Kansas stands at the crossroads of history, where the state’s National Park Service units showcase the important trails that crossed the state, Kansas’ unique role in US history, and the area’s natural beauty. Today, visitors can find welcoming cities, open expanses, and serenity in the Sunflower State, all with enlightening national park camping nearby. For a tour of the state with an NPS focus, take a drive along the Santa Fe National Historic Trail, which stretches between Missouri and New Mexico, following an important trade route that cut across the center of Kansas. A number of stagecoach stops, interpretive museums, and landmarks can be explored, with RV and tent camping along the route.
Northeast Kansas' Historic Trails
Where autos and RVs now cross Kansas, explorers and pioneers once did. Follow the Journey of Westward Expansion along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, where campers can see the ruts left by the pioneers’ Conestoga wagons. Or, explore mailbarns and stations along the Pony Express National Historic Trail. Northeast Kansas is the state’s main population center and home to the state capital, Topeka. The city’s The Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park showcases a pivotal moment in the quest for civil rights. National park campgrounds are lacking in this part of the state, but surrounding Topeka and beyond in northeast Kansas are a number of private campsites for tents and RVs. State parks are also an option, many of which are set on lakeshores. Clinton State Park, Perry State Park, and Tuttle Creek State Park are a few scenic options.
Hills and Prairies of Central Kansas
The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve protects a tiny remnant of the 170 million acres of prairies that once covered North America, protecting unique flora and fauna, as well as scenic landscapes in Kansas. Here, the Flint Hills provide some of the state’s most dramatic landscapes, with jagged ridges rising from the grasslands. While this is the primary NPS outpost in central Kansas, the state’s largest city, Wichita, is also set nearby in the south-central part of the state. The grand Keeper of the Plains statue, illuminating Ring of Fire, and several museums are landmarks in an energized downtown area. A number of campgrounds are found in the region, though most are not national park campsites. The Army Corps of Engineers has campgrounds on Council Grove Lake and the Marion Reservoir, while a variety of private campgrounds and RV parks are set near Wichita and along Interstate 70, a busy thoroughfare crossing the center of the state. Eisenhower State Park, El Dorado State Park, and Cheney State Park are just a few state park camping options.
Western Kansas
Camping in western Kansas includes a cluster of campsites and RV parks near Dodge City and other nearby towns, particularly along Interstate 70. You can share the land with a prairie dog colony with a campsite at Prairie Dog State Park, or camp lakeside at Cedar Bluff State Park, but for national park exploration, you’ll want to hit Dodge City—an area practically synonymous with the Wild West. Where outlaws fought on dusty streets now stand a number of museums telling wild tales of Wyatt Earp, cattle drives, and bygone days. Not only were outlaws fighting each other, but this era also saw many battles between Native Americans and later settlers. The Fort Larned National Historic Site illuminates this time period. Meanwhile, campers can venture north to the Nicodemus National Historic Site to learn about the oldest—and only remaining—Black settlement west of the Mississippi, built in the Reconstruction Era following the Civil War. To explore the landscapes of the high prairies, head to the 100,000-acre Cimarron National Grassland.
National Parks in Kansas.
National Park Service units in Kansas are all about history.
Kansas stands at the crossroads of history, where the state’s National Park Service units showcase the important trails that crossed the state, Kansas’ unique role in US history, and the area’s natural beauty. Today, visitors can find welcoming cities, open expanses, and serenity in the Sunflower State, all with enlightening national park camping nearby. For a tour of the
Read more...Kansas stands at the crossroads of history, where the state’s National Park Service units showcase the important trails that crossed the state, Kansas’ unique role in US history, and the area’s natural beauty. Today, visitors can find welcoming cities, open expanses, and serenity in the Sunflower State, all with enlightening national park camping nearby. For a tour of the state with an NPS focus, take a drive along the Santa Fe National Historic Trail, which stretches between Missouri and New Mexico, following an important trade route that cut across the center of Kansas. A number of stagecoach stops, interpretive museums, and landmarks can be explored, with RV and tent camping along the route.
Northeast Kansas' Historic Trails
Where autos and RVs now cross Kansas, explorers and pioneers once did. Follow the Journey of Westward Expansion along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, where campers can see the ruts left by the pioneers’ Conestoga wagons. Or, explore mailbarns and stations along the Pony Express National Historic Trail. Northeast Kansas is the state’s main population center and home to the state capital, Topeka. The city’s The Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park showcases a pivotal moment in the quest for civil rights. National park campgrounds are lacking in this part of the state, but surrounding Topeka and beyond in northeast Kansas are a number of private campsites for tents and RVs. State parks are also an option, many of which are set on lakeshores. Clinton State Park, Perry State Park, and Tuttle Creek State Park are a few scenic options.
Hills and Prairies of Central Kansas
The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve protects a tiny remnant of the 170 million acres of prairies that once covered North America, protecting unique flora and fauna, as well as scenic landscapes in Kansas. Here, the Flint Hills provide some of the state’s most dramatic landscapes, with jagged ridges rising from the grasslands. While this is the primary NPS outpost in central Kansas, the state’s largest city, Wichita, is also set nearby in the south-central part of the state. The grand Keeper of the Plains statue, illuminating Ring of Fire, and several museums are landmarks in an energized downtown area. A number of campgrounds are found in the region, though most are not national park campsites. The Army Corps of Engineers has campgrounds on Council Grove Lake and the Marion Reservoir, while a variety of private campgrounds and RV parks are set near Wichita and along Interstate 70, a busy thoroughfare crossing the center of the state. Eisenhower State Park, El Dorado State Park, and Cheney State Park are just a few state park camping options.
Western Kansas
Camping in western Kansas includes a cluster of campsites and RV parks near Dodge City and other nearby towns, particularly along Interstate 70. You can share the land with a prairie dog colony with a campsite at Prairie Dog State Park, or camp lakeside at Cedar Bluff State Park, but for national park exploration, you’ll want to hit Dodge City—an area practically synonymous with the Wild West. Where outlaws fought on dusty streets now stand a number of museums telling wild tales of Wyatt Earp, cattle drives, and bygone days. Not only were outlaws fighting each other, but this era also saw many battles between Native Americans and later settlers. The Fort Larned National Historic Site illuminates this time period. Meanwhile, campers can venture north to the Nicodemus National Historic Site to learn about the oldest—and only remaining—Black settlement west of the Mississippi, built in the Reconstruction Era following the Civil War. To explore the landscapes of the high prairies, head to the 100,000-acre Cimarron National Grassland.