Best Glamping near Iola, KS

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.

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!

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.

Beach, camping, boat ramp, fishing

We stayed in late June in the Rocky Cove Campground on the lake.  The lake itself is dotted with campgrounds.  Rocky Cove has concrete pad sites, nice and level, both on and away from the lake.  The lake sites have power only, and the Prime sites (opposite the lakeside sites) have water and power both.  We don't have water in our teardrop, so we got water from an unoccupied site.  

The sites are small, and for the summer, don't stay in site #118 (a lakeside site), as it has no protection from the sun.  The sun sets across the lake and although the view is great, the sun bakes the campsite from morning until 9 pm.  The site next door, #120 is nice and shady.  In winter, the desirability of the sites might be reversed.

The odd thing about the campground is that there is no bathroom or showers.  At all.  You have to go to the next campground over, Oak Point.  Not convenient.  Overall, Oak Point appears to be the better choice, with more trees, larger sites and a convenient bathroom (with ice machine at the entrance).  I should note the restroom was "clean enough".  Not terrible, not great.  The shower I used had merely a trickle, but my wife's had great pressure.  The hand dryer in the men's room looked corroded and was out of order (in Oak Point)

All the campgrounds appeared quiet, and the people there were friendly.  We would go back, but stay in Oak Point.

I stayed in one of the airbnb cabins this past summer and it was super comfortable. Everything I needed for a great stay. Awesome managers and such a peaceful surrounding. I know there are new pedestals and hookups for RVs and they have been working on the swimming pool for 2023. The A-frame cabin is being renovated for a new laundry facility and new showers/bathrooms too.

Passing through and skeptical of the 9 miles off the main highway the campground was located but so very pleasantly surprised!! The campsites were spacious with trees and the view of the water was incredible, sunset was magnificent. Nice loop to walk the dog and quiet. We actually stayed awhile in the morning to cook breakfast and enjoy the view a little longer before hitting the road! Only negative was electric only, no water but we always travel with a full tank.

We reserved only about an hour ahead on recreation.gov, upgrading our overnight plan considerably. With Dad's senior national park pass, site #3 (60' gravel for up to a 40' rig) (electric only) was only $8.50. As we were parking, the gentleman (Greg, we think?) caring for the park greeted us and on finding we had pre -registered, offered us an upgrade to a full hook up site (we could see only 2 other campers in the campground). Site 15 was a wonderful upgrade! Lots of wonderful birdlife here.

Note, bring your own soap to restrooms in many of the Core of Engineer campgrounds. For the amazing savings, its an easy enough change to make!

Awesome campground,

The fivestar loop is decent for tent camping. The sites were fairly small and jammed next to each other, and half of them didn't have great tree cover, but they all have a nice firepit and picnic table.  It was super duper windy off of the lake for us, so be ready for wind.  Bathrooms were nice and clean and the staff were very nice.