• Black and white map of Elk City State Park*click to enlarge​
    4825 Squaw Creek Road Independence, KS 67301

    • Exercise Trail
      • Length- .5 miles
      • Terrain - Gravel
      • Difficulty level – Easy
      • Usage – Walking
      • This is an exercise trail in the Day Use Area. It is 1/2 mile in length and has various exercise apparatus along the trail.
    • Post-Oak Self-Guiding Nature Trail
      • Length- 1 mile
      • Terrain - Natural
      • Difficulty level – Easy
      • Usage – Walking
      • This 2/3-mile trail located on the top of the table mound is a relatively easy hike. The trailhead is located at the scenic overlook near the dam. The old-growth forest setting that this trail winds through is indicative of the Cross Timbers region. A wide variety of tree species can be found here with many specimens being well over 200 years in age. A self-guiding brochure has been developed to coincide with this trail to be used as an interpretive aid for the user. This trail has been designated as a National Recreation Trail under the U.S Department of the Interior’s National Trail System.
    • Green Thumb Nature Trail
      • Length- 1 mile
      • Terrain - Natural
      • Difficulty level – Moderate
      • Usage – Walking
      • This interpretive nature trail is a loop design with its trailhead located in the Timber Road Campground. Features of the trail include two wooden pedestrian footpaths, which are about 33-40 feet in length, and interpretive signing informing hikers of the plants and animals native to this area. The trail is described as a moderately strenuous hike that is somewhat uphill. At the top of the hill, the surrounding trees frame a spectacular view of Elk City Lake.
    • 4825 Squaw Creek Rd
    • (620) 331-6295

    Due to this trails length, it is able to give witness to the hiker many different and picturesque scenes. If chosen to begin the trail at the Scenic Overlook, the trail runs north .2 mile atop edge of Table Mound along the edge of a 20-foot bluff. After dropping through a crack…

    Table Mound Hiking Trail:

    • Length- 2.75 miles
    • Terrain - NA
    • Difficulty level – Moderate
    • Usage – Walking, Canoe/Kayaking

    This linear trail has a trailhead at the Scenic Overlook near the dam and at Timber Road Campground, northwest of the State Park office. Due to the length of this trail, it is able to give witness to the hiker many different and picturesque scenes. If chosen to begin the trail at the Scenic Overlook, the trail runs north .2 mile atop the edge of Table Mound along the edge of a 20-foot bluff. After dropping through a crack in a rock and going down to the foot of the bluff, it turns sharply south.

    For about the next .5 mile, the trail passes along vertical rock walls, boulder fields, and cave-like formations. The trail then drops down through a ravine and crosses the county road. For the next 1.9 miles, the trail winds through forested hills and crosses three small creeks. The final segment is .15 miles and is along an old roadway. This particular trail is blazed with blue paint markings and is considered a moderately strenuous hike. This trail has been designated as a National Recreation trail under the U.S Department of the Interior’s National Trail System.

    • Osage Lowland Bike Trail
      • Length- 2.5 miles
      • Terrain - Paved
      • Difficulty level – Easy
      • Usage – Walking, Biking
      • ADA Accessible
      • This is a paved trail through the Osage Lowland day-use area of the State Park. It has views of the wildlife area, and the south side of the lake and is available for walking or bike riding.
    • Osage Lowland Hiking Trail
      • Length- 3.3 miles
      • Terrain - Paved
      • Difficulty level – Easy
      • Usage – Walking, Mountain Biking
      • This is a paved trail through the Osage Lowland Day Use Area of the State Park. It has views of the wildlife area, and the south side of the lake and is available for walking or bike riding.
    • Eagle Rock Mountain Bike Trail
      • Length- 4 miles
      • Terrain - Natural
      • Difficulty level – Easy to Moderate
      • Usage – Mountain Biking, Canoe/Kayaking
      • This trail was designed with the beginner mountain biker in mind but also for the experienced mountain biker to excel. On its path, which passes by large sycamore and oak trees, the trail has roller coaster dips, straight and winding climbs, downhills, and log jumps with ride-around provided in most places for the less skilled riders. The trail begins along the Elk River just north of the reservoir outlet. The wooded portion of the trail soon gives way to a trek through ice age boulders that cover the hillside. Another segment of the trail winds through tall native grasses. Like all the trails at Elk City Lake, the scenery seen along the Eagle Rock trail is phenomenal.
  • Modern Cabins
    1
    Primitive Cabins
    0
    Primitive Campsites
    53
    Electric and Water Hookups
    85
    Standard Full Hookups
    14
     

    Exploring one of the 28 Kansas State Parks provides visitors an opportunity to see the natural beauty of this amazing state. The state parks system includes a rail trail, historic structures and events.

    • Pileated woodpeckers
    • White-tailed deer
    • Turkey
    • Bobcats
    • Coyotes
    • Indigo Buntings
    • Orioles
    • Chuck-will's-widow
    • Barred Ols
    • Whip-poor-wills 
    • Channel catfish
    • White bass
    • Crappie
    • Flathead catfish

    The world-record 123-pound flathead catfish was caught in Elk City Reservoir.

  • Facilities

    • Fishing dock
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  • Elk City State Park Photos

    About Kansas State Parks

    Kansas State Parks

    Prairie Dog

    On the high plains of northwest Kansas, Prairie Dog State Park is a rare and welcome place to play in the water and shade.

    Kanopolis

    Carson and Custer once explored the jagged prairies in what’s now Kanopolis State Park on horseback.

    Eisenhower

    Within Eisenhower State Park sits 1,000 acres of some of the last wild prairie in eastern Kansas. 

    Mushroom Rock

    Just south of Salina stands one of Kansas' many natural wonders - Mushroom Rocks.

    Lehigh Portland State Park

    Visit the newest State Park in Kansas - Lehigh Portland Trails, a vast network of hiking and biking trails around Elk's Lake in Iola.

    Glen Elder

    Long before civilization, native people came to be healed within the sacred waters of Waconda Springs. The springs are now deep within Glen…

    Historic Lake Scott

    Just north of Scott City lays a stunning canyon nestled among the prairie and natural springs.

    Fall River

    Life’s easy at Fall River State Park, where crowds are few but recreational possibilities are many.

    Prairie Spirit Trail

    A century ago Kansans took the train from town to town, watching the countryside lazily pass as they road the rails.

    Little Jerusalem Badlands

    Welcome to the "Badlands of Kansas" - Little Jerusalem State Park in Western Kansas is truly a sight to see!

    Perry

    Perry State Park sits well within Kansas, but with long ridges of hickory and assorted oaks it wouldn’t look out of place in the…

    Kaw River

    On the Kansas River kayaks and canoes often float in solitude as they pass towering cottonwoods, nesting bald eagles, kingfishers, otters…

    El Dorado

    El Dorado State Park’s 4,000 acres makes it Kansas’ largest. Yet you can be as secluded or social as you like amid landscapes…

    Wilson

    Terms like “world-class” and “one of the nation’s best” are usually unwarranted. Both are accurate for Wilson…

    Meade

    “Oasis” may be the best way to describe this 400-acre paradise shaded by tall cottonwoods, with an 80-acre lake of cool…

    Pomona

    For decades visitors have come to Pomona State Park by automobile. Now, they’re also coming by horseback and bicycle.

    Flint Hills Trail State Park

    It’s the kind of place where you can travel many miles in near silence as your hiking boots or bike tires move over a surface velvety…

    Webster

    Far from any sizable cities, many might consider Webster State Park “in the middle of nowhere.” Those who know the park will…

    Milford

    Kansas’ largest, Milford Reservoir has enough shoreline to reach from Kansas City to Salina. The waters within that 161 miles of land…

    Crawford

    Where the Ozarks spill into Kansas, in the Great Depression the government gave jobs to hundreds of destitute men with the Civilian…

    Cedar Bluff

    A few minutes south of the hustle and hassle of I-70 in western Kansas, life goes relaxingly slow at Cedar Bluff State Park. 

    Lovewell

    It’s been called the “Serengeti of the Sky”, when hundreds of thousands of northward migrating snow geese arrive at…

    Clinton

    Clinton State Park is a 1,400 acre island of unspoiled nature amid the suburban sprawl of northeast Kansas.

    Tuttle Creek

    Tuttle Creek State Park is a story of two special places. One sits where both land and lake are expansive, with a campground on classic…

    Cheney

    The park’s 1,900 acres are laced with good trails and dotted with shaded cabins and campsites. In the reservoir you can sample some of…

    Hillsdale

    Hillsdale State Park is only minutes away from the 2 million-plus people of the greater Kansas City area. It’s a place where…

    Cross Timbers

    Southeast Kansas’ Cross Timbers region is a narrow, rugged, 50-mile finger of steeply timbered hillsides that rise to towering…

    Sand Hills

    Rather than water, it’s the work of the wind that draws people to Sand Hills State Park.

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