Reviews of Wilson State Park (Park)

Margaret Keenan

Even flooded, this is a beautiful place to stay. I do wish there were a few more signs for the campsites. When you are driving a long RV it's tough to turn around when you miss the turn for your site! We really haven't found a bad site yet, though. Some have more level areas to sit next to your camper, but all the views are great.

Cody Bevan

Great state lake to take the family to. At over 9,000 acres of accessible water there is plenty of room to enjoy without feeling crowded.

Marlis Lantz

Beautiful place! Nice campsites, although beware of stickers and zebra muscles in the water.

Darlene Earl

It was beautiful and clean!

nicholas rickard

This place has great trails and the staff is always friendly.

Frank Austin

Great fishing!

Nevada Jimmy

Amazing place to enjoy

Cassie Williams

Lake and camp grounds are clean and well kept. Had a great time

Marcia Graf

Few places to get to the water. Most waterside access is blocked off due to water level so high, so you have to carry anything you want for camping or fishing a good long ways.

Patricia Plotner

Had a great time, fishing and relaxing

Ronni P.

Beautiful! Great trails and perfect for camping. Very nice swimming areas. Known as cleanest lake in kansas.

wayne neal

Love camping here

Greg Geer

This is a beautiful lake with a great bike trail.

Brian Holland

We stopped by for an overnight stay while traveling cross country. Very secluded and quiet. There were only 3 other campers in the campground. Camping was FREE unless you wanted electrical hookups!!!!!. You check in and pay at an honor box.would have given 5 stars but my site had an issue with reverse polarity on the electric. We just used battery power instead of moving sites. I would definitely camp here again if passing through.

Roberta Kroupa

Very helpful and informative

Mark Arnsperger

Beautiful place

Morgan Laney

Great park! Very clean and tons of things to do and see.

Lynette Dick

What a beautiful evening for kayaking. The water was so clear and nearly like glass.

Jennifer Bee

loved the park, even though we planned on staying 3 nights, but the storm ruined our tent. beautiful cliffs and beautiful pristine waters. would have enjoyed it more if the weather wouldn't have ruined our time. but hey! it's Kansas right? lol weather changes so often here :)

Billy Clark

Best singletrack trail in the state, clear water beautiful campsites and amazing vistas.

Gabby Markham

Love this park , had so much fun.

Chuck Chuckles

Confusing campground, decent bath houses, water has a strange taste to it

RON PERKINS

Very clean lake. Love it here

Lisa Griffin

Love this place

Sandy Mikesell

Beautiful place, but ridiculously hard to find! It took us 2 hours to find out campsite. No mention in the confirmation email that there are 4 parks and no directions. It's beautiful once you get here though

Roskerino

Hooo

Pam Oshel

Beautiful lake

Kate Muir

My favorite lake

David Knappert

Best mountain bike trails in Kansas, also one of the nicest lakes in the state

Jennifer Lane

Best lake in the state! The water is super clear and the surroundings are beautiful.

Sara Mcafee

This year (2019) the lake is dealing with weather and water level issues- but this is my favorite lake in the state of KS to go to for summer fun. There are plenty of camping and boating opportunities at this lake.

James Cathey

It’s a really nice place to have fun swim and go Tubing.

David Sells

Love this place

ZEE GEE

Rad spot. we camped on a peninsula spot with a beach. it was seriously top notch! the water is really clear. watch out for scorpions though!

Jeff Eck

Fresh clean water, I didn't know Kansas had water like this. I was impressed and had a great time in the local towns. Plan on making the trip back.

Michael Heeren

Awesome time

Emily Crain

It's a very pretty lake. Lots of things to do with bike trails, camping, fishing, and boating. It took us awhile to find a swimming beach, but the one we found was pretty nice, but a little rocky. The bridge and dam were pretty terrifying if you have a fear of those kinds of things!

Al Risden

My main purpose for visiting our mid-western lakes is night photography. I have included photos from this lake and was very satisfied with the results.

Gtiede@gmail.com Nugget

Was a beautiful day. Very clean. Wished the fish were bitting

David H

Beautiful lake, killer single track trails!

Kara Grover

Great kayaking lake. Clear water and beautiful scenery!! Wildflowers, multicolored sandstone bluffs, great camping sites.

Ray Smith

Nice lake in the windiest part of Kansas. I suggest an RV over a tent. The wind blew our tent apart

Michelle Dicken

Rock formations and geology not found anywhere else in the Midwest! Looks like a terrific boating and camping lake! Saltwater lakes with saltwater fish. Cool!

Gordon Willis

Amazing green hilly landscape, and beautiful lake, in the middle of Kansas. Unexpected beauty.

Robert Harms

Great food in Wilson and flyboys in Sylvan Grove great beer lake is clear and beautiful

Gerry Mixon

Nice and quiet and a few big rig sites

Skyblue Thunder

Good for a while then it became very much useless because we could not get the tent Set up in the wind. Great view

Joe O'Mara

Hidden in the middle of Kansas I was never expecting to find such a beautiful park! Camped here two nights, each night was two weeks apart, and absolutely loved it! The park is beautiful and well maintained and camping along the lake made it that much better!

Amber Hopkins

Absolutely beautiful! My brother in law had his wedding here and it was amazing. We rented out the cabins they were gorgeous on the inside. One thing when our tent campers went to use the bathroom in the middle of the night they did say they had a mouse problem in them. The views are amazing the water was so perfect for pictures. We are taking our family back this next summer to enjoy more.

Bill H

Great biking trails for all levels. Very technical and some spots and others just easy riding. Campgrounds are nice. Water is Crystal Clear sand bottom. Can't find this anywhere in Kansas

Farley Family

Wish i could live here

Buck Cates

Beautiful terrain, clear clean water

Samuel Wagner

Someone above wrote that this lake is salt water. I'm a local and have spent decades at Wilson Lake...the salt water statement is absolutely incorrect. The reviewer in question clearly had too much salt on his margarita glass while in the lake. Wilson is 100% fresh water...NO SALT whatsoever.

Ginger Lewman

Nice, clean, well maintained. Love all the trails! A lake is about more than just the water and these folks know it.

Gennadiy Mantsevich

Interesting place to camp with tons of hiking and bicycle trails. Not a lot of shade, and windy.

Ashley Gilbert

Looks better in the pictures. Exceeded my expectations for Kansas however. Poor cell service.

Robert Pearson

Couldn't fish too many rude people on boats and jet skies pulling into spots where anglers we throwing out poles

Ryan B

Wilson Lake is a wonderful lake if you want to go fishing camping or just have a nice day around some water.

Leona Groesbeck

Beautiful water views, nice hikes, clean heated bathroom,/shower, helpful staff. Easy parking.

Mark Gullett

This review is for the 25 miles of mountain bike trails in and around the park. I've ridden here quite a few times and try to stop every time I pass by on my frequent drives between Colorado and Missouri due to it's close proximity to I70. The trails are generally pretty fun with nice views of the lake, but I don't think they get a lot of use. The reason for my average rating is they are having quite a bit of erosion and the trails can get quite a bit overgrown. They do mow the grass beside the trails sometimes so it can be hit or miss.

Dee Lubunyz

We camped in the campground here. The views are superb. The lake was all around. The bath house in Yarrow could use an update.

Leticia Rodriguez

Beautiful scenary,clean waters

Jesse M

It's a cool, windy lake and great place to camp IF you're with a group, but if you don't have a boat or you go solo, there isn't much to do. Very limited places to swim. Also, their facilities need attention bigtime and our "neighbors" engine wires got chewed up by rats so watch out! 2 1/2 stars

Jon Pachta

Beautiful lake. Neat rock formations

Jennifer Reukauf

I love going to Wilson Lake. Especially Lucas Park. The lake has a few hiking trails and a bike trail.

Richard Seaton

We really like Wilson. Lake is clean. Bike trails are fabulous. Try the Corps campgrounds at the southwest end of the lake. Quiet and well maintained.

William Prestley

The best view in ks

Cindy Fritz

Clean lake with lots of stuff to do!

James Pfeifer

Stopped by for a quick ride on some of the bike trails. I will be doing that again.

Mike Just

The prettiest inland lake I have ever seen. Stand in the water up to your neck. And see your toes. Not kidding.

Jrd

Check out the mtb!

RoseMary Sharp

Lots of high winds while we were at foxtail area.Was Wondering if we were going to end up in the water. .Only a few spots by the cabins. Quite a few other areas.Choose your spot. Nice place to put a boat in for the day. Walking trails and biking trails. Pretty.

William Allen Crowder

Beautiful, the lady at the office was friendly knowledgeable, and efficient. The park was well cared for, and clean. There were plenty of rest rooms. Campsites, picnic tables and fire rings.

Michelle Vogt

The lake was amazing! This was our first time here but we will definitely come back. The park staff was super friendly & helpful. The lake water is clean and the temperature just right. The covered picnic area was a great place for our day trip to the lake.

jud degroot

Excellent place to camp. Parking for a couple of cars, you can set up and camp on either side of the road so there is plenty of space for anything you want. We did the Hell's Creek bike path, it was gorgeous but definitely a challenge. There's plenty of shoreline to walk around and try to fish or just hike. It was a little windy while we were there, but everything else was great.

Dale Pearsall

Beautiful park on the water. All campsites seem to have either lakefront, or lakeview. Not enough trees for my personal liking though. Camp was clean and quiet and the gentleman who was working there was very friendly. Our campsite, #4 in Big Bluestem was level and part gravel/part concrete pad so leveling our bus wasn't a problem. There was a picnic table and a fire ring. But the BEST part, was the sunset over the lake :)

Chris Huggans

What a wonderful place! Great amenities. Excellent scenery.

J Palmer

Just stopped for the night, beautiful sunset!

David LaRocque

Lots of access, interesting shoreline to explore with paddling

Mark Stephens

Awesome lake.

Joyce Hambright

Pretty lakeside campsites,needs better signage for sites,needs bathrooms cleaned better, mosquitos are a problem

James Jarvis

Absolutely love this lake and every place around it I've been!

Kevin Shaffer

Great mountain bike trails great camping

rebecca chamberlain

Favorite lake to do anything whether just hanging out swimming fishing exploring camping. Even got married out there almost 10 years ago. Love it

Aimee Riegel

We love Wilson State Park. Beat staff and camping at the lake.

Lela Aaron-Vicente

Location is beautiful but the campsites are very close together. The bathrooms were wet and the showers were made so that all your clothes got soaked. Not the best experience.

Richard Tavenner

Signage to the camping area leaves a lot to be desired. Really needs to be fixed.

rurban

Lake Wilson is the best. I went there many times as a kid and it was always muddy and windy (not clear water whatsoever). Now on my first visit back in 30 yrs the clearness of the water was truly amazing and radically different than years before. This is due to the New Zealand mud snails that have taken over the lake. Very beautiful, large lake. Doesn't get 5 stars because of the sharp snails on most shores that will cut your feet and the constant wind. However, if you stay in designated beaches and pick a weekend with little wind, you will be hooked on Lake Wilson for life!

Brent Taylor

Nice scenery

Shawna Huggans

Beautiful, clear lake. Clean campsites, working facilities.

austbell1

Plenty of clean bathrooms, some open year round. Beautiful spot in the middle of Kansas.

Russell Shockey

This lake is the cleanest of seen and the scenery was great we loved it this is diffently a come back to place.

VanillaBone Heaven

Great place

DAVID Prendergast

Clearest lake in kansas. Great mountain bike trails, rated epic. Good marina.

Esther Epp

Beautiful sandstone cliffs and clean water!

Kevin Tinin

Beautiful lake grew up camping here. Been going to Wilson since the very early 1970's. My grandpa's favorite lake. Nice camping areas nice shower house if your needing them. A bait shop/store and a marina/store are both close. Just took our family up there a week ago spent 4 days. Our 3 kids love this lake there favorite too. Fishing good most of the time. Lots of hook ups if your needing them. Its a 1 1/2 hour drive with our fifth wheel and boat well worth the drive. We try to go several times a summer Would recommend to anyone. We love this beautiful Kansas lake.

Roman Gianna

Amazing lake in kansas. Clearest water! Beautiful scenery and a peaceful place to spent time. This place is a great place to go.

Dawn Long

My son and I stayed at Wilson State Park for just the weekend, and it was a wonderful 24-hour period. We did plenty of fishing along very unique and beautiful limestone and sandstone shorelines. Trails made easy access from our campsite to the lake. We felt safe there as the Park Ranger/Law Enforcement made rounds several times a day but wasn’t intrusive. Knotheads bait shop sells everything you need for fishing and camping including firewood and a small selection of groceries. The Dakota Trail offered picturesque views of the lake, we even saw an Owl sitting on a limestone post. There were plenty of campers there during the weekend but it never felt crowded, we felt like we had huge sections of the lake to ourself but it depends which place you camp. Also, the Park office has very friendly staff who answered all questions and helped us get fishing licenses and park passes. Needless to say, we’ll be back again, it’s a beautiful, peaceful place to camp and enjoy Kansas in ways I never have before.

Aaron Herbel

This lake is a boater's dream, as it has some of the clearest water in Kansas. Also decent fishing, if you can find a quiet place. There is not a lot of tree cover around, and as most of the cabins and campsites are on top of the surrounding hills, it may be slightly windier then some other locations. There are extensive biking trails surrounding the area, and it is a destination location for bicyclists.

Chase Galimore

This place was one of my favorites. The only problem was the white caps but that kinda is part of the experience. Great for hanging out with the family

Craig Frush

We stayed in the Foxtail cabins. What a wonderful experience. Cabins were in great shape and working order. Cabins were in easy walking distance to a nice beach, 3 or 4 loads of sand would make it a great beach. Very nice boat ramp. Would give it an 8 out of 10.

Narmeen Makhani

Great place to stretch your legs. Did a little hike along the cliff.

Ryan Yarnell

Very windy usually. Drove 3 hour to cliff jump but it is prohibited. Only time I can say Missouri is better than Kansas. There are a lot of awesome bike trails and seemed like almost every camp site was near the water.

Nevin Zimmerman

Nice park you can get campsites that aren't dedicated to a certain site pitch your tent where you want.

Maria de la Luz Rivas

Love this lake. I will drive from Wichita because it's big, nice and has the clearest water in Kansas. Love it!!

curt kauer

For Midwest, clear water, not overly crowded. Good fishing

Mario Lara

Great place to fish and relax

josh fager

Nice quiet place to camp, fish, boat, bike, hike and many more fun activities.

Lisa Dobbin

Very pretty! Nice trails and clean campgrounds

Terry White

Nice quiet lake, one of the clearest lakes in Kansas. It's currently at a very high level though so camping is limited.

Jessica Ward

Very pretty wish it didn't rain on us

Michael Horne

Too many flies in our cabin.

Alice Hinnen

My hubby & I was @ A Big Bass Tournament here. Hays Bass Masters put it on every year. Love this Lake.

Brian Smith

Camped there last year in the fall. Put in my kayak in right out of camp. Could not believe that I was in Kansas. Absolutely stunning views.

Bob Boberty

Many miles of winding trails plus several small beach heads make this a great hiking and fishing destination. Arguably the most visually appealing lake in all of the Sunflower State!

Alan & Tammy Eccleston

Clean park, bike trails, beautiful lake with plenty of boat ramps for water sports. I was thrilled to see a camper marked "host". Staff at the gate was wonderful and understanding (was awaiting my daughter as we were both driving 5 hours to meet up). Roads are wide and paved (great for pulling).

Drew Wilfahrt

Stayed at this park for 1 night. A bit tricky to find where the campsites are in the park, as the markings on the road are challenging. Once we got to our site, we loved it! we were right on the water, and our site was huge. Definitely worth a stay!

Kayla Gruver

Good trails for hiking and clear water for swimming. Boats kinda take over some of the areas you hike to but we can share.

scott kirkland

First fishing trip of 2019

Cadin S

Very clean areas to enjoy nature.

Amanda Krob

Our family has camped here for many years. We love it! Beautiful scenery and a peaceful place to stay.

Jessica Barnett

Really great lake to go to on warm days. Water is comfortably cool and people who visit are lovely. It's a great place to go with family, friends, or pets.

Rick Perkins

I love the lake views

Zachary DeBruine

For a midwesterner, this was an amazing park -- great terrain, great mountain biking trails, and a good campground. It was just so hot! And the shower drains were semi-not-working.

Trevor Dinkel

Nice but the only thing people need to clean up after them selves and clean the showers better outher then that we loved the time and lake

Laura Kaufman

Absolutely beautiful!

Vicki Meier

Wonderful place to spend with family. Lake water is very clear

Shawn Stricker

Great park clear water

Alex welling

Great bike trails and awesome lake

Cory Brown

Clear water and clean campgrounds.

L R

It's half way to Rockies for me and this great Lake some cool mushroom rocks big deep steep Canyon shade grass and clear water

J Moore

Nice clean water. Lots of loud boats and loud music.

Brent Hardin

We loved Wilson Lake. So many things to do and see! Just beautiful!

TryItWithRanch

beautiful views of the lake. i think there might be fishing available here, but we didnt have much time to try it out. bring a kite, it gets windy. the night that we stayed here a huge storm rolled through and we only had tents. the single person tents were literally only about a foot or two away from each other and we were screaming at each other and still couldnt hear one another due to the amount of wind. we decided to hop back in the car after one of our members tents collapsed. it felt a lot like the scene from the wizard of oz. TLDR: try to check the weather before coming here, its a beautiful place in the right conditions.

ex- Amish Sports

Nice place to go with jet skis and boats it's not a nice fishing place poor fishing

Christy S

Not a fishing lake. Wasn't busy since we stayed in the beginning of the week. Nice views though.

Donald Ayers

The wind came on pretty strong. Four of us had ahold of the biggest tent trying to hold it down. Things got a little hairy for a bit. The tent was thrown in the dumpster on our way out of the park and it was still AWESOME. Wilson lake is the best lake. Always has been. Absolutely beautiful. And when the jackasses aren't blasting their music it's pleasantly peaceful. I LOVE LAKE WILSON.

Heather Kegler

Beautiful area. Cabins are basic but cozy.

Kim Mcfarland

Camped here last night. It is winter, so the bathrooms and washrooms are closed. Got here in the middle of the night. Paying the fee was easy. Woke up to an awesome view, went fishing, and I highly recommend bringing a kite!

Michelle Jeffries

This lake is nestled in the Smokey Hills. Absolutely the best lake in Kansas. The hiking is also noteworthy.

Ezequiel Pitty

A very pleasant place for camping with the family.

Marianne Price

Beautiful

Brad McNaughton

Love this place!!

Jared Shearer

Switchgrass mountain bike trails are a gem in the middle of nowhere Kansas. It is definitely hot and windy on the plains, but it's worth the drive from Kansas City if the weather looks to be cooperating.

John Foley

Best lake in Kansas. Core does a great job protecting the beautiful rocky shore line.

Gunnar Marney

Pretty park

Kevin Cochran

Had a great time with my family, did some kayaking and some snorkeling. Lake was up and the water was clear.

Mickey Young

This park has a lot of potential to be awesome. I'm not sure if it's current condition was due to it not being fully in season yet. The bathhouse near our campsite was closed and the one we did find that was open close by was in pretty rough condition, everything did at least work and would get the job done. It does have some awesome spots on the lake to enjoy and the sunset and night sky was beautiful. Our trip was to ride and hike the trail which are really nice and surprisingly they are IMBA Epic trails. If you are planning to camp for an extended period of time make sure to bring plenty of food as the nearest Walmart or grocery store is 30-45 minutes away.

Meagan White

Nice little weekend getaway for Kansas!

Tony Tiller

Love the outdoors and camping. This place is a great place to go.

Mark Putnam

Spent a weekend exploring the area. I must say it was spectacular. Being from Colorado, I wasn't sure how impressed I would be with the lake and the mountain bike trails. Let me say that I am thoroughly impressed. We stayed in Big Blue Stem Loop campground. After driving around, I think that might be the best one. The spots were plenty big and there was lots of extra parking for boats and such. There was lots of access points to the water, which was nice and cold on the hot summer days. It was very refreshing to get into the water during the hottest part of the day. The showers were very unique. The ones at Big Blue Stem were open air showers. There was a roof and walls, but they did not join. So you got to see the star lights and feel the cool breeze when showering at night. Surprisingly, the water was actually hot. If you don't like the showers, drive around and try some other ones. There are more traditional showers at other shower houses in the park. In regards to the Switchgrass Mountain Bike trails, those are pretty incredible. EZ Loop is perfect for beginners. In fact, I had a person who had never ridden single track before. She did just fine on EZ Loop. The other loops are more difficult. The climbs are steep and will challenge your lungs and legs. The technical parts are super fun. The exposures bring a whole new level to the meaning narrow. I was there on a weekend and was surprised at how few people were on the trail. I actually tamed my ride down because I was worried that if I hurt myself, no one would find me for hours. My favorite of all the loops was Hell Creek. Bring lots of water though. I went through 1.5 liters just about every 8 miles. Be sure to stop by the Kiosk at the trail head and sign in before riding. There is a donation box that goes to IMBA to help with trail maintenance. They suggest a donation between $1-$5 is suitable. I was so impressed, I left a little more. My only criticism is that there is only a total of about 20 miles of trails. On a multi day trip, you would inevitably end up riding the same trails a couple of times. I know, that is knit picking. Get some local flavor at Grandma's soda shop in nearby Wilson. The food was good and the Vanilla Shake was one of the best I've ever had. There is a grocery store in Wilson that you can pick up any of the things that you might have left at home. The grocery store also has a hardware store in it. Here's the bottom line. If I schedule a trip with other mountain bikers, I will definitely suggest Wilson State Park. It's about the same drive from Denver that Moab is with one key difference. There is no traffic heading back to Denver on Sundays. You don't have to fight the crush of people coming back from the mountains. A big bonus.

Tammy Weeda

Great place to stay..Big Bluestem is beautiful..spot 29-33 can get windy.. recommend 25-19 if you want to park your boat over night..sandy where the other side is rocky.

cameron savage

Absolutely Beautiful

Heather Shearer

Great lake. Switchgrass mtb trails are fun times.

Mara Girard

I love it here, this place means the world to me. It's beautiful and peaceful.

Jeff Komp

Is this the best lake in Kansas? The answer is an emphatic YES! I have been coming here for 50 years. I have camped everywhere in this state and still no equal.

scott young

Good course for disc golf

Motor Cult

Very good place to make good memories