Best Campgrounds near Paola, KS

Stayed one night on a roadtrip out to RMNP. Site 246 was at the bottom of the hill, right on the lake. Looks like there had been heavy rains, so evidence of a lot of run-off through these lake-front sites- but we were in a a teardrop and no rain on our one night. Bathrooms were clean- note, there are several bathrooms in the loops, but showers are located in a central bathroom nearer the entrance; still not a long walk. While lots of big RVs, it was not crowded down by the lakefront sites. Pretty quiet, except for the one camper who had his music elevated while setting up camp. But certainly quiet after dark.

Very nice parks. It is a major recreation center for the county. Well maintained grounds. Minor annoyances like check in and check out times are the same so we had to wait for the people in our site to leave. We enjoyed taking time to go to Osage Fort and Missouri town. Two historical landmarks worth the visit. Our StarLink worked well. We did not do as much because we were working and because of the rain. The bathrooms were merely adequate, poorly designed without hooks where you need them and a long walk. There was a handicap toilet near us but it was clearly designed by a committee as I can’t see how anyone with a physical handicap could have used it. The light switch and the door lock were high up. The water in the sinks was cold.

The sites are well spaced and there is a variety of dry and full service. The bathroom and shower facilities are a little disappointing. When I checked out the shower room there was a huge pool of water between the door and the showers. The drains had become clogged again which seems to be an issue in Clinton State park. People are really friendly though. We decided to stay in Prairie Clover just due to the shower/washing situation. We found a really nice full service site with tree shade throughout the day, but not too dense. There's a ton of butterflies around here too.

Lots of dry sites we liked. Stayed 6 nights through the weekend as a first come first serve basis. As such we found it difficult to understand the Kansas State park booking and permits system. You can buy day or yearly permits. You can book online a minimum of 2 days in advance with reserve America. The best shower/bath room is near the entrance to prairie clover in the SE corner. Some of the doors are hard to lock, the drains are plugged. It's really hit and miss. Katie in the park office saved us as newbies. There's a camp host at Prairie Clover campground.

It was a very lovely county park. We stayed for nights. The sites were well situated such that you felt you had plenty of privacy. The staff was nice but since entrance time and exit time are both 2:00 we had to wait for our spot to open which was difficult as we both needed to check in with our jobs. Our only complaint was the bathrooms. Not particularly clean and oddly designed. The one nearest to us was a poorly designed handicap accessible bathroom, which was huge but difficult to use. Not sure how you could reach the door lock from wheel chair? There was toilet paper but no hand soap or paper towels just a blower. Rainy weather for the most part but did take time to go to the Fort Osage National Historic Landmark and Missouri Town which is part of the Jackson County Parks & Rec. Nice way to spend a rainy kind of day. Beautiful Lake, with fishing, and boating.