Elk City Lake

I've always heard about the awesome trails at Elk City Lake in SE Kansas. The Kansas Wildlife and Parks website lists 8 trails plus the Corps of Engineers manages land featuring camping and trails so we had to decide where to go. We settled on the Elk River Trail in the Corps area. In addition to being very scenic you can backpack on this trail. We wanted to camp along the shore of the lake in a secluded area. We set out around 3 pm and began hiking. Right away this trail becomes very strenuous. It was around 100 degrees so I was glad we brought a lot of water but feared we didn't bring enough. There are cave like rock formations, crevasses and steep bluffs overlooking the lake. After about 3 miles we stopped and found an awesome spot to camp under a willow tree next to the lake. It was very cool! Growing next to the willow was the largest Button Bush I've ever seen COVERED with various species of butterflies. I can't wait to go back there but would like it to cool down a little first. Taking the kayaks would also be a great way to reach these remote spots where privacy is at it's best!!

Here is a map showing some of the various trail heads.

Here are some photos I took along the way:


The sunrise was amazing


A Kansas jungle


The trail is rugged and interesting

Kanopolis State Park

This is one of my favorite parks in the state for camping and hiking. I started coming to this park as a kid and still love it! It really hasn't changed much, would someday like to ride horses out there...

Some of the sights visitors can expect to see while hiking the trails at
Kanopolis State Park.

Clark State Fishing Lake

Camped out here after going through the hills. Clark is a really nice lake! Clear water, tall bluffs, awesome scenery... Curtis said it was like Chase on steroids! We didn't do much fishing, but an old timer showed up and was bringing in 2lb channels after each cast. I told Curtis I was almost embarrassed to fish next to him! He knew what he was doing. Really, I was just too worn out from the heat, it must have been 110° with little to no shade. I had a really good time and hope to get out there a lot more in the future.

I really admire how the KDWP utilizes native stone on most park signs

Looking south from the north end

Going around the lake and facing east

South end, near the spillway

On the southwest edge looking east


Same as above, with a bit of zoom




Clark State Fishing Lake is worth the drive!

Woodson County, Kansas

A few pictures taken in June...

What a great time to be at the lake!

...Through the Woods

Pottawatomie Lake #1 in Konzascope!

Spent a night here with Isabel and Curtis last summer and snapped this panorama on the way out. It's a nice little lake. I caught a black bullhead just after sundown, but didn't have great luck fishing after that. I remember making some really good chili and being greeted by every local that would drive by with their horn honking. It was an enjoyable experience.

Camp Cookin'

Well... All I can really say is "this is how we do it!"

This thing was huge... The bun was half a loaf of bread. Haha!

Curtis, Isabel and I didn't think we were very hungry and decided to split a giant Flat Iron... Turned out to be 2 steaks stacked in the package! I think Trout even got his fill that night!

I love Fried Green Tomatoes and Curtis sure can cook them on the skillet!

Mmmm... Smore please!

Elk River Hiking Trail

Found these old photos from a few years ago. Not the best quality, but thought I'd share them anyhow.

Winfield City Lake

Had a great time camping out at Winfield lake this weekend. It was a quiet evening. The weather ended up being nice and calm. No luck catching any catfish, but like we always say, "Just being out is enough"...


Click Here for park information


The next morning we snapped some nice photos of the wildlife out there...

Centipede (Scolopendra polymorpha)

Juvenile Eastern Yellow-Bellied Racer (Coluber constrictor flaviventris)


Jumping Spider (Phidippus apacheanus)

Ringneck Snake (Diadophis punctatus)

Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)

Great Plains Rat Snake (Pantherophis emoryi)