Looking for the best tent campgrounds near Perry Lake? The Dyrt helps you find campsites near Perry Lake with tent camping. Would you prefer a quiet dispersed site or an established camgpround with amenities? Either way, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect place to pitch your tent.
This recreation area is part of Clinton Lake
This day-use picnic area, located just north of Clinton Lake in the hills of Kansas, is the perfect spot for a party or family gathering.
Congress authorized Clinton Lake in 1962, and the finished reservoir was filled in 1980. While the Dam and Reservoir were originally built for flood control, the area has now become a recreational oasis for millions of visitors to enjoy the beautiful green Kansas backdrop.
Clinton Lakes beautiful setting of steep bluffs, wooded shoreline and clear water is unequaled among Kansas lakes. Shoreline development has been limited in an effort to preserve as much of the natural setting as possible.
Clinton spans 8 miles up the Wakarusa Valley and covers 7,000 surface acres. If the lake ever approaches the top of its flood pool, an additional 5,800 acres will be covered, extending the area to 13 miles along the valley floor.
A horseshoe pit, sand volleyball court, softball field and playground are all provided at Overlook Park.
Clinton Lake offers opportunities for boating, fishing, canoeing, jet skiing, swimming and countless other water sports, making it the main attraction to area.
The lakes fish and wildlife resources provide sightseers, fishermen, and hunters ample opportunities for their sports, and Clinton Lake is well-stocked with crappie, walleye, channel catfish and white bass.
Wildlife viewing is also a popular activity, with bald eagles, white-tailed deer, Canada geese, wild turkey and other wildlife in abundance at Clinton Lake.
Three trail systems are located around Clinton Lake, including the North Shore, South Shore and the George Latham Trails. All offer hiking, biking and equestrian opportunities within a 20 minute drive.
Overlook Park has two picnic shelters available for up to 100 guests. Flush toilets and drinking water are available for visitors convenience.
The Visitor Center, located on the northwest side of the dam, just down the road from Overlook Park, has several informative displays covering topics such as the history of the area, reasons for the dam and the wildlife in the area.
Scott Creek Campground features 60 campsites all with water and electricity. Sites 21,33 and 60 are 50 amp sites. Reservations can be made 2 days in advance at reserveamerica.com. There are two shelters available for campers to use on a first come first serve basis. Scott Creek has a vault toilet but no shower house. Camp Hosts and self-pay stations are available at each campground.
$10 - $50 / night
This recreation area is part of Hillsdale Lake
Guide
Camp host was friendly. Very few primitive sites so we tent camped on an electric site. Clean facilities.
Guide
Neat and peaceful place. Well maintained! Boat ramps, RV hookups, benches, shelter areas, bathrooms, showers, tent camping, beach and more!
Guide
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.
Guide
Stayed for a one nighter on a tent site. Area was clean and maintained. There is no restroom close to tent sites but it is just up the hill at the rv side.. also when I decided to camp here showers were not listed as an amenitie but there are showers in the restroom which was a present surprise. My kid enjoyed the playground near the lake and I enjoyed the disc golf course on site. Bring cash for your fees to put in the drop box.
GuideThe name of this site is Adam's Grove.
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).
Guide
This campground is on the northwest side of Clinton Lake. All the activities one would associate with a lake like boat ramps, beach, hiking/biking trails, full hook-up sites, tent camping, playgrounds, etc. The small town of Clinton is nearby and has a small store for items you may forget. It's our go to when we go to Clinton Lake.
Scout
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.
Scout
We have tent camped here often. Most of the sites are spacious. It's not unusual to find a site with no neighbors. The campground is uphill from the lake but the are hiking trails to the lake as well as other trails around the park. Vault toilets and flush toilets with showers are available. They could be better maintained. Overall it is a nice quiet campground for a quick getaway. Also, very close to Lawrence.
Scout
This park is convient to I-29 but far enough off the highway to be quiet and peaceful. Tent sites, full hookups as well as rooms and cabins are available. As a point of interest, this used to be a favorite fishing spot of President Harry S. Truman, check out the Mother in Law cabin—built at his request.
Traveler
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!
RangerThis 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!
Guide
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.
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LegendIn the home of Amelia Earhart, you will find Warnock Lake, a small lake property with big opportunities for camping!!
The lake itself is smaller and allows you to fish or take out small kayaks or paddle boats for recreation although you must provide your own. Swimming is also an option and there is a small dock which can be access from the side of the camping area or the entry.
A large special earthworks is on property, created to honor the likeness of Amelia Earhart herself, although viewing it from above is suggested as the viewing platform leaves much to be desired. And continuing with the legacy of the famous aviator, a park called the Forest of Friendship allows you a get away with a unique atmosphere. It is here that you will find the bicentennial dedication from the city of Hutchison to the US honoring the many trees from around the world in addition to some very famous people which have made it possible.
In addition to all of these amazing things rests a camping area designed to cater to those who are looking for a day away. Offering both RV and tent camping options the space is nice and has large shade trees. RV offerings are equipped with 30 amp connections and shared water spigots. Primitive tent camping is located a bit further down the roadway and is spaced much more loosely with common areas for trash collection and water.
I noticed that pets are allowed at the campsites which makes it great for the entire family.
Pricing for stay is very inexpensive and there are roll over campsites available outside of the main camping loop with a bit less privacy from the traffic of the roadway. The community itself is only a short drive from the campsites and it wasn’t crowded even on a summer day.
Great place to relax if you are in this area of Kansas!!
RangerCampground is great overall, with a walkable trail just past the showers, clean restrooms and easy to access sites. There are only 3 basic tent sites, making it hard to nab. #4 had a decent amount of privacy, however most other electric sites do not. As an electric site, there was not a lot of ground space for tents, we settled on gravel with reflectix to buffer the ground. Check in was easy, and in walking distance. Site was pretty noisy, even after hours, a few kids running around with speakers on blast definitely were less than optimal.
Guide
This is a neat area if you're into some light hiking. It has a loop trail starting at a parking area. You can also tent camp at the trailhead. It has a pit toilet and water access. The trail is maybe 4-5 miles long and takes you up and down some slight grades. There are numerous primitive campsites along the trail that are marked, or you can venture off to your own site within the area. Many are directly up against the lake. The marked sites are relatively cleared and many people have improved them by building benches, fire pits, etc. My son and I had a great time the 2x we've been out here.
Guide
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.
Traveler
We were tent camping and they out us by the river and it was wonderful. They have huge lots and very friendly service. Breakfast can be purchased and is brought to your campsite! A con was the bright lights from the center of the site; enough to keep us up but not enough to help us see at night while setting up. Another was the very, very loud train that blows its horn everytime it passes late at night (around 12am), in the middle of the night (2:30am-ish) and very early morning (maybe 5am?). I was so exhausted that I needed to sleep another few hours after checkout; luckily, I wasn't driving, so if you are, you might be tired by 11am checkout if you don't sleep early enough to account for the times you're woken up by the train a few times through the night.
RangerPros 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.
Guide
Spent 1 night in RV while traveling through on a family roadtrip summer 2015. Nice area. Electrical hookups. Campground located on Perry Lake. We didn't fish the lake as we were out of state & didn't buy fishing licenses. We did see people fishing & mostly catch species of bass. Went for a morning hike before leaving. Very reasonable rates.
LegendMost KOA campgrounds I have been to are exceptional with great sites for all types of camping. However, there are a couple of them that have one or two sites that leave you scratching your head. We were supposed to camp at site 18, but it was not level and had tire ruts all the way to the back of the site. There was nowhere to set up our tent without it being uncomfortable throughout the night. With that said, we moved over to site 19, which was level. The tent sites are small for the tenters and there is little to no shade.
The good things about the sites are that they have water and electricity. There is even a night light and a place to charge your electronic devices. There is a fire ring but no lantern hanger.
The bath house is modern and up to date; however, the shower dressing area has got to be the smallest I have EVER seen at a campground. I estimated the dressing area to be about 18” x 24”. I’m not a math whiz, but even I can figure out that an average sized person would have difficulty moving around in the dressing area.
I might give it a higher rating if we were camping in an RV or even in our teardrop camper, but another problem was the noise. I was warned that there would be a train passing through, and the person I spoke to offered to throw in a pair of ear plugs and a night mask. Now I know why. There was a light from a nearby cabin lighting the whole tenting area, and the trains were one right behind the other… ALL NIGHT LONG!!!!! Every thirty minutes or so(could have been every twenty minutes, but I’m not sure), a train passed by. It wouldn’t be so bad, but it was LOUD!!!!!!!
We were on our way to Colorado, and the next time we are passing through, I will make sure to skip this campground.
LegendGetting 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.
LegendThis is a charming little campground, and I do not use the word“charming” often. It is charming because it has so many quaint relics of the past, including the town itself. At the entrance to the campground, there is a building covered with old signs, hubcaps, etc. As a photographer, I couldn’t be happier to have the opportunity begin taking pictures immediately. As we drove down the road to our campsite, we came across such oddities as a bicycle halfway up a windmill, an old original train depot with an antique threshing machine next to it, and more. The campsites are flat and fairly spacious. We were lucky that the campground was not at full capacity because many of the sites are in pairs. Our pull-through site was within inches of the adjacent pull-through site. Although there was no picnic table at our site, we could have used one on the adjacent site, and we brought our own table. The site did have a fire pit, but we arrived late and didn’t have time to worry about getting wood. There are seasonal and permanent campers at the campground, and you have to reserve early during peak seasons. I talked to one person at the campground and he said that it was booked up one time when he wanted to stay. Although the site we got was gravel and pull-through, there are sites without power by the creek, in case you want to tent camp or just don’t need hookups. The bath house was clean, and the owner told me that it is sanitized every day. The shower stalls are spacious and there is hot water. There is a playground for kids and activities for older people—basketball, corn hole, etc. The only drawback is that you can hear trains passing through during the night about three or four times. It didn’t bother me since I love the sound of trains, but it does wake you up since the tracks are so close to the campground. The town is within walking distance of the campground, and it is worth walking(or driving) to it. The buildings are interesting architecturally, and the town is known for antiques. Overall, I really liked this campground. It may not have all of the amenities of the larger campgrounds, but it is quiet(except for the trains) and peaceful.
Scout
Set up my nice brand new tent on Sunday. Confiscated by Rangers on Tuesday while I was at work. My animals were sent to the Humane Society & sterilized. (Breeder meat rabbits). They claimed they had the authority to enter the tent to see if anyone was sick or dead. My name & phone number were inside the tent. The tent was returned but not put back up. My animals were not returned. 10 days after, 2 rangers opened & entered my tent AFTER being told by another camper that I had been there & had gone to work. Another tent was clearly abandoned, ratty & in a clearly marked no camping zone. The left it for 8 days, falling down & unsightly. Other campers left/leave gross amounts of trash, a sleeping bag on a smoldering campfire... Litter (including feminine products), liquor bottles & fishing lines & hooks are left all over the lake fishing & camp sites. No rangers. The good ones are kept busy elsewhere & the bad ones - - ? Really sad. It's such a beautiful & sometimes peaceful lake.
Traveler
Pne of the closest to the Kansas city metro lots of glamping
Scout
Beautiful lake and great sunset. Tent spots are on gravel so bring a very good sleeping pad
Scout
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!
TravelerWe 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.
Tent camping near Perry Lake in Kansas offers a blend of natural beauty and outdoor adventure, making it an ideal getaway for nature enthusiasts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Perry Lake?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Perry Lake is Woodridge Park with a 4.7-star rating from 13 reviews.
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