Best Cabin Camping near Fall River, KS

You'd think the Big Oak Campground in El Dorado State Park would be amazing. It's shaded with huge trees, nice sized sites some of which are very spread out, a quick walk to the swim beach and a quick drive to put your boat in the water. Unfortunately these pluses are far outweighed by the negatives. First the bathrooms were horrible. I realize they are older restrooms but they smelled awful, they were never obviously cleaned, the showers were not even a tiny bit private, the door to the restroom was broken and had to be propped open with a tree branch. Just over the bridge at the swim beach they were worse and some of the doors in the women’s room were missing. Yuck! Secondly basic campground rules were not enforced at all. The site across from us easily had 30 people camping and were up until 4am with loud music and a bright light on. I’m not kidding, my daughter was up around 3 to use the restroom and we walked by twice. The family in the site next to us had at least 4 cars and 2 tents set up outside the site on the walking path in addition to their two tents in their own site. The dog free swim beach had dogs on it. We camp with our dogs, one of which loves to swim and even I don’t want dogs on a public beach. Our camping weekend was negatively affected by poor camping etiquette and a sever lack of basic rule enforcement. We won’t be back to El Dorado State Park Big Oak campsite any time soon, at least not during the busy summer camping season. Cross Timbers and Fall River are much better!

I’m exhausted, the last 12hrs has been a dumpster fire. Last thing we expected was a bed bug infestation. Woke at midnight with a few annoying bites, on further inspection we were covered in bed bugs, urrrgghh. After picking them off our pj’s and getting over the initial shock we went home to quarantine our clothes, shower and sleep. Returned in the morning to checkout and trash our sleeping bags and pillows. Everyone is disappointed, and I’m out of pocket for 2 nights accommodation and 4x sleeping gear...whoever the host is should be ashamed of themselves, I’m trying to warn the next people, this cabin is booked solid but in reality uninhabitable! The porch is also infested with burrowing bumblebees, scary for kids and adults alike.

This is a great State Park. Sites are paved with water and electric hook ups. Most are pretty level. Very clean park with nice restrooms and shower facilities. Great water views. The best hiking trails in the State of Kansas are in and around this lake and state park. From this camp ground you can hop on an awesome trail that leads up to the dam over look area. The trail has the lake on one side and rock wall formations on the other. Simply a great hiking area.

When we moved from Oregon to Kansas, we wanted to find a good place to camp! The first place we camped was Elk City and we’ve camped there three times now - it’s a great spot. The first time we had a spot in lower Comfort Cove - it was a lovely shaded spot with lots of space for our boys to explore. Anywhere down close to the lake is fairly busy and can be loud, though. So the last two times we’ve stayed up in the Timber Road area which we just love. It’s quiet, shaded and just beautiful. You can walk to the Table Mound Trail quite easily if you’re in this area. Timber Road area only has pit toilets but they tend to be pretty clean.

Elk City State Park is great. It's full but not crowded, hiking is about as good as it gets in Kansas, dedicated Mountain Biking trails which I rarely see and it's rather pretty. Swimnarea is muddy but the kids didn't mind. Comfort Cove camping is adequate. Shower house is clean (by KS State Park standards), quiet hours respected and my kids enjoyed the playground. Our site is miniature. No place for a clothes line, no fire pit to speak of even though everyone else has one. We are boxed in tighter than a KOA and we feel it. There are sections more spread out with more room per site but not Site 243. Also, very little shade and very few shades sites which is weird in an area abundant in big giant shade trees.

Stayed in an electric + water site in Timber Ridge Loop for a couple nights. Loved the peaceful seclusion offered, realizing it was probably due to the time of year and early in the week. The 50amp was appreciated due to the late high temps, which was abated by our A/C. Enjoyed just walking the various loops and day use areas and watching the White Pelicans fishing on the lake. Verizon service was spotty at best.

We have tent camped here for the last 13 years. Always clean camps, shower house, hot water. Some of the most amazing views and awesome hiking trails.

Spent an October weekend here and had a great time with the kids fishing, hiking, and roasting marshmallows. The wind blewthe entire time stick read kind of annoying, but if we were in the woods it didn't really bother us. Just need to pick a better campsite next time.

Didn't go to far on the trails, but the maps show a number of backcountry sites one can backpack into. Trails were fairly well maintained though a little overgrown at times.

Pretty and simple site. Rolling hills, lots of birding & wildlife, some trails (none difficult). Went mountain biking here. We stayed Manns Cove where sites are most spread out. Everything clean and as we expected.

We have family in this area. This lake is packed during holidays. Any other time it is first come first serve lots. $27 a night for full hookups.

Spent an October weekend here and had a great time with the kids fishing, hiking, and roasting marshmallows. The wind blewthe entire time stick read kind of annoying, but if we were in the woods it didn't really bother us. Just need to pick a better campsite next time.

Everything was clean and well maintained. Some of the trails were a little overgrown at times.

We stayed in the “Basic Camping” area #50 Beautiful views of the lake and plenty of trees to setup a hammock or two. We had some noisy neighbors, and for some reason the hogs (noisy motorcycles) were popular late into the night whilst trying to fall asleep.

We had a nice weekend stay at this lake. We booked site #210, and were happy with the amenities. Fire ring with built in grill worked well. Luckily the lake wasn’t crowded, so we had lots of space to ourselves. Lake staff were pleasant Nice views of the lake, but not very good shore access from where we were at. However at the end of the campsite was a nice fishing dock. The took a short hike and the trail was well maintained. All in all, we found it to be a nice stay and fairly close to home.

Overall nice campground with full hookups. Fairly level asphalt pads. Large pads available for easy backing. Not at the water but close by.

1st time out with our travel trailer!

This campground was a nice surprise for the area. Near a golf course, allowed fires and had restrooms (no showers). Also had a boat ramp and dock along with playground. WiFi, even though we didn't use, was a nice bonus.

My family and I camped at Elk City state park over memorial weekend. There were primitive and RV sites everywhere and lake access in many places. As expected it was crowded and busy. We found a decent primitive spot, however there wasn't anywhere to park. It wasn't that the spots were taken, the sit was just off the road but there was a deep ditch. We ended up manuevering our van through the trees to get to the site.

A group of friends and I hiked the little over 14 mile trail over 2 and a half days it was awesome!

Good camping area and swimming area

Wonderful park. Great overall experience. I loved it. Plenty to do with a great playground for the kids, kids fishing pond, basketball and volleyball courts, and even an archery range. Fantastic hiking along the lake bluff will be sure to wear out your legs! All RV sites are water and electric and most are pull through. It's the most level site I have ever had. The only thing that was weird is that when you check in you have to pay an additional $5.00 per day for your vehicle. It was probably in the fine print when I booked the reservation. I went ahead and paid the extra $10 or $15 to just get the year state parks pass, as we plan to camp in KS more this fall. You may have out done yourself KS.

Ashley here with The Dyrt! We're happy to welcome this property to our platform. Perfect for a hunting adventure or corporate retreat. 15,000 Acres! Book your stay and leave a review for them here.

We normally camp here every weekend that we are able to as it’s a short drive for us. Camp hosts are very friendly and it is well taken care of. They just added new shower houses and are really improving what was already a great place to camp.

Park is nice & clean! Ross at the main entrance is a great guy with lots of information about the parks & lake. Camp host at Sunflower Meadows was nice & helpful. I would give the park 5 stars but the man at the Bluestem Bait & General Store was very rude! So rude that we made the 12 mile drive back to El Dorado to buy all our supplies & bait at Walmart & Angler's Bait & Tackle. The man at Angler's Bait & Tackle was very helpful & went out of his way to help make our camping & fishing trip enjoyable! Just goes to show that customer service can make you or break you. Will definately be going back to Bluestem Point but not to Bluestem Bait & General Store!

....the camp host offers you dog food and asks if your homeless....haha

Bluestem Point Rocks & Rolls! My SOBF (significant other boyfriend) and I have camped here over six times. We didn’t even leave when they had the semi-floods and crazy lightning storms in May & June 2019 (and we only live 30 minutes away). The picnic tables are great because they are shaped like a sail and you can turn them to block the wind or sun. You can also put a tarp on top and block out the rain. The camp hosts (Bob and Jean) are so friendly and accommodating. They also keep the place spic and span.

This was our first time camping in our new travel trailer and we were pleased with having such an easy to use campground so close to home. The sites were level and spacious. We will definitely be back.

The lake was flooded so the water was a bit off, biggest complaint was the lack of shade on our spot and the amount of young people partying all night. Brewery in the city of el dorado wasn’t bad.

Very few 50 amp site to choose from and no 50 amp sites with shade. Decent beach area with playground equipment for kids. The general store carries camping essentials, beer, and ice.