Best Tent Camping near Ottawa, KS

Neat and peaceful place. Well maintained! Boat ramps, RV hookups, benches, shelter areas, bathrooms, showers, tent camping, beach and more!

Camped here many times. Even before had camper and was still tent camping. Great fishing not far. Boat ramp close. Have left boat in water on bank.

100 glorious acres. A little rustic but beautiful. Pull-Through and Back-In sites. MOST shave Electric, Water and Sewer. Tent Sites are available. Terri Karper is a wonderful Hostess.

The name of this site is Adam's Grove.

• 30 tent sites with no hookups
• $6 fee per site
• Boat ramp

Adam's Grove does provide the closet boat ramp if you plan on picking up passengers off the beach near the dam (at Michigan Valley Park).

We used our motorcycle tent trailer. They were kind enough to let us stay in a tent site which was actually by their ponds. It had electric and a light with a switch which was perfect because we arrived just after sundown. I was able to setup my outdoor kitchen and cook without fumbling with a flashlight. The facilities were nice and clean. The main building is a refurbished old barn which was very cool!

This campground has it all! Plenty of sites with both shade and sunshine. Big sites for big RVs as well as some perfect hidden little tent sites. You can also rent cabins if you please. Close access to trails and disc golf, plenty of bathrooms, picnic shelters, and gorgeous prairie views! It was a rainy day, but that didn’t stop me from loving it!

I’m in my 30s traveling solo and this stop was a great place to regroup and take advantage of their amenities like shower, laundry, etc. The bathrooms were clean and the staff was very friendly. If you are traveling with kids this is a terrific place to stop because there are lots of things to keep kids busy like a playground and pool. The sites aren’t very private and road noise from the nearby highway can be heard throughout the night if you’re tent camping but it didn’t really bother me.

• Dyle

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This is not a campsite I will go back to. When we drove into the park and paid the entrance fee, we were told to find a place that wasn't occupied then go get a tag from the host. We found a site and started getting our stuff out of the car and pretty soon the campground host came by and told us we had to leave. She assigned campsites when people drove in, which is not what we were told. After telling her we wouldn't leave, she left, then came back and said we could stay. 

The campground itself was pretty, but a lot of people in RV's (we tent camp) who were there to fish and party, so I thought it was noisy.

This is the only park we could find. But it’s great. There are 45 RV sites here and about 8 I think have electric and water. A dump station is here too. The remaining sites are water only and are good for tent camping as well. Gravel and paved sites for water and electric. We had finished eating dinner and noticed a car sitting down the driveway so my dog and I circled around behind the car and discovered it was a police car. We spoke to the officer and he said they keep a close watch on the park because it’s safe and they want to keep it that way. Cost is $10 per night and there’s a registration drop box at the entrance.

Pros Off-season was quiet Open bathrooms were nice and well kept. Easy access to trails Lots of wildlife, vultures, deer, etc. Well marked and plenty of them spots Marina was a quick bike ride away and had a lot to offer during the season. Primate loops had some good spacing and tree cover, along with views of the lake. Inner loops not so much Potable water available year round. Was drinkable.

Cons Signs marked closed bathrooms but not the closest open bathrooms. One per campsite was still open with heat and electric. Weirdly all vaults were closed Office and hosts were unavailable so we had to leave for Casey's for firewood. While before the season, someone told us it's typically impossible to get firewood because the office is usually closed. Signs to the entrance to park and n avigation were pretty small, impossible to read at night, not lit. Electric parking pass only issued one day pass at a time. Would do the paper pass across the parking lot next time. Spacing is definitely a bit crowded for tent camping privacy this time of year. Will be curious to see how it feels in the summer/fall.

This has everything you want! Nice camp host! Swimming beach! Showers & nice toilets & a tent area and a RV area to separate it. Most tent and RV spots have shade!!! Tens have electic & It's CHEAP !! 20$ for electric tent & camper! They have water spouts at the tent area as well!! A walking path & a park and a huge dog park!!!!

Love love love this place!!

Great place, near Kansas City.

Owner is great. Open year round. In the country but a short trip to a small town or an hour to Kansas City.

We brought our two dogs here with us and camped. There are so many spots you can set up at on the trail that nobody went to. Keep in mind though that the trail gets very muddy if it has just rained! We had a great experience here right up until the last morning when a hobo that was sleeping in his tent there decided to knock on our tent at 6 am wondering if we stole his wet wood from outside his tent. And YES he indeed was homeless because he told us himself and then shortly after that said he was drunk as well. We got up and started packing to leave as we were talking to him because we felt we were in danger. Told the man to leave several times and he didn’t even want to step away from our site. Over all was a good place but just anywhere you go keep an eye on others around you and definitely bring protection, people are CRAZY!

Beautiful lake and great sunset. Tent spots are on gravel so bring a very good sleeping pad

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.

There are limited sites for camping at Hillsdale Lake.  But they are all nice and many offer waterfront access.  Great fishing on Hillsdale and they have a really nice Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Recreation operated firearms outdoor range facility too.

The caretakers here are the sweetest people. Taking my 2 and 6 year old on their first camping experience we chose this place and they told us as we checked in that they wanted their 1st camping trip to be awesome...loaded us up with some complimentary firewood...let us pick out our tent plot, and directed us toward the bathrooms and drinking water....and that's where the good part of the review ends. We had to change plots 2 times bc as we unloaded our gear and attempted to set up camp we were welcomed and not left unpested by snakes of all sizes and large insects...it was dark when we managed to lay my already sleeping children down in the tent...the night air was clouded with mosquitoes but the moon was full and the stars were amazing. Coyotes could be heard in the distance...we thought...until around 3 am when we were startled awake by what appeared to be large dogs without leash, collar, or owner licking our tent. Circling our tent....The morning daylight couldn't come fast enough...The bathrooms were dirty and infested with various insects and covered in cobwebs...a short walk to the waters edge sent us home w 2 children covered in chigger and mosquito bites ...extremely disappointing.

I slept here on my way from Denver to Washington DC in February 2021. I have a mini camper in my CRV, I pulled up at midnight, went to a spot right by the shore and saw some incredible stars. Free and easy, and a nice change from all the flat dry Kansas fields.