Best Camping near Elwood, KS

Looking for the best campgrounds near Elwood, KS? Enjoy the scenic camping, fun activities, and sights and sounds of Elwood. You're sure to find the perfect spot for your Kansas camping adventure.

Best Camping Sites Near Elwood, KS (56)

Showing results 1-10 of 56 campgrounds

Pet-friendly camping near Elwood

Recent Reviews In Elwood

289 Reviews of 56 Elwood Campgrounds


  • Camper-submitted photo from Weston Bend State Park Campground
    September 30, 2024

    Weston Bend State Park Campground

    Clean, Attractive, and Quiet

    Weston Bend, MO 9/24: As of early September 1/2 of the campground is closed for construction. I understand that some sites will be upgraded to full hookups. (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good

    (72 yr olds in 27’ trailer.)

    Overall Rating: 5 for a state park . Hiking and overlooks nearby. This is a nice campground to visit Leavenworth from. Very clean showers. Price 2024: About $15 for non electric sites. $25 for electric sites Security: Gate w code for night time entry Usage during visit: Very full during weekends. Plenty of free sites during the week Visual Privacy Between Adjacent Sites: Some more than others Site Spacing: Very good Pad surface: Blacktop Reservations: Yes Campground Noise: Pretty quiet Outside Road Noise: None Through Traffic in campground: No reason for Electric Hookup: All sites but # 3 and 26. Sewer Hookup: Coming to some sites by 2025 Dump Station: Yes Potable Water Available: Yes, at dump stations and some scattered spigots Generators: Allowed Bathroom: One building with flush toilets. One pit toilet near site #26 Showers: Yes. Clean and nice. Pull Throughs: 1 or 2 Cell Service (AT&T): 2 bars Setting: Thick deciduous forest Recent Weather: Some 90 - 100 degree days in late August Solar: # 3 has better solar than the other non-electric site shady #26. Insects: Not bad Host: Great Rig Size: large rigs Sites: #3 and # 26 are non- electric. #26 is the most private.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Wallace State Park Campground
    September 22, 2024

    Wallace State Park Campground

    Rain camping

    We came here fully expecting rain and we got it. Only problem was we planned to tie up some tarps to sit under but we didn't know that it was against the rules to tie to the trees at these sites. luckily we made it work tieing to the roof of the table and a stump. As far as the camp ground its self, rules aside, it is amazing. All the tent sites are separated by trees and bushes so you get plenty of room to your self but they are close enough you can still connect with other groups if you want. Another great part about it is that there are walking paths through the woods from each site that meet up at a central restroom. The main bathrooms and showers are over by the office and are super nice but it is good that there are a couple stalls close for the middle of the night situations. Tons of walking trails are around and a decent playground for the kids as well. Overall loved this place.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Love's RV Hookup-St. Joseph MO 235
    September 13, 2024

    Love's RV Hookup-St. Joseph MO 235

    Limited parking

    We arrived around midnight and there was very limited parking. We did not plan to use the RV hook ups but there seemed to still be one available slot if we wanted it. The rest of the parking lot was pretty full with limited spaces, but we were able to grab a spot. A little noisy but what you would expect from a truck stop with 18 wheelers in and out all night.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Weston Bend State Park Campground
    September 13, 2024

    Weston Bend State Park Campground

    Over nighters.

    We arrived around 1 pm and got the pull through site. It is a nice little park that will be closed from November 1, 2024 through April 14, 2025. An electric site was $25.00. The facilities were exceptionally clean and the camp hosts were very polite.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Warnock Lake Park
    August 18, 2024

    Warnock Lake Park

    Quiet with what you need

    Stayed for a one nighter on a tent site. Area was clean and maintained. There is no restroom close to tent sites but it is just up the hill at the rv side.. also when I decided to camp here showers were not listed as an amenitie but there are showers in the restroom which was a present surprise. My kid enjoyed the playground near the lake and I enjoyed the disc golf course on site. Bring cash for your fees to put in the drop box.

  • Camper-submitted photo from A Country Charm RV Park
    August 10, 2024

    A Country Charm RV Park

    A beautiful small little park

    Easy check in if you have made online reservations. Very well taken care of and clean. Great spot to visit the quilting stores here.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Love's RV Hookup-St. Joseph MO 235
    August 1, 2024

    Love's RV Hookup-St. Joseph MO 235

    Not the Best Option

    This Love’s RV Hook Up is right off I-29. We’ve enjoyed several stays at these new Love’s campgrounds(CG) and they are normally away from the main car and truck fueling areas. After cruising around the truck area, we found that we needed to go to the car area as the CG is literally off the auto-side fuel pumps/parking lot. There is a lane that we could have driven through from the truck area and this would've put us in the right position to back into our site. However, there was a Love's fuel truck parked there the whole time of our stay. There are six back-in sites with water and electric. They give you a code if you want to use the dump station. We reserved site 1 with water and electric(50/30/20 AMP). It still could have been an easy back-in but there was a big U-Haul truck parked outside of the formal parking areas in our path. We were still able to maneuver around and get in our site. After parking, we checked in online to activate our utilities. We quickly found out when we auto-leveled that site 1 was not a level site as our passenger side tires were off the ground. And whoever designed these sites thought boulders between sites was a good idea? We had to position our rig to avoid a boulder on the pad, so that we could open our basement slide drawer. The utilities are at the far backside of the pad and based on our rig’s configuration with the wet bay towards the front, we needed 25’ or more of hose and electric cord. The water pressure here is good. The WiFi is also for general public use and not very fast. We got 3 bars on Verizon and used our MiFi for internet as we were not comfortable putting out Starlink in this general public area. We were next to Love’s two-sided dog park, which if not for dog poop on the inside and around the outside would have been a great convenience. Concerning the uncomfortable comment, two stealth campers in cars were in parking spaces adjacent to our site for the night. We shared the CG with a Scottish Rugby cycling team traversing the USA raising AHS awareness. We did not know that starting around 6:00 AM the sprinklers came on and all of their gear got wet. The sprinklers also make mud puddles at the dog park entrance. Loves should gravel the small and large dog entrances. There should also be signs to let campers know about the sprinklers. The other Love’s RV Stops we stayed in had restroom and shower facilities, here you go in the main building and pay to use the trucker showers. The dump station is hard to get into with a large rig. Wrapping up this unpleasant stay, this Love’s was one up on a Walmart parking lot as it had water and electric.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Pony Express Lake Conservation Area
    July 10, 2024

    Pony Express Lake Conservation Area

    A beautiful spot by the lake

    Beautiful spot by the lake. Be sure to turn left at first sign to find campsites. Was a little frustrating that a family seemed to have taken up permanent residence and was obnoxious with the generator. Trash was overflowing and could use a little more attention. Clean vault toilets with TP. It was really beautiful with the sunset.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Worlds of Fun Village
    July 7, 2024

    Worlds of Fun Village

    Amazing memories here

    Beautiful park. Pay more for the pull through you’ll have tons of parking even if your rig is big. Our rig is 44 ft and we parked two 2500’s on the pad no problem. We reserve our days in advance and if we need to cancel we just change our reservation to a different date with no fees. The pool and clubhouse are well kept so are the bathrooms and laundry room. This Is our favorite campsite to date. So much to do.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Weston Bend State Park Campground
    June 30, 2024

    Weston Bend State Park Campground

    Short stay

    Very nice lots was a Lil disappointed because this camp site was in mid missori and the agent I contacted it from was in meridian ms and had never been there was told it would have water n 30 amp service but all that was there was 30 amp no water but it was really nice I didn't have time to stay long just the night .

  • Camper-submitted photo from Leavenworth Kansas State Fishing Lake
    June 22, 2024

    Leavenworth Kansas State Fishing Lake

    Nice and quiet

    Camped here several days in late June. The were very few campers, even on the weekends. Many slept in their cars and left at first light. I assume they went fishing at the lake. Bathroom was a little rough but manageable.

  • Camper-submitted photo from AOK Campground & RV Park
    June 12, 2024

    AOK Campground & RV Park

    Great Spot To Stop

    Traveling through on a cross country trip. Needed a spot to camp from my motorcycle. I was given a giant secluded spot by the pond, separate from the RV area. Has a lovely looking pool that was open, clean showers, and fire wood for sale. The owners are extremely friendly and helpful. The only reason it isn't getting 5 stars is the proximity to the freeway, you can hear it very clearly (jake brakes and all) continuously.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Rochester Falls Access
    June 9, 2024

    Rochester Falls Access

    Nice spot for simple camp

    Had a good night. If it's not busy you can hear the river from camp. There are a hand full of sites, couple others were here and we had no problems. There is enough trees to shade 90% of the camp through out and a wood line surrounding the area so it does not feel like you are camping in the middle of a wide open field. Wouldn't plan to use the bathroom and just head to the woods.. It is there if it's the biggest emergency but.. it's not a maintained bathroom sooo...

  • Camper-submitted photo from Weston Bend State Park Campground
    June 8, 2024

    Weston Bend State Park Campground

    Site 26 is Peaceful

    This was our 2nd stay at Weston Bend SP. Both times, we had site 26, one of the few basic sites. While some of the other sites were very close to each other, this one is relatively isolated. It's big too. There's a vault toilet close by. It was clean and roomy. We didn't use the water but there are a few spigot throughout the campground. There's also a regular restroom near the campground entrance, but we didn't use it. We will definitely camp here again if we are passing through.

  • Camper-submitted photo from AOK Campground & RV Park
    May 20, 2024

    AOK Campground & RV Park

    Well Maintained, Clean Facilities

    Camped here on Oct 5, 2023. RV parks are not our preferred place to camp. Prefer to camp with our campervan in dispersed or primitive campsites. That being said, this campground was really good for an overnight stay during our trip north to Minnesota. The owners were very welcoming and helpful. The property and restrooms/showers were very, very clean and well maintained. Our dog enjoyed the fenced in dog park with is on the property. The campground has ponds. Other campers were friendly and respectful.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Pony Express Lake Conservation Area
    May 10, 2024

    Pony Express Lake Conservation Area

    A Small Free Drive-in Campground

    This free campground has a water tap and a pit toilet. There are at least three first come first served campsites that have a picnic table and a fire ring.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Weston Bend State Park Campground
    May 7, 2024

    Weston Bend State Park Campground

    Quiet campground close to many Kansas City attractions

    Campground is hilly, sites are level, gravel pads. Lots of space between sites. Electric sites, no water, but water spigots were scattered around the campground. Majority of sites had shade. Most sites are back in, there are 2 pull through sites and 2 family sites. Firewood is available for sale on the honor system near the camp host. Nice shower facilities and laundry available (one washer, one dryer). Regular trash dumpster and also recycling. Pit toilets also available. Dump station across from dumpsters and recycling. Entrance gate closes at 9 pm.

  • Camper-submitted photo from AOK Campground & RV Park
    May 4, 2024

    AOK Campground & RV Park

    Lovely find!

    Very well cared for site. It's been well established for many years. I was visiting friends in St. Joe and was surprised to learn her parents used to came there many decades ago. It was a KOA and the new owners have kept it up to those standards. The owners/managers are friendly and acknowledged me by name when I walked up to register. A bit of freeway noise but not too bothersome, Great stay!

  • Camper-submitted photo from Pony Express Lake Conservation Area
    April 15, 2024

    Pony Express Lake Conservation Area

    Great spot on the west side of the lake

    We drove by the east side campsite and it was packed. We ran into a local and he told us about a spot on the east side of the lake. An old boy scout camp. It wasn’t maintained but there was nobody there. Our dogs ran free and that was what we were looking for. We ran our generator at night because we had no neighbors. We were a mile from the lake so we drove around and had access to the lake.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Basswood Country RV Resort
    April 8, 2024

    Basswood Country RV Resort

    Very mixed bag

    We booked a site here on our drive back East in August 2023. I saw “resort” and was like “Sign me up” after some real hot and grimy parks earlier in the trip.

    Ultimately, most of the amenities were closed by the time we arrived. The game room, the restaurant, and store were all closing or closed. My kids did get some pool time (it was a nice pool) and loved the blob (whatever you call the bounce pads). There was a nice playground, pavilion and courts.

    What is weird is that this is almost two parks - the front is the “resort” or old-fashioned campground, but where we were placed was in the back with what looked like a lot of long-term, single male residents. It was a longish-walk to front where the pool and store was and it definitely didn’t feel like a resort.

    There were spots open in the front closer to the pool and lake - if we had camped there I think the experience would have been different.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Leavenworth Kansas State Fishing Lake
    April 1, 2024

    Leavenworth Kansas State Fishing Lake

    Quiet spot

    This is a small remote lake of about 160 acres water area. A county road takes you through the area and across the dam. There are gravel pull off areas and a lakeside gravel road. The pit toilet is not well maintained. Not suitable for larger vehicles.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Honey Creek Conservation Area
    March 17, 2024

    Honey Creek Conservation Area

    Good free camping

    Good place for free camping just not a lot of things to do other than explore the woods or fish in the river which doesn’t have great access. They say there’s bike trails but it’s more just access roads.

    It’s a big area with several access points. Here are the coordinates for the camping area along the river 39.95182° N, 94.99083° W.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Weston Bend State Park Campground
    February 17, 2024

    Weston Bend State Park Campground

    Absolutely beautiful

    This place is absolutely beautiful great for taking your family but if you need RV parts or repairs stay away from Camping World they will rip you off or even if you want to purchase an RV read the reviews on them.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Smiths Fork Recreation Area Camping
    December 4, 2023

    Smiths Fork Recreation Area Camping

    Nice little campground below the dam at Smithville Lake

    We tried Smith Fork and liked it. The only downside is that some of the campsites are close together/congested, but that’s not necessarily a big negative. We have Verizon and service was good. Camp hosts were great!

  • Camper-submitted photo from Crow's Creek Campground
    December 4, 2023

    Crow's Creek Campground

    Great Campground near Smithville Lake

    Very nice campground and we’ve stayed here several times without any problems. The hosts are great too. We’ve stayed at sites in Loop C improved which have water and 50amp service. We have Verizon cell service and had no issues.



Guide to Elwood

Camping near Elwood, Kansas, offers a variety of experiences for outdoor enthusiasts. From serene lakeside spots to family-friendly campgrounds, there’s something for everyone in this beautiful region.

What to do

  • Fishing: Many campgrounds, like Crow's Creek Campground, are located near Smithville Lake, making it a great spot for fishing. One camper mentioned, "We had a short walk to the lake for fishing, and the loop had a restroom."
  • Hiking: Explore the trails at Hackberry Hollow Campground in Indian Cave State Park. A visitor shared, "The views and scenery made you feel like you got away from civilization."
  • Wildlife Watching: Campgrounds like Clinton State Park Campground are known for their wildlife. One camper noted, "PLENTY of wildlife. Bunnies, raccoons, and deer were everywhere."

What campers like

  • Clean Facilities: Campers appreciate the cleanliness of the restrooms and showers. A review for Wallace State Park Campground stated, "The bathrooms are pristine—nicer than some restaurants or hotels I’ve been to."
  • Friendly Staff: Many visitors mention the helpfulness of campground hosts. One camper at Blue Springs Lake Campground said, "The camp hosts were LOVELY, some of the friendliest I’ve met."
  • Spacious Sites: Campgrounds like Watkins Mill State Park Campground offer sites that are not too close together. A reviewer commented, "Sites are not right on top of each other, and it looks like they all have a fire pit and picnic table."

What you should know

  • No Alcohol Policies: Some campgrounds, such as Clinton State Park Campground, do not allow alcohol. A camper mentioned, "Only downside was the bugs were horrible here. Swarms of gnats and mosquitoes."
  • Limited Amenities: Campgrounds like Camp Branch Campground have fewer amenities. One visitor noted, "Not rustic enough for me but very nice."
  • Seasonal Availability: Many campgrounds have specific seasons. For example, Blue Springs Lake Campground is open from May 16 to September 3.

Tips for camping with families

  • Choose Family-Friendly Campgrounds: Look for places like Clinton State Park Campground, which has plenty of wildlife and activities for kids. A camper shared, "The site was very secluded and had a very interesting layout."
  • Plan for Activities: Make sure to have a list of activities. One family at Watkins Mill State Park Campground enjoyed the peaceful environment, saying, "We stayed Sunday-Wednesday and it was very peaceful."
  • Pack Snacks and Drinks: Keep everyone happy with snacks. A visitor at Crow's Creek Campground mentioned, "The camp store sells wood and everyone was extremely friendly."

Tips from RVers

  • Check Hookup Availability: Make sure to confirm if your site has the necessary hookups. A reviewer at Walnut Grove RV Park said, "I would recommend staying at the premium pull-through sites."
  • Be Prepared for Crowds: Some campgrounds can get busy, especially during weekends. One camper at Clinton State Park Campground noted, "It was busy and noisy up until quiet hours."
  • Use Local Resources: Campers often recommend checking local stores for supplies. A visitor at Camp Branch Campground mentioned, "The grounds are close to town in case you forgot anything."

Camping near Elwood, Kansas, has its perks and quirks. With a little planning, you can enjoy the great outdoors and make lasting memories.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What camping is available near Elwood, KS?

    According to TheDyrt.com, Elwood, KS offers a wide range of camping options, with 56 campgrounds and RV parks near Elwood, KS and 2 free dispersed camping spots.

  • Which is the most popular campground near Elwood, KS?

    According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular campground near Elwood, KS is Weston Bend State Park Campground with a 4.5-star rating from 33 reviews.

  • Where can I find free dispersed camping near Elwood, KS?

    According to TheDyrt.com, there are 2 free dispersed camping spots near Elwood, KS.

  • What parks are near Elwood, KS?

    According to TheDyrt.com, there are 15 parks near Elwood, KS that allow camping, notably Blue Springs Lake and Perry Lake.