Lake Shawnee Campground

We plopped our big butt here during the 'off-season', so this is definitely an 'off-season' review.

That said...

Fees:
April 15 - October 15: $20/n or $19 if you are 62+ (can call to make reservations)
October 16 - April 14: $17/n or $16 if you are 62+ (first come, first served, bathhouse is closed during this season)

Electric (30/50) & Water hook-ups, no sewer. Dump station on site. Water gets shut off after 1st freeze. Apparently there are laundry facilities, but didn't check them out.

We had a great experience at Lake Shawnee. We stayed in early November. The lights for their annual "Winter Wonderland" were freshly placed, which added a bit of excitement to our stay - sometimes they turned on a few of the lights at night to test them ("ooohhh, ahhhh").

The 'camping' situation is definitely not for those looking for space or wilderness. During the off season there is only 1 lot open (I believe there were 3 lots all together - but they have to make room for all those glorious Christmas lights, so, 1 lot available in the off-season). Back in sites line opposite sides of a glorified gravel parking lot - most appeared pretty level. Gets the job done.

The park was quiet pretty much 24/7. There is a pretty sweet playground near the campground, and a 7mile paved trail looping the lake. Bikes are available for rent via credit card right outside the campground if walking/running isn't your thing. Fishing happens and a boat ramp is available. There is a small beach area for swimming in summer. Tons of geese pooping the place up; it's cool though - nature.

Verizon coverage solid.

10 minute drive to downtown Topeka, where not much was popping in early November. We enjoyed the Brown vs. Board of education site though - definitely worth a stop. Not too far up the road is a brewery called 'Blind Tiger' which was also enjoyable.

We were here before the May 15th, when they start taking reservations.

Normal is rate is $20, we paid $18 for the 62+ discount. Water and electric, dump station on site. Some sites are 50 amp with no tents, others are 30 amp and tents allowed. Sites are gravel and grass, with picnic tables and some fire circles. A bit of challenge leveling, but we have had worse.

There is a small swimming beach with piers on both sides. A larger T shaped pier is for fishing and putting canoes/kayaks in the water. Two shower houses with small laundries. A nice play area suitable for older kids as well as younger ones.

We had a pleasant weekend. There was a loud party across the lake on Saturday night, but didn't bother us much inside.

Did an overnight at this beautiful county park campground. Our only regret was that we wish we could have stayed longer.
Sites have 30/50amp service as well as water at each site. There are no dumps at the sites, however, there is a dump station as you exit the campground. The sites along the lake edge are in partial shade while the other sites are in complete sun. There are fire rings near each campsite. There is also a swim beach, laundry facilities, playground & more.
If you're looking for an inexpensive place to stop for the night or even longer, this is the place.

http://parks.snco.us/Facilities/Facility/Details/Lake-Shawnee-Campground-6

This is our second time camping here. $20 a night for water and electric hookup! The lake is beautiful! Lots of nice areas for walking the dogs. The staff is very friendly and helpful. Will definitely stay again! Sites are level, big rig friendly. Dump station on site. What a value!

I stayed one night passing through at this county park. I had a water / electric site overlooking the lake which is very pretty. I was here in late April 2019 so definitely not high season. Not sure if it was the time of year, but the grass grounds had not been mowed in quite some time giving an unkempt appearance. The sites were nice enough with no real vegetation in between sites. The staff was very friendly and helpful which is always a plus! For me this was an average place for the price but definitely good for a night or two.

Clean bathrooms and showers. $2 for laundry $1.75 for dryer. $5 for firewood. Sites overlook lake. Small swimming beach. Fishing docks. Peaceful in the morning, quite a bit of parties going on Saturday night. It is just a couple minutes off the freeway. Very convenient for one night on our way through. Seems to be the place for locals to set up tents and drink, but they were polite. Site has water and electric hook up. Sewer dump across street from RV park.

I pulled into this county park on a Friday afternoon, by Friday night it was like a festival of families, triple the number of cars allowed per space, huge tents everywhere on the grassy area and screaming kids. Surprisingly by Saturday afternoon it was a different place.

Although there is a 14-day limit there were some people there long-term; maybe the moved around in the park. This park is electric/water only, no sewer, although there is dump station when you leave the park. A few of the spaces looked junky and like the occupants hadn't moved in a long time.

The grounds were nice, the 50-amp area, to the immediate left of the entrance was much nicer and quieter than the 30-amp location I was in. If I had it do again, I'd reserve the 50-amp location even though it was a little more expensive. The space I had was so dirty I ended up picking up over 40 cigarette butts just in my site, along with various plastic pieces. The park doesn't seem to be that clean.

There was a laundry room and bath houses but I didn't visit them to comment. Internet wasn't great in the area but I was still able to stream TV without issue.

The best feature about this county park was the 7.2 mile trail around the park. I took my bike around and found some of the most beautiful park areas with flowers, ponds and a gazebo. Most people either walked or rode bikes around the lake.

I have to admit, if you can avoid the Friday nights, and can live without sewer, this park is a great deal. Senior discount got me $2 off the normal $20 rate, and no park entrance fees added on to the camping price. In addition all the regular stores: Walmart, gas station, fast food is very close.

We originally only booked one night because we were just passing by, but upon arriving we immediately wanted to book another! The campground was clean and had many huge sites. Unfortunate for us, they didn’t have any more 30AMP sites available for Saturday and we didn’t have or want to buy an adapter for just this occasion. There were tons of activities to do on and around the lake. Although it was crowded, everyone was having a great time and it was quiet at night. Can’t beat this price for Water&Electric hookups with a nice view! They have a well maintained dump station as well. If you’re a non-camper, the fee is $8 to dump. The staff were all very sweet as well. If back in the area, we will definitely book at least 2-3 days here.

Very peaceful after a long day of driving. Well maintained and pretty. Over looking the lake.
Website was not very explanatory as to what the sites had. Website was very easy to book a site with.

This park is large and beautiful with a large lake, golf, disc golf, playgrounds, and campground. Even though this is a large park, RVs are parked side by side on narrow, gravel spots. The bathrooms are clean, but the showers do not have doors. The campground has a coin laundry.