and fire pit. Again, we should have asked for another site. Other than those two disappointments, it was a really good campground, especially for being a state park. The individual toilet/showers were spacious and very clean. There was shade at some of the campsites, and there were open fields for kids to play in. Although the playground was small, there were other things to do. There was a disc golf course, an archery range, hiking trails, and the lake. The lake is large, and there is a place to launch boats, canoes, kayaks, jet skis, etc. At another part of the lake, there is a huge marina for larger boats. Bering in such a remote area, you don’t have to worry about the sounds of traffic. Overall, Clinton State Park is a place you can stay where there is plenty to do. Although there is no swimming pool, other activities previously mentioned should keep you busy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Clinton Lake?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Clinton Lake is Clinton State Park Campground with a 3.6-star rating from 36 reviews.
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