Best Equestrian Camping near Scott City, KS

This was our last stop in our Tour de Kansas. The landscape felt more like the west than the flatlands of Kansas we had come to love. We pulled in on a Thurs. The campground was almost empty. Buy Friday afternoon, it was pretty full. By Sunday afternoon, we had it to our self again. We got a pull through site with 30 and 50 amp. Only 1 shower house was open in early April. But, it was 4 individual rooms, not common area setup.

The lake was small but very pretty, easy to kayak, SUP and fish. There are a few short trails to hike. As other have mentioned, there are amazing sites within 20 miles. The Little Jerusalem SP is a must. In the area, we saw turkey, owl, lots of buzzards, geese, albino buffelo and more cows than i have seen in one place. On Saturday, the local car club drove their vintage cars to the park for a pop up car show. The people were very nice. Garden City is about 40 miles away and offers everything you could want, brewery, good food, shopping galore, etc.

While traveling through Kansas we found a beautiful spot to camp that we would recommend to all campers whether beginning, tenting, RV or even to just stop and spend the day. There is plenty of camping sites, fishing areas, swimming beach, a beach/boat/market house, historical markers and dwellings along with beautiful rolling hills and bluffs. Camp hosts were pleasant and helpful and area was clean. Some areas are shaded better than others as seen on google maps. And not to forget that Monument rocks are about a 20 minute drive from there and a must see-amazing that they could be there.

Standard Campground in middle nowhere Kansas. We were passing through to Colorado and were also planning to see the nearby Monument Rocks and New Jerusalem Badlands SP. We managed to be the only one in this campground. While this campground had a sign explaining their color coded services, there were no actual services. There were no  formal fire rings on grills, but most sites had remains of improvised fire rings. There is a group camping site with large fire ring, grill, volleyball court etc. This campground had two available bathrooms. One is a pit toilet with no lights, so bring a flashlight. The second had sinks, flush toilets, and showers, but had no main bathroom doors and completely open to the elements at the 8 foot height.

As you approach this lake, you will think your GPS is lying to you.  You are in the middle of corn fields and no lake is visible, even when you are just a mile away.  The lake sits in a gorge, and it is you won't see it until you are right at the top of and/or descending into the gorge.  

This is a nice stopover spot for anyone traveling west through Kansas.  We used it as a pit stop before entering Colorado.  It's a pretty lake with good fishing and a nice swimming area.  You can also rent boats to paddle and fish.  Our spot was a bit exposed, but there are plenty of campsites with good tree coverage and privacy.  

The campground and facilities were clean

   It seemed like we drove a long time to get here. This was a stop on our way back home from Colorado. It was around 40 some miles from the Interstate& all we saw were fields upon fields & no trees. The husband was grumbling when we turned off on the road to Lake Scott. I felt a lot better when we took the road down into the valley & saw the lake!

    This is not our first Kansas state park. We've been to Kanopolis & Mushroom Rocks. Lake Scott is supposed to be Kansas' most historic park. We stayed for 2 nights in the Circle campground. Water & electric. There's a few "seasonal" sites that offer sewer. 

As before, there was no one at the gatehouse to check in, so we found our site ourselves. The camp host was never around, but there were a few people in golf carts who waved at us.

   The site had some trees & a view of the lake. The site was clean 

    It was a short walk to the bathroom by the lake. There are flush toilets & showers & I've got to say, they are the filthiest I've seen camping. Apparently it's no ones job to take out the garbage or clean the sinks or toilets. 

    The beach was fairly crowded both afternoons we were there. I have no idea why anyone would want to swim in that disgusting water, but I guess that's all that's around. My husband says he saw fish jumping, so there is that to do.

    This is a pretty scenic park. The rocks & the lake, ect. There was never anyone at the beach store & I found out it's only open on weekends. There was someone at the park office& I got some area info. It was closed by afternoon though. The Steele Home Museum was closed both days we were there.