Wilson State Park — Attraction in Bunker Hill

Spent a weekend exploring the area. I must say it was spectacular. Being from Colorado, I wasn't sure how impressed I would be with the lake and the mountain bike trails. Let me say that I am thoroughly impressed. We stayed in Big Blue Stem Loop campground. After driving around, I think that might be the best one. The spots were plenty big and there was lots of extra parking for boats and such. There was lots of access points to the water, which was nice and cold on the hot summer days. It was very refreshing to get into the water during the hottest part of the day.

The showers were very unique. The ones at Big Blue Stem were open air showers. There was a roof and walls, but they did not join. So you got to see the star lights and feel the cool breeze when showering at night. Surprisingly, the water was actually hot. If you don't like the showers, drive around and try some other ones. There are more traditional showers at other shower houses in the park.

In regards to the Switchgrass Mountain Bike trails, those are pretty incredible. EZ Loop is perfect for beginners. In fact, I had a person who had never ridden single track before. She did just fine on EZ Loop. The other loops are more difficult. The climbs are steep and will challenge your lungs and legs. The technical parts are super fun. The exposures bring a whole new level to the meaning narrow. I was there on a weekend and was surprised at how few people were on the trail. I actually tamed my ride down because I was worried that if I hurt myself, no one would find me for hours. My favorite of all the loops was Hell Creek. Bring lots of water though. I went through 1.5 liters just about every 8 miles. Be sure to stop by the Kiosk at the trail head and sign in before riding. There is a donation box that goes to IMBA to help with trail maintenance. They suggest a donation between $1-$5 is suitable. I was so impressed, I left a little more. My only criticism is that there is only a total of about 20 miles of trails. On a multi day trip, you would inevitably end up riding the same trails a couple of times. I know, that is knit picking.

Get some local flavor at Grandma's soda shop in nearby Wilson. The food was good and the Vanilla Shake was one of the best I've ever had. There is a grocery store in Wilson that you can pick up any of the things that you might have left at home. The grocery store also has a hardware store in it.

Here's the bottom line. If I schedule a trip with other mountain bikers, I will definitely suggest Wilson State Park. It's about the same drive from Denver that Moab is with one key difference. There is no traffic heading back to Denver on Sundays. You don't have to fight the crush of people coming back from the mountains. ...

We camped here with our RV for 5 days. The lake is beautiful! Gorgeous scenery, and the kids loved being right next to the eater. The campground was quiet and the people were all very nice. There's just water and electric here so if you use much in the way of Grey or black water, bring a honey pot or expect to drive to the dump station 2-3 times. The showers/bathrooms are not great. Only one light worked in all 4 of the showers, the drains were awful and the water backed up.around your feet. There's no separation in the stalls themselves, so all of your clothes and towels get sopping wet. You can't adjust the temp of the water, which was way too hot for littles and even me. There was a tornado when we were there and we had no idea where to go to find shelter. There were no sirens and the camp host was one of the first people gone. We got caught in it and had to pound on the door of the local bait shop. Luckily, they let us in and allowed us to shelter there, along with some other folks from the campground who were lost and bewildered as well. We did lose power after the storm, but they had it back up very quickly. There was a lot of debris after the storm as well, and they had that cleaned up in 12 hours. They do have small firepits there to use. Iys all gravel besides the.pad tou park on which makes it easy to drive around in even if its muddy. All in all a good campground...

Nice park but i arrived during bad weather & im just passing thru Kansas, so i didn't plan to stay & hike or fish because of the weather, nor camp. At the entry i asked if i had to pay just to drive-thru & the lady who unlocked the door was firm & unequivocal, "YES YOU DO".

SO i paid the $5 just so i could see what the park looked like thru my windshield thinking it would take an hour or so to drive thru... BUT you can drive thru the central area in 5 or 10 minutes !! ... It IRKED me that the state park lady had to BE SO GREEDY 👎 . AND she could have told me that the Lucas & Minooka section are FREE to drive thru.

I've been traveling for 2 months. There is NOT much free anywhere. Its all TAKE TAKE TAKE from vendors, stores, gas stations, & yes, Wilson State Park. Once in a while you would like to experience some generosity ...some graciousness & self-awareness.

In the long run it will come back to bless & prosper you MUCH MORE than the $5 you wrangled out of me for a 5 minute drive thru the park .I leave thinking it looks like it could be a fun place on a nice day, but that...