RV Parks In Cherryvale, Kansas

The best camping near Cherryvale is on the water, and it is almost all public. Just east of town on clear Big Hill Lake, Cherryvale Park is the smaller, quieter Corps of Engineers campground with electric and water sites and a few full hookups, while Mound Valley is the larger one, with roughly 85 sites, 50-amp service, a swim beach, and a boat ramp. About 20 miles west near Independence, Elk City State Park offers around 95 modern sites with electric and water plus 11 full-hookup sites with sewer. Between the two Big Hill Lake campgrounds and Elk City, you get affordable, genuinely lakeside camping in a quiet corner of southeast Kansas.

Some do. At Big Hill Lake, Cherryvale Park and Mound Valley are mostly electric-and-water sites, but both include a limited number of full-hookup sites with sewer, and each has a dump station for the rest. Elk City State Park to the west has 11 full-hookup sites with sewer among its roughly 95 modern sites, with the remainder offering 30 and 50-amp electric and water. So full hookups exist here, but they are a smaller share of the total, so book those specific sites early. If you are comfortable with electric and water plus a dump station, you will have far more sites to choose from across all three lakes.

It is inexpensive, because the options are Army Corps of Engineers and Kansas state-park campgrounds rather than private resorts. The Big Hill Lake campgrounds, Cherryvale Park and Mound Valley, run in the budget band for electric and water sites, with full-hookup and group sites a bit more and primitive non-electric sites cheaper still. Elk City State Park is similarly priced, though Kansas adds a separate vehicle entrance permit on top of the nightly camping fee, so include that in your budget. There are no premium private-resort rates in Cherryvale itself, which keeps costs low, especially midweek and in the shoulder seasons, but it also means fewer resort extras like pools or clubhouses.

For summer weekends, reserve months ahead. The Big Hill Lake campgrounds book through Recreation.gov, and Mound Valley in particular fills on warm weekends thanks to its clear-water swim beach, so plan early. Cherryvale Park is reservation-only from March through October, so you cannot count on rolling in without a booking during that window. Elk City State Park uses the Kansas State Parks reservation system and also fills for peak-season weekends. Midweek and in the fall shoulder season, availability opens up and you can often grab a good site with little notice. Whenever you book, double-check current lake conditions, since high water has closed sites at Elk City in wet years.

Fall is the sweet spot. The weather settles into crisp, pleasant days, the summer crowds thin out, and you can usually find a good lakeside site with little notice at all three lakes. Late spring is green and scenic but comes with a stormy, sometimes severe weather pattern typical of the southern plains, so watch the forecast and rising lake levels. Summer is peak season, hot, muggy, and busy, with the swim beaches at Big Hill Lake drawing weekend crowds. Winter is short but very cold and windy, and the Corps campgrounds run limited off-season service, so it is the quietest but least convenient time. For the best mix of weather and availability, aim for fall.

Yes. Mound Valley at Big Hill Lake has 50-amp service and pull-through sites that handle larger RVs comfortably, and Cherryvale Park has sites that fit many big rigs, though it is the smaller of the two. Elk City State Park is the most big-rig-friendly of the group, with a generous RV length limit posted at its Comfort Cove area and full-hookup sites available. The US highways into Cherryvale are open and big-rig-friendly, but the county roads out to Big Hill Lake are rural, so take the final few miles slowly and watch for tight turns. Confirm your length and site type when booking, and larger rigs will find comfortable options across all three lakes.

Options are limited, and the developed campgrounds are the practical choice. Big Hill Lake and Elk City are managed reservation-based systems, with Cherryvale Park reservation-only during the March-through-October season. That said, primitive and non-electric sites at these campgrounds cost less than the hookup sites, so you can camp cheaply even if not for free. The Elk City Wildlife Area and surrounding Corps land offer some primitive possibilities, but they lack hookups and services, so most RVers are better served by the developed lakeside sites. If budget is the priority, look at the non-electric loops and shoulder-season midweek rates rather than trying to boondock here.

Yes, Big Hill Lake is the main event. Officially Pearson-Skubitz Big Hill Lake, it is a Corps of Engineers reservoir just east of town and one of the clearest lakes in Kansas. Two campgrounds serve it: Cherryvale Park, the smaller and quieter one, and Mound Valley, the larger, with roughly 85 sites, a swim beach, a boat ramp, and access to the 17-mile Big Hill Lake horse trail. Both offer electric and water hookups, some full-hookup sites, and dump stations, all bookable through Recreation.gov. The clear water is great for swimming and fishing, with largemouth bass, crappie, walleye, and catfish, so it is a genuine destination for a lake-focused RV trip.

It is, if you want a fuller-service lakeside stay. Elk City State Park sits about 20 miles west near Independence, on the 4,500-acre Elk City Reservoir, with roughly 95 modern sites spread across the Timber Road, Prairie Meadow, and Comfort Cove areas. It offers 30 and 50-amp electric and water, 11 full-hookup sites with sewer, dump stations, and showers, plus hiking on the Table Mound and Green Thumb trails and a big adjacent wildlife area. It is the most amenity-rich option in the region and the best pick for big rigs. One caution: high lake levels have closed sites here in wet years, so check current conditions before you commit to it.

Generally yes. The Big Hill Lake Corps campgrounds, Cherryvale Park and Mound Valley, allow leashed pets under standard Corps of Engineers rules, and Elk City State Park is pet-friendly under Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks policy. Specifics on leash length and where pets are allowed, such as swim beaches, can vary by campground, so check the posted rules when you arrive. The trails around Big Hill Lake and Elk City, including the long horse trail, give dogs plenty of room to walk. As always, bring proof of vaccinations, keep pets leashed in the campground, and clean up after them so the sites stay welcoming for the next camper.

Plenty of outdoor recreation, mostly around the water. Big Hill Lake has a clear-water swim beach, boat ramps, and fishing for largemouth bass, crappie, walleye, and catfish, plus the 17-mile Big Hill Lake horse trail for riders and hikers. Elk City State Park adds the Table Mound and Green Thumb hiking trails and a large wildlife area for birding and wildlife watching. In town, the Cherryvale Museum offers local history and a Louise Brooks exhibit, since the silent-film star was born here. Nearby Independence, Parsons, and Coffeyville round out the area with restaurants, supplies, and services. It is a low-key, water-and-trails kind of destination rather than a big-attraction one.

It is possible but limited. Winters in southeast Kansas are short but very cold and windy, and the Corps of Engineers campgrounds at Big Hill Lake run reduced or reservation-only service, with Cherryvale Park reservation-based March through October, so cold-weather options narrow. Elk City State Park keeps some year-round access, but water and hookup availability can be limited in the coldest months, so call ahead to confirm. If you do camp in winter, be ready to manage freezing pipes with heat tape or a heated hose and plan travel around cold snaps and wind. For most RVers, the season here runs spring through fall, with winter being the quietest and least convenient time to visit.

They are almost entirely public, which is the defining feature of camping here. The two Big Hill Lake campgrounds, Cherryvale Park and Mound Valley, are run by the US Army Corps of Engineers, and Elk City State Park to the west is managed by the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. There is no significant strip of private RV resorts in Cherryvale itself. That keeps nightly rates low and the settings genuinely lakeside, but it also means fewer resort-style amenities like pools, clubhouses, or long pull-through concrete pads. If you value affordable, scenic, public-land camping over resort extras, this stretch of southeast Kansas is a great fit.

The best camping near Cherryvale is on the water, and it is almost all public. Just east of town on clear Big Hill Lake, Cherryvale Park is the smaller, quieter Corps of Engineers campground with electric and water sites and a few full hookups, while Mound Valley is the larger one, with roughly 85 sites, 50-amp service, a swim beach, and a boat ramp. About 20 miles west near Independence, Elk City State Park offers around 95 modern sites with electric and water plus 11 full-hookup sites with sewer. Between the two Big Hill Lake campgrounds and Elk City, you get affordable, genuinely lakeside camping in a quiet corner of southeast Kansas.

Some do. At Big Hill Lake, Cherryvale Park and Mound Valley are mostly electric-and-water sites, but both include a limited number of full-hookup sites with sewer, and each has a dump station for the rest. Elk City State Park to the west has 11 full-hookup sites with sewer among its roughly 95 modern sites, with the remainder offering 30 and 50-amp electric and water. So full hookups exist here, but they are a smaller share of the total, so book those specific sites early. If you are comfortable with electric and water plus a dump station, you will have far more sites to choose from across all three lakes.

It is inexpensive, because the options are Army Corps of Engineers and Kansas state-park campgrounds rather than private resorts. The Big Hill Lake campgrounds, Cherryvale Park and Mound Valley, run in the budget band for electric and water sites, with full-hookup and group sites a bit more and primitive non-electric sites cheaper still. Elk City State Park is similarly priced, though Kansas adds a separate vehicle entrance permit on top of the nightly camping fee, so include that in your budget. There are no premium private-resort rates in Cherryvale itself, which keeps costs low, especially midweek and in the shoulder seasons, but it also means fewer resort extras like pools or clubhouses.

For summer weekends, reserve months ahead. The Big Hill Lake campgrounds book through Recreation.gov, and Mound Valley in particular fills on warm weekends thanks to its clear-water swim beach, so plan early. Cherryvale Park is reservation-only from March through October, so you cannot count on rolling in without a booking during that window. Elk City State Park uses the Kansas State Parks reservation system and also fills for peak-season weekends. Midweek and in the fall shoulder season, availability opens up and you can often grab a good site with little notice. Whenever you book, double-check current lake conditions, since high water has closed sites at Elk City in wet years.

Fall is the sweet spot. The weather settles into crisp, pleasant days, the summer crowds thin out, and you can usually find a good lakeside site with little notice at all three lakes. Late spring is green and scenic but comes with a stormy, sometimes severe weather pattern typical of the southern plains, so watch the forecast and rising lake levels. Summer is peak season, hot, muggy, and busy, with the swim beaches at Big Hill Lake drawing weekend crowds. Winter is short but very cold and windy, and the Corps campgrounds run limited off-season service, so it is the quietest but least convenient time. For the best mix of weather and availability, aim for fall.

Yes. Mound Valley at Big Hill Lake has 50-amp service and pull-through sites that handle larger RVs comfortably, and Cherryvale Park has sites that fit many big rigs, though it is the smaller of the two. Elk City State Park is the most big-rig-friendly of the group, with a generous RV length limit posted at its Comfort Cove area and full-hookup sites available. The US highways into Cherryvale are open and big-rig-friendly, but the county roads out to Big Hill Lake are rural, so take the final few miles slowly and watch for tight turns. Confirm your length and site type when booking, and larger rigs will find comfortable options across all three lakes.

Options are limited, and the developed campgrounds are the practical choice. Big Hill Lake and Elk City are managed reservation-based systems, with Cherryvale Park reservation-only during the March-through-October season. That said, primitive and non-electric sites at these campgrounds cost less than the hookup sites, so you can camp cheaply even if not for free. The Elk City Wildlife Area and surrounding Corps land offer some primitive possibilities, but they lack hookups and services, so most RVers are better served by the developed lakeside sites. If budget is the priority, look at the non-electric loops and shoulder-season midweek rates rather than trying to boondock here.

Yes, Big Hill Lake is the main event. Officially Pearson-Skubitz Big Hill Lake, it is a Corps of Engineers reservoir just east of town and one of the clearest lakes in Kansas. Two campgrounds serve it: Cherryvale Park, the smaller and quieter one, and Mound Valley, the larger, with roughly 85 sites, a swim beach, a boat ramp, and access to the 17-mile Big Hill Lake horse trail. Both offer electric and water hookups, some full-hookup sites, and dump stations, all bookable through Recreation.gov. The clear water is great for swimming and fishing, with largemouth bass, crappie, walleye, and catfish, so it is a genuine destination for a lake-focused RV trip.

It is, if you want a fuller-service lakeside stay. Elk City State Park sits about 20 miles west near Independence, on the 4,500-acre Elk City Reservoir, with roughly 95 modern sites spread across the Timber Road, Prairie Meadow, and Comfort Cove areas. It offers 30 and 50-amp electric and water, 11 full-hookup sites with sewer, dump stations, and showers, plus hiking on the Table Mound and Green Thumb trails and a big adjacent wildlife area. It is the most amenity-rich option in the region and the best pick for big rigs. One caution: high lake levels have closed sites here in wet years, so check current conditions before you commit to it.

Generally yes. The Big Hill Lake Corps campgrounds, Cherryvale Park and Mound Valley, allow leashed pets under standard Corps of Engineers rules, and Elk City State Park is pet-friendly under Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks policy. Specifics on leash length and where pets are allowed, such as swim beaches, can vary by campground, so check the posted rules when you arrive. The trails around Big Hill Lake and Elk City, including the long horse trail, give dogs plenty of room to walk. As always, bring proof of vaccinations, keep pets leashed in the campground, and clean up after them so the sites stay welcoming for the next camper.

Plenty of outdoor recreation, mostly around the water. Big Hill Lake has a clear-water swim beach, boat ramps, and fishing for largemouth bass, crappie, walleye, and catfish, plus the 17-mile Big Hill Lake horse trail for riders and hikers. Elk City State Park adds the Table Mound and Green Thumb hiking trails and a large wildlife area for birding and wildlife watching. In town, the Cherryvale Museum offers local history and a Louise Brooks exhibit, since the silent-film star was born here. Nearby Independence, Parsons, and Coffeyville round out the area with restaurants, supplies, and services. It is a low-key, water-and-trails kind of destination rather than a big-attraction one.

It is possible but limited. Winters in southeast Kansas are short but very cold and windy, and the Corps of Engineers campgrounds at Big Hill Lake run reduced or reservation-only service, with Cherryvale Park reservation-based March through October, so cold-weather options narrow. Elk City State Park keeps some year-round access, but water and hookup availability can be limited in the coldest months, so call ahead to confirm. If you do camp in winter, be ready to manage freezing pipes with heat tape or a heated hose and plan travel around cold snaps and wind. For most RVers, the season here runs spring through fall, with winter being the quietest and least convenient time to visit.

They are almost entirely public, which is the defining feature of camping here. The two Big Hill Lake campgrounds, Cherryvale Park and Mound Valley, are run by the US Army Corps of Engineers, and Elk City State Park to the west is managed by the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. There is no significant strip of private RV resorts in Cherryvale itself. That keeps nightly rates low and the settings genuinely lakeside, but it also means fewer resort-style amenities like pools, clubhouses, or long pull-through concrete pads. If you value affordable, scenic, public-land camping over resort extras, this stretch of southeast Kansas is a great fit.

Yes — there are free RV waste disposal options available near Cherryvale.