Best Glamping near Plains, KS

I tent camped at Meade State Park in July 2022. I was the only camper in the Larrabee campground. I picked site 143 because trees almost totally shade it. There was one travel trailer in the Sagebrush campground loop. There were more RVs on the northeast edge of the small lake. I arrived around 4pm and spread out my gear to dry after camping in the rain in Iowa the previous night. It was sunny and breezy and my stuff dried quickly. Then I walked 200 yards to the beach and swam in the lake. It was very refreshing in that summer heat. Afterwards I took a cold shower in the shower house that is connected to the visitor center, which was inexplicably closed on a Wednesday. There was a sign to run the shower until it heats up. Well, I didn’t wait and just took the cold shower, which was also refreshing. After I pitched my then dry tent, I walked the 2 miles around the whole lake. I didn’t want to just hang out at my camp site because there were biting flies that interestingly stopped biting around 7pm and I enjoyed the evening at my site after the swim, shower, and walk. It was a nice waypoint on my road trip.

General: There are several camping areas situated around Lake Meade, some with as few as three tent sites, and others with electric hookups. We camped on a weekday in April and the visitor center was closed when we arrived so we were a little confused looking for the Lake View campground, where we had a reservation. Google maps does not show any campground with that name but by eventually driving around the lake, we found it, but on the map, it was labeled Scout Campground. There were only a handful of campers in our campground and none in the others that I could see. 

Site Quality/Facilities: The sites in Lake View (aka Scout?) have sites scattered about, all on dirt/sand pads. I can understand why one reviewer said that Site 22 was the most coveted as it offers the most privacy of all the sites in this campground. Sites 18 and 19 would be good IF you have small children as the playground is right behind 19 and next to 18. Don’t reserve these sites if you don’t want the noise and activity of kids nearby. As the name suggests, many of the sites have an unobstructed view of the lake. In summer, the sunsets are likely fabulous but in April, the sun set behind the trees and was a non-event at our site. 

Bathhouse: At Lake View, there are four unisex combo bath/shower units; they were  clean. Soap dispensers and air dyers so, if you are like me, don’t forget to bring your towel so you don’t have to use the air dryers. 

Activities/Amenities: Fishing appears to be a big draw. In season, there is also a small swimming beach and kayak rentals. This area is about a mile walk or drive from the Lake View campground. There was one hiking trail of indeterminant length; I was hoping it would go clockwise around the lake but when I looked at the map, it appeared I would have to cross a stream to do so I only ventured a short distance down the trail. Cell service is spotty, ranging from one bar to no service. 

I would imagine that in the summer and on warm weekends, this place is likely hopping but we enjoyed a quiet night on a lake as we were passing through on our way further west.

It's not clear, when you enter the park, where you can park. After driving around the loop a few times, and observing others doing the same, we finally found a small RV parking sign close to the ground about 1-2 feet up from the ground by the large tree, on the east side of the park. We parked under that big tree. Another RV came in and just parked next to the loop on the east side of the park. It was free camping. Highway nearby we occasionally would hear trucks but usually sleep well inside our van so it wasn't a problem after we fell asleep. The bathroom was locked up. There is a dump station and potable water there, free as well. No electric hook ups. Very simple, small park. I would guess there's space for no more than 5-6 RVs but it's off the road a bit and not busy when we were there.