This is a nice state park just outside of Ottawa, Kansas. This was our second choice in the area, the first being Pomona Lake, which is also a great campground in the area. The only issue is that Pomona Lake was pretty well booked up, and the site that we had reserved would not fit our rig. So, we had to move on. Either of these campgrounds will serve you well if you’re in the area, but the Sunflower Loop of Hillsdale State Park is very big rig friendly. In fact, I’m pretty sure that our setup would have fit in at least 75 percent of the sites.

When we arrived, the camp host was very friendly and helpful – in fact, he moved us to a larger, paved site in a better location. Our original site was gravel and situated just off the road that went past the campground. Getting into our site was pretty easy; once we asked a neighbor to move a truck that was kind of in the way.

The sites here were well spaced out and had large “back yards” between the different rows of campers. There was also pretty good LTE service, so we were able to work with no issues. In fact, there was better service here than in some of the campgrounds that we stay at in the city!

Much of the campground here besides the Sunflower Loop was undergoing some repair work from previous floods and storms, so they were either unavailable or partially available, so be aware of that. There are campground loops here that are more rustic and wooded, but they are not set up nearly as nice as this one, especially if you have a large RV – 40 feet or bigger.

A view of the park!

There is a bike/walking path that connects all the loops, and it was a good place to run the dogs. Just be sure to use some insect repellent and have your dogs treated for ticks, as they seemed to be abundant out and about. We were able to get daily bike rides in and avoid getting bit by ticks. You’ll see deer, rabbits, and turkeys running around.

A bike/walking path connects all the loops, and it was a good place to run the dogs. Just be sure to use some insect repellent and have your dogs treated for ticks, as they seemed to be abundant out and about. We were able to get daily bike rides in and avoid getting bit by ticks. You’ll see deer, rabbits, and turkeys running around.

This is a COE campground – which means there is a lake. In this case, it’s a man-made reservoir, and as such, there are many trees and brush in the water around the shoreline, and it can get pretty buggy. Fortunately for us, it was blazing hot, which kept the bugs at bay. Did I say, fortunately? A mixed blessing, at best. And this brings us to the one shortcoming of this particular campground – most of the sites are in direct sun, with no trees for shade. So, if that is an issue for you, be aware of it.