The Campgrounds at Crawford State Park in Southeast Kansas

Crawford State Park has some of the most beautiful camping spots in Kansas! Being at the northern edge of the Ozarks, the landscape offers magnificent colored foliage in the spring, summer, and fall.

Crawford State Park is located between Pittsburg and Fort Scott, not far from Highway 69. It’s an hour-and-a-half south of the Kansas City area, and about two-and-a-half hours east of Wichita.

The park surrounds Lake Crawford.

Crawford State Park

Crawford State Park is relatively small compared to other places in Kansas. The entire park is only 530 acres, and the lake is only 150 acres.

The size of the lake makes it perfect for small watercraft like kayaks, canoes, and small fishing boats. But guests with larger boats also enjoy the lake.

While you’re on the water, you might as well cast some bait. Lake Crawford has excellent fishing all year round with channel catfish, crappie, and striped bass.

Camping is excellent as well. There are six campgrounds that offer space for RV campers, tent campers, and cabin guests.

The park also has a swimming beach, hiking trails, disc golf and a full-service marina. The marina even has a café that serves a variety of foods, from burgers and fries to dinners like roast beef; chicken fried steak; and beer battered cod.

History of Crawford State Park

For history buffs, this area is rich in antiquity. In the 1850s, the U.S. government relocated the Cherokee people from eastern United States to, what is now, southeast Kansas and northeast Oklahoma.

Eventually, the U.S. Army had to dispatch troops to the area to the area to protect the Cherokee lands from encroaching settlers. Those troops had a small outpost on Dry Creek, near where the lake sits now.