Campgrounds and RV parks near Ottawa, KS

Water recreation drives most trips. Pomona State Park offers camping, hiking, horseback riding, and fishing, and sits near the 117-mile Flint Hills Trail. The Pomona Lake Marina provides services to anglers and campers, and boat ramps provide access to the lake's generally calm waters. Clinton Lake is the largest of the three reservoirs. It offers boating, fishing, hunting, over 50 miles of hiking, equestrian and mountain bike trails, an 18-hole golf course, a model airplane airport, and the Clinton Lake Historical Society Museum. Clinton State Park adds an archery range, disc golf, a swim beach, a mountain bike skills course, a trout pond, and a children's fishing pond. At Hillsdale, families fish, boat, and swim on the roughly 4,500-acre lake, and cyclists ride the paved trail that connects developed areas of the park.

Late spring and early fall are the sweet spot for RV travel in this part of Kansas. May brings green prairies and full lakes but is also among the wettest months, with frequent thunderstorms and occasional severe weather. June through August is peak camping season: hot, humid, and busy on weekends, with holiday weekends filling reservable sites at Pomona, Clinton, and Hillsdale weeks in advance. September and October cool off quickly and are often the most comfortable stretch of the year, with warm days, cool nights, and fewer bugs. Fall color in the oak-hickory woodlands around Clinton and Pomona typically peaks in late October. Winters are cold and windy, and lake use drops off sharply. Many campground loops close or reduce services, though Pomona State Park offers four ADA-accessible modern cabins available for reservation year-round, with modern conveniences including a bedroom, kitchen, restroom with shower, and heating and air conditioning, and a limited number of utility sites at the state parks stay open. Ice, snow, and freezing rain are all possible from December through February.

Sites at the state parks range from primitive to full-hookup, with a mix of 30-amp and 50-amp water-and-electric loops at Clinton and Hillsdale and standard water-and-electric plus primitive sites at Pomona. Scott Creek at Hillsdale is a water-and-electric loop without a shower house, so plan to use facilities in nearby loops. Cell service is inconsistent inside the parks, especially at Pomona. Bring drinking water, insect repellent for summer, and layers for the temperature swings between day and night in spring and fall. Pets are allowed at the state parks but must remain crated or leashed at all times. Quiet hours are enforced at all three state parks, and generator use is restricted overnight.