Clinton State Park

Clinton State Park is formidable. It's like Thanos, if Thanos was water and dirt. It's massive, filled with trees, and it is murky. The only time I've ever been stopped by water patrol while in my tiny boat has been on this lake. I saw him dartin' straight for me amongst a hoard of rich people in their fancy little shiny boats. Men drunk as the cow on Tuesday blaring there speaker systems that cost more than my boat, and this joker brought his $80,000 police boat right to my little inflatable tube. He checked me over, they were nice enough. I guess people do die on this lake if you're not responsibly careful enough. It's not a place to play around if you're not prepared for the worst. There are so many great secluded shelters strewn about this place, and the Clinton Park of it does require a $5 per day access fee I believe go check local updates. Per car mind you; and less in fact you paid for the state stamp with your yearly registration on your vehicle which I do. It's a good deal for $15 a year. The fishing however if you're a true fisherman is spectacular. Clinton has some of the best fishing in the country. It's not for the faint of heart however, and the surface is vast. I once drove across this lake on a boat going about 4 mph for half a day and didn't make it halfway across it. They have great sections where the bass fishing is amazing during certain periods of the year. It's a great place, and if you don't want to get out on the water you can go to the spillway which a lot of people do for fishing. Be safe.

Clinton Lake is a fantastic visit for those wanting to learn more about our state parks. What I really enjoyed about Clinton lake were the friendly people, the affordable stay, and the great clean environment. We took our vacation here and stared up at the sky with a telescope, went fishing, enjoyed the trails. All of these are available and easy to access. We went in an RV (a 24') and had an easy time getting service and having fun. Bathrooms are clean, showers are well maintained and have incredible, and I mean absolutely incredible water pressure. There are a few pieces of advice I would give before you attend. The trails are fantastic, but if you plan on going now you had better plan on taking with you PLENTY and I mean PLENTY of bug repellent. The trails are full of ticks and chiggers, and you will find your ankles and body well covered if you have not taken the right precautions. Don't walk trails where you aren't covered, and don't do things that will put you at risk.

We stayed here one night on our way out west. Seemed dated and a little overgrown. Would probably look for another location if I were to travel out west again.

Sites are reasonably level and the grass is mowed. The bathroom is not very clean and no hot water in showers . I made reservations online but I was surprised when I got here there was a additional five dollars fee daily for entrance to area.

Clinton is always worth the visit, where you're a Lawrence native or heading over from KC. Far and away my favorite part of this lake/park is their trail network, which can be accessed at several northern points around the park. Portions of the trail almost have a Colorado vibe with evergreens, and little waterfront glimpses along the way. As I'm writing this in August, I have to include this extremely pertinent tidbit: WEAR BUG SPRAY! I don't care if you spritz gasoline around your ankles, failing to wear bug spray in late summer will cost you dearly as the chiggers here have destroyed me on more than one occasion. I legit have had hundreds of tiny bites from one hour of hiking, and they linger.I've camped here a couple times, once was rogue camping back in high school which was great, right by a little beach. Once we paid to camp and it was basically hanging out at an RV park with neighbors who wanted to stay up all night over several Busch Lights. Not my thing. Clinton is also great to ride around since it's a sizable lake, and easy to access from Lawrence. I'm a road cyclist, but even I took advantage of the super-wide sidewalks on 23rd St. that will safely transport you out there as you head west. Catch a sunset at the dam, hike the trails, take in nature and live it up!

Very nice park, very friendly people and it was very clean, and there was a ice cream truck going around selling things and our puppies loved the park and had fun meeting others, everyone loved the puppies.Thank you for an awesome park..

I've run the Sanders Saunter trail run here twice and I love this park. It's easy to get to and the running trails are amazing. We got 25K in and got to see a lot of gorgeous scenery. It's great to be able to run along side the lake at some points. and the trail is very technical in some spots. I wish I could review the rest of the park/ lake I just have not made time to look around.

This place was pretty cool, but I wish there was a better way to explain where to go and where the best sites to visit around the lake are for a visitor - at first I ended up in a spot that had barely any access to the scenic lake and it was so disappointing but with some exploring, I did find more and ended up having a pretty nice time looking at different areas of a very beautiful lake.

Nicely maintained park! Bathrooms and shower houses looked freshly redone on one of the campgrounds, but the other appeared to only have 1 shower house/bathroom open. The primitive sites are nice but on the smaller side. We ended up using 2 sites side by side and it was perfect for our 2 tents!

It's beautiful to watch the sunset here except there is not really a beach but a ton of rocks that you can sit on and the bugs get pretty bad, but it's really fun to go with friends.