I went on a fact-finding mission today.

I have been looking at camping options for trips. Unfortunately, here in the Midwest there’s not much as far as public lands like National Forests for dispersed camping. I really miss that since it’s all I have known since moving to CO in 1996. It’s mostly private campgrounds in this part of the country.

I don’t stay in the private campgrounds very often. I don’t use the pools, laundry, mini-golf…plus I don’t want the crowds. I cannot see paying for things I don’t use or want to be around so I look for more suitable options.

One thing to consider is how long you will be there. I have talked before about the good deals places like state, city and county parks are. It’s all about what YOU feel like you can deal with having or not having. For me, if I get in late and it’s just a place to sleep I’m looking for and heading out early the next day, then I will find a bare-bones place to sleep. These public lands are a great value.

For longer stays where your site is a homebase for day trips, if you have kids to pacify, or maybe you just like being in a campground with a pool, showers, laundry and such, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s what works for you. For my needs I’d rather save that money for other stuff like fuel and fun so I am always looking at my options.

One thing to keep in mind about public parks and such is seasonality – they may or may not have facilities and utilities open so check before you go. Some private campgrounds make enough money to close and go to the beach for the winter, but many have started being open to some extent year ‘round.

So, after looking at many different areas like Conservation Areas and State Fishing Lakes I decided to go check one out to see if it’s a viable alternative for a place to camp. Hence, today’s adventure.

I put the dogs in the truck and we went for a drive towards Atchison State Fishing Lake to see how it was. I have not sent time in the area so I thought I had not been there. But, on the way I remembered a camping trip with a friend’s family and we had gone to this particular place.

The more I thought about that trip I remembered we were all in a family tent. And then a huge storm rolled through. The tent filled with water and we dashed through the deluge to get everyone in the car with a shoehorn. It was a miserable night.

Atchison is an old town – founded in 1854. It’s supposedly the most haunted city in Kansas. You can visit and even stay in some of them. Benedictine College is there and it is where Amelia Earhart was born. There are some really historic old buildings and houses in Atchison.

As you can see, some of the buildings there are pretty cool. I did see a few historical places I might go back to check out. The city was the “A” in the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad and I do like old trains and railroad history. The Amelia Earhart museum would be on my to-see list too.

As you can see, the lake is about 15 minutes NW of Atchison. K-7 is paved, but the left turn off of it to go to the lake is gravel. This is classic dirt roads America – rolling hills, farmland, beautiful old farmhouses. I do love me some architecture and that barn at the top of the post is along this gravel road. Its beautiful simplicity in that setting was stunning.

You’ll know when you are there:

I pulled in and took a drive around to see what was here. I know this is where we nearly drowned in a tent, but it just isn’t familiar enough to remember where we camped.

It’s a nice little lake. It’s nothing fancy but it was very clean (granted, nobody was there…). I took a left to go around the lake. There are campsites up away from the water, and there are some on jetties in the lake. It’s a “dry” lake – no alcohol or beer.

As I drove around I saw several Canada Geese feeding and nesting. On the little “islands” I saw nesting boxes that had been put out for them to nest away from human touch.

The road has a loop at the end so I returned to the gate and went left. I saw a cabin but wasn’t sure what the deal was – perhaps a private inholding. I did not get a picture of it but it’s just left of the picture below.

The dam and area on the other side is accessible by foot only so my job here is done.

Except for one thing…I needed to go home and look at the website for some more details.

I use an app called Campendium, It has info on virtually any campsite from city parks to Federal lands. The app is free to use in a limited way, but you can get a subscription upgrade (the Roadpass upgrade is the better deal as it includes both Campendium and Roadtrippers). Simply enter in something like “City Parks” and the location you want to look at. You can even find dump stations!

In the app are reviews from previous users, along with cell service and other info along with the comments. I have seen reviews that do not list a camping fee – some say “$0” or “free”. Working in outdoor recreation I learned what I mentioned in my previous post – some will try to get away with something and when they get caught it’s never their fault. I always pay any required fees, as they help support the facilities that enable us to be out there enjoying it.

Dealing with those people, when I see the keywords “$0” or “free” I am more than skeptical so I wanted to find out for myself. I did not see any Iron Ranger fee tubes or site numbers posted. However, on the website I did see reservations through ReserveAmerica for something. That something turned out being the cabin I mentioned above.

At the same time I saw something about fees and primitive camping but possibly that is associated with the cabin. I just found this PDF brochure that says camping is free so that question is answered. Each of these State Lakes has a blue link to the PDF. I got more info out of the PDF than the rest of the website.

Last year I went to Leavenworth State Fishing Lake & Wildlife Area and the two are very similar. There are 40 or so of these lakes scattered across the state and I assume they are all about the same other than the area. I don’t fish or hunt, but a day or two by the water with friends is good. No fees for camping is even more better. These are maintained through our tax money so I’ll use them!

Now that I know what to expect at the KS SFL&WA lakes they could come in handy on longer trips for a reasonable place to stay a night or two. I found out exactly what I wanted to know so it was a good day.

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Well, there ya have it. I hope that any information I post is helpful to places you want to go or see. And, of course, if you have questions about travel, places to see, or things to do send them along and if I can answer your questions I certainly will.

Until next post…

Shawn