Best RV Parks & Resorts near Meriden, KS

Beautiful gated lakeside campground in SE Topeka that can accommodate almost any camper type. There are pull through and back in sites. All are gravel with a picnic table and fire ring. The sites are fairly level and easy to navigate. There is a playground, picnic pavilion, swim beach, laundry, fishing dock and 2 clean bathhouses. The sites are close together, but most will have a view of the lake. There are 50 and 30 amp hook ups and water hook ups. No sewer, but there is a dump station on-site. Rental bikes are near the office to ride around the trail that goes 7 miles around the lake. The whole lake area has a lot going on: softball and baseball fields, multiple playgrounds, disc golf, golf course, tennis courts, paddle boat/canoe rentals, amazing gardens, etc. Several restaurants including fast food, pizza, donut shop, Chinese, 2 bar and grills, and Mexican food are very nearby. There is also a Dollar General, urgent care clinic, liquor store and 2 gas stations. It’s a great location just a few miles south of 1-70. Normally sites are $20/night, $18/night for seniors. Highly recommend!

My husbands job took us to Merriam Kansas and we needed a place to stay, we made reservations at Walnut Grove. We were surprised to find it in the middle of a neighborhood. The staff were very nice and helped us into our site. The sites were on gravel and very close to each other. Walnut Grove was both short and long term campers. There were no tent sites. We had full hook-ups, cell service, and free wifi. We had a picnic table and fire ring and could purchase firewood at their store.

During our stay I was awakened to a startling noise and couldn't figure it out until I went outside and saw the walnuts falling onto our camper. By the time we left, everything was covered(stained) tarnish brown. The park is in a walnut grove hence its name. They had a dog run which was not fenced but provided some grass for the pups. They had a laundry mat and clean showers with good water pressure. There also was a strange noise coming from the trees and when I asked the office what it was they thought it was locusts. I knew that was not their noise so I had to find what it was. After searching, I found that it was tree frogs 🐸 and it was their call. So if you are there in September listen and you will hear them, they love the walnut trees.

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.

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.

The Beauty and peaceful campground suits my wife and I. The showers and laundry areas are clean and well kept. The staff is very nice to talk to. The big draw back is no sewer hookup. There is a dump station close to the entrance that is free for campers staying here. The other draw back is during winter the water is shut off. Again there is water at the dump station. This said the staff showed me plans that have been approved to add pull through sites, full hookups, and cabins. We really enjoy the beautiful sunrises and sunsets and all the geese on the lake.

Getting 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.

General: In addition to a campground, this county park has so much to offer including a seven-mile paved path around Lake Shawnee, disc golf, a heated fishing dock, softball complex, golf course, boat ramps, tennis courts, playground, picnic shelters, arboretum, and the Ted Ensley Gardens. The office was open until 7 pm so check-in was a breeze and the staff very friendly and welcoming. 

Sites/Facilities: The campground itself has 119 sites, situated on a peninsula jutting into the lake. All have water and electric (some 30 amp and some 50 amp). Many have views of the lake but unfortunately, they are all back-in and stacked up very close to each other so there is no privacy between sites. Our site (96) was on the end, so we had privacy on one side but could easily hear people in neighboring sites. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring. The fee is very reasonable ($20 or$18 for seniors). 

Activities: I saw people fishing in the lake, there is a nice playground, and there is a paved path around the lake which made for a nice walk. 

Restrooms: There are two restroom/shower/laundry facilities that were very clean (they had been cleaned by the time I went in at 7:30 am). 

Conclusion: You are not far from downtown Topeka so you will hear road noise and the occasional siren, but this campground and all facilities are a nice oasis near an urban area. I definitely recommend visiting the Ted Ensley gardens while there (no additional admission, by donation only).