The lake
Visitor's Center
The garden behind the big house
Exploring
Beautiful place to enjoy a sunset.
Great trail for walking the dog!
Sitting by a lake at Watkins Mill State Park. About to go on another long hike. Lilly, our dog, is loving her Saturday.
View from the trail
The little waterfall
Rebecca V.
Jul 23, 2023
I had friends from out of town camping at Watkins Mill, State Park, and the camping experience is very nice. All camping sites allow for one vehicle. The swimming beach is very clean and large. The only setback is the awful signage. I recommend if you do stay at Watkins Mill State Park for camping to disregard your map apps, and take 69 highway to 92 to the state park entrance. Otherwise you'll be driving around for 45 minutes without a clue of where you're going.
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Cheryl D.
May 24, 2022
We spent a week there very recently. Had a great time. The camp hosts were great and very friendly. The park manager was absolutely the best! There was an issue with the Sewer system, that happened to be next to out site, and he have us the opportunity to move to a different site if we wanted. We choose to stay. They only had to have plumber come out. He gave us a voucher for a free night of camping on our next visit for our "inconvenience" . There really wasn't one though. The only negative was the site was VERY unlevel. But no biggie. Quiet, clean, and wonderful showers. Everyone is private. Definitely will return 10/10!!
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Brandi W.
Aug 8, 2018
The historic site is wonderful. The mill, the old house, everything - wonderful. The museum is very educational and there's a short video to watch with a lot of great information. A major drawback: The mill and house tours are not ADA accessible, which makes sense due to the age of the buildings, but it's disappointing if you're unable to easily maneuver narrow staircases.The campground is HORRIBLE. The sites are so close together that you can hear your neighbors breathe. We used the ADA accessible site (which I guess means it's paved instead of gravel) and were unfortunately right along the main road into the campground by the campground host. Since there is a code to get into the campground gate all night long, people were driving past our tent ALL NIGHT LONG. These people were not sober, quiet, or respectful of people sleeping. There were children playing on the un-lit playground at 2AM. This isn't the fault of the campground really, but the host could've shooed them away. Or perhaps their parents could've realized that playing on playground equipment in the dark isn't particularly wise?There are dozens of places to have a picnic, there's a beach for swimming (no review of that, we didn't have time to use it), and there are plenty of places to explore nature and local history. I would give it five stars if the campground wasn't a joke.
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Krista N.
Jul 27, 2008
I've been coming here since I was a wee little girl. There are many things to do, like hiking, bike riding, swimming, and camping. The hiking\ bicycle trail is paved and only three and 3\4 miles long. It is not at all hilly and can be taken at a leisurely pace. The trail goes around a man made lake with wooded areas surrounding it. You can also go camping and swimming. Besides hiking you can also take a look at the woolen mill, the sheep, and the octagon school house. There is a fee to go into the woolen mill but you can hike and roam around the property for free
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Eric G.
May 10, 2016
I have been coming here since I was a kid. It's so quiet most times of the year. It's great for a walk, jog, bike ride, take your pets or just enjoy nature.
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Shawn J.
May 23, 2012
As one of the closest State Parks to Kansas City this is another one of KC's "hidden gems". It's also a park I am quite familiar with due to it's amenities. It has a relatively easy to ride or walk 3 1/2 mile trail that is very scenic as it loops around the small lake. Speaking of the lake if you have a kayak, this is a great place to bring it and spend an hour or so exploring. (It's also a great place to test out your kayak gear before going on more epic adventures!) The Woolen Mill is well worth taking the time to explore, it's a piece of Missouri history that was fortunately preserved before development consumed the surrounding land. This state park also offers plenty of well shaded camp sites that have made for many enjoyable summer weekends spent outside the city. If you want to get away from KC on a short day trip, Watkins Mill should be on your short list of great destinations to explore!
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Frederick S.
Feb 12, 2025
Great walking trail and great place to take photos. The church and the school are gorgeous!
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Andi G.
Jul 27, 2022
Lots of nice trails to walk and ride. Trees provide good shade. The lake is calm and not too big. We canoe and kayak there. Bring water with you!
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Wendi S.
Oct 11, 2020
We have camped here twice so far this year the first time in summer and the shade trees kept everything so cool. And then spent time in the fall and it is unbelievably beautiful! There are paved walking trails that go all around the lake. And it is so shaded and beautiful you dont mind walking 4 miles! We love it it here and plan on coming back ever year.plenty of shaded spots to choose from and multie areas for RV's or tenters. Bathrooms and shower house are clean and well maintained. Only downfall is there is only one dump area. So be prepared ro.leave ahead of the pack or wait your turn.
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Ethan S.
Aug 29, 2021
Love going here to run the trail and camping! Super RV friendly and the sites are always clean.
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