Perry State Park

We have been traveling for thousands of miles and have stayed at many parks . We ran across this one and it was quite the hidden gem! Off our path by about 20 min but well worth it. We stayed at the rock creek camp. Big sites , beautiful views of the lake. We dry camped so we had waterfront, however even the electric hook ups had water views. Nice grass lots, clean, good priced, and a cute little playground for the kids . Would definitely stay again.

Perry state park is about 20 miles northeast of Topeka Kansas and is one of the better Kansas state parks that I have been to. A beach, campgrounds, and a boating/ fishing area is available to the public as well as an extensive hiking area. I partook in the hiking area, and it was well worth it. This is a real hiking area, no paved trails or off looks, just rocky crags, and a challenge. There are about eight trails that weave extensively through several different terrains including wooded areas, lake sides, prairie grass, and steep climbs. The trails were not well marked and one could easily get lost, as I said before the trails often weaved into each other and it was hard to tell which trail you were on at times. Even the provided maps were not that helpful because there was no legend to tell you how long the trails are. These trails are not really meant for the leisurely hiking/ bicycling type, and as a word of warning make sure you bring bug repellent, after the trek my partner and I found several ticks and other bugs crawling all over us.

This review is an overview of two of the most challenging hiking areas in Perry State Park. As someone who is an experienced outdoor hiker I was pleasantly surprised at the trails here. 29 miles in all, this was the first time I've set foot on them. The fact I have to drive about 30 minutes when there is good lake hiking much closer to my house is the reason behind never visiting here. I will visit here again soon and test the other areas and report back if something new is discovered.Old Military Trail (Section 2 East) and Section 2 West comprise 7.7 miles of the trail in a continuous path, and yesterday I hiked from the trail-head to the end and back, so 15+ miles, a very long but good day. Two things make a trail great: 1) terrain, the views, the stopping points, diversity in terrain, and most importantly, 2) trail maintenance and markings. This is undoubtedly a great trail with many unbelievably scenic views of the lake and some terrific places to stop for a break and rest up. The trails should be considered rough and challenging which in itself is not cause for concern unless you're a rookie hiker. Trail maintenance, I'm sorry to say, is sorely lacking and that's too bad because it has incredible potential. I encountered way too many large fallen trees blocking the path to provide a better rating, and it's clear they've been like this for a considerable time. Parts of the trail are more used than others and it parts it gets downright poorly maintained and difficult to follow. Trail markings on trees are generally quite thorough though, so no complaints until a further point in the hike when it all came crashing down.The most disappointing part for me is near the end of Section 2 West you come to an abrupt open field after the trail has already disappeared for about a half mile in tall native grasses. At that point, I had ambition to continue on but was forced to turn back because I couldn't find the trail connection. This Section which is noted as approaching Longview Park seems to be lost. For it to be this way I think it has not been maintained safely for in excess of a year--far too long for most wilderness trails. If you're boasting a 29 mile continuous trail and someone with my level of experience can't find the connecting trail, you have a poorly maintained resource.That said, this is Kansas, not Colorado or even Missouri. Great trail resources are far a few between. My next plan of attack will to be to hike the southern part of the trail I wished to connect with the intention of exploring why or where this part of the trail seemingly disappears. Meantime, lets hope trail maintenance gets its act in gear. It's easy to tell this trail is not used a lot and that's too bad, but if you're going to boast 29 continuous miles, please make sure the people using the resource can actually continue on as the map seemingly indicates.

Contrary to the others reviews I think this is an amazing state park. The park manager Michelle, Darla and even the gentleman at the park entrance were beyond helpful. Our original reservation was for an electrical site, when getting directions from Michelle she saw we were tenting and not in an RV she quickly informed us that would be no good because it was completely gravel. Both her and the gentlemen at the gate were so helpful in helping us find a different site. Plenty of shade, restrooms clean. We will definitely be returning.

The primitive camping is really primitive. The sites are almost all sloping and there is little shade. The restroom hadn't been cleaned in a long time and it was nasty. The women's side smelled like something died. The sanitary disposal was overflowing with used products. We tried the mens room, hoping it would be better. The urinal was full of pee and there pee all around the toilets. We drove to the next restroom and it was clean. But the showers are communal with no doors or privacy.

This is a bit more than a typical Kansas fishing lake park. There are many electric sites ranged around on a steep hill. No one is too close to each other. Many sites have shade. There is no campground host, upon whom I depend to keep campers from being too rowdy. There were a few loud family groups. Like all Kansas state parks, you need to turn on two or more showers to bring the hot water up. It was OK.

We made the drive to Lake Perry in about an hour from our home in Overland Park. We started out near the information center where there is a great hill overlooking the lake. The lake is good sized and there were an array of boats enjoying it. The hill was a nice spot to take in the view while eating lunch and playing some frisbee. We next went hiking and chose the Delaware Marsh Trail because it sounded like it had the best shot of having some good scenery. The trail started out with a somewhat worn path. It made it tricky to take in the sights because I was concentrating more on where I (and my daughter after me) was stepping. We did see some great birds along the way, including some enormous hawks. The trail passes the Delaware River in two spots, but both at heights making the river out of reach. The marsh was fairly low, but we did find a spot where we could venture down and view hundreds of small frogs. Then, at about 60% through the trail the worn part of the trail just stopped. There were still markers, but we were suddenly wading through waist high grass. Or, in my daughters case, face high. Thankfully we had doused our legs with Off! beforehand, or we would have been eaten alive I am sure. My daughter did not enjoy this part of the hike at all and I can't say I love it either. To me, the scenery along the way is not worth the trip it takes to get there and back. I definitely don't recommend this hike for kids.

A hidden gym. A must see. Anytime I get a chance to stop here I will and just spend a little time fishing. The family really likes it and we do good everytime fishing.