Ike Kinswa State Park Campground

General: Medium-sized park (100 sites plus several cabins) located on Mayfield Lake with three loops: two with hookups and one without. We stayed in the loop without hookups.

Site Quality/Facilities: The sites are very generous in size with LONG paved driveway pads. The sites on the outer side of the loops are pull-throughs and the ones on the interior are back-in. Large wooden picnic table and a fire ring complete the site (although as with the entire state, there was a burn ban in effect). The sites are all heavily wooded, providing good separation between the sites. 

Bathhouse: Small – two stalls plus two showers – and dated. No hooks or other options to store toiletries and no garbage receptacle. 50 cents for every three minutes of shower time. Didn’t use the shower so cannot comment on the quality but I have definitely seen better showers. 

Activities: Water sports. There were plenty of motorboats out on the lake (not my thing but if it is yours, this looked like a good lake for watercraft). The loops are paved and I saw many riding their bikes. There is a trail that skirts the lake– a little over a mile point to point but with many paths leading from the campground loops. Rocky with lots of tree roots but very scenic. 

Very pleasant stay here and would return.

We chose Ike Kinswa for the first camping trip together with our 3 year old grand twins and their parents because we had a brief visit there in 2021 and were impressed by their campsites. They have wonderful sites for RVs and tents - large but somewhat private. Plenty of leg room for restless 3 year olds. Bathrooms are convenient. Our sites had views of the lake and access to an lake trail. Staff was responsive to any questions. The Ranger even noticed our kids had left early and got us a refund for one night . This was processed already to our credit card a couple of days after he offered it. Lake Mayfield, where it is located, is beautiful for kayaking, fishing, swimming in approved areas, canoeing, as well as water skiing. During our visit there weekend off the 4th of July there was not an over abundance of motorized boats, though. You can just put up your hammock and enjoy!

For off season campers, if you’re going on a weekend, we highly recommend making a reservation. We reserved a spot one day ahead of time and it was only one of two left with hookups. When we arrived, the other spot was also taken. It’s an $8 fee to reserve online but it turned out to be worth it. We were there on a holiday weekend so keep that in mind. There is campfire wood available but no camp hosts during the off season so if you do not bring your own wood (like us), you’ll need to flag down a ranger who will grab some for you. They come by fairly regularly so it’s easy to do. The sites have fire rings and picnic tables and at least the one we were at (63) was paved and level. There wasn’t a ton of privacy between sites but it wasn’t a parking lot. $30/night for partial hookups.

The trails along the lake are alright. There isn’t a lot of distance of trail but the views of the lake are beautiful. There is another trailhead on the other side of the highway, which we did not explore, but I suspect it would be more of the same.

There was solid cell service (Verizon) the whole time. Overall, good place if you’re fine with lots of people.