Elk City State Park — Attraction in Independence

The park is a mixed bag. Management is excellent. Josh the ranger is so helpful. He allowed me to change campsites and was responsive to my questions. Comfort Cove and Sunset Point campgrounds are simply awful and poorly designed. Sites are cheek by jowl and all you can hear all day and into the night are big power boats. There have been floods and some sort of tree blight on multiple tree species, so they've lost a lot of trees. That means hot summer sun. Three or four groups of campers walked through my campsite after midnight, talking loudly. These folks don't know there's a pandemic. No one did social distancing. One lady decided to chew out her babysitter on her cell phone, right under my window at 11 PM. I had to tell her to go away. If she had MY cell phone number I suppose she'd chew ME out too. I switched over the Prairie Meadow campground which was like heaven. Quiet, trees everywhere, green, sites far apart. I wish there were more hiking trails closer by the campgrounds. A bit more interpretation would be nice. It's an interesting area historically and...

Great place to go camping with the family!! The walking trails are very fun, but beware of poison ivy!!! It is out there!

The lake is massive and the primitive camp sites are really nice. There’s some great options that you can reserve to get out away from everyone else & away from the campers. We stayed for 9 days and had a great time!!

There is ice & fire wood available for sale up front if you need it. They also have kayak rentals and we did that twice! Had a great time. Everyone we came into contact with was very friendly and happy to help.

My only complaint is their “beach” was a little sad looking. there was some grass/weeds growing on the beach and it was fairly small.. we honestly just found access to the lake through a camp site and went down and played in our own area since the beach wasn’t very appealing. The rocks down in that area are beautiful! They’re all flat due to the water wearing them down. It was a great experience...

We hiked a portion of the Overlook Trail today. It's a little rugged & steep in places but definitely worth the effort. The leaves have accumulated on the ground now so it was a bit slick at times on slopes. The rock outcroppings, overhangs and channels are beautiful as well as a little technical to maneuver through! Trekking poles are very beneficial. We love it out there and go frequently. The biggest problem is the bathrooms have been closed for a couple of years now and it's a popular place so there's no privacy really to take care of business but the views of the lake peeking through the trees and the sunsets keep luring us back. There's also a short easy trail that we take our grandkids on beside the parking area. It's common to see deer and other, small animals like squirrels, coons, opossums and armadillos anywhere along the way. Overall a diverse setting for everything from picnicking to (short) climbing...