Hutchinson and Abilene Kansas

[MoFanatic]

Planning a trip to both Hutchinson and Abilene Kansas in the next few weeks for the Salt Mine and Eisenhour museums. Looking for decent parks that will work for a 40' fifth wheel. We enjoy COE or State Parks but reviews for any of the ones that are close are outdated on rvparkreviews site.

Private parks will work provided they are safe and decent. Any suggestions appreciated.

[RGar974417]

When we visited Abeline,we stayed at Manhattan Kansas at a nice state park.I believe it was Tuttle Creek? The sites were very spread out.Some had full hookups.No problem for big rigs.Plenty of space.Behind the Eisenhower Home was the Museum of Telephany which we really enjoyed.If you decided to stay in the Manhattan area,other things we enjoyed were the Cavalry Museum at Ft Riley,The First Territorial capitol and the Pony Express Museum in Marysville.

[colliehauler]

ozkamper wrote:
I don't know why noboby from this part of Kansas has mentioned the new campground at Sand Hills State Park just north of Hutchinson.
Being new, it has no shade, but there are about fifty sites around a small pond and most sites are full hookups and it is a very peaceful campground, which will accommodate any size rv. It is less than 5 miles from the city limits of Hutchinson.
Sandhills State Park also has a beautiful trail system adjoining the campground.

I did not know about it. I have never camped close to home.

[ozkamper]

I don't know why noboby from this part of Kansas has mentioned the new campground at Sand Hills State Park just north of Hutchinson.
Being new, it has no shade, but there are about fifty sites around a small pond and most sites are full hookups and it is a very peaceful campground, which will accommodate any size rv. It is less than 5 miles from the city limits of Hutchinson.
Sandhills State Park also has a beautiful trail system adjoining the campground.

[colliehauler]

Tom Trostel wrote:
Colliehauler,
Thanks for the memories about the Brooksville Hotel. I'm a Air Force brat that lived in Salina, KS in 1962-63. The Brooksville was THE place to go for special occasions. Didn't know it still existed. Thanks again.

They had to build a new restaurant because the small town the original was in could no longer handle the sewage. They built a copy in Abilene. Some things have changed, they no longer serve homemade ice cream because of the raw eggs.

[RVcrazy]

Four Seasons RV park in Abilene was quite nice. We used it when visiting the Eisenhower Presidential museum. Excellent!

[MoFanatic]

JohnnyT wrote:
We have stayed at the covered wagon in Abilene... The sites up front have shade, but are cramped and mostly seasonal... The sites in the rear are where we stayed and while there is no shade the sites are more than ample size and offer good access for a large rig.

I think those rear sites will work for me. That's my 2nd choice if the nearby State Park doesn't work out. The State Parks are always such a gamble for me - the people manning the phones seem to rarely know much about the spaces or park access for Big Rigs. I appreciate the time you took to make the Covered Wagon recommendation. That's a great backup for us.

ksbowman wrote:
While in Hutch go to the space museum. A must see.

On my list.

colliehauler wrote:
There is a good place to eat in Abilene as well called the Brooksville Hotel. Not a hotel but a copy of the original restaurant from Brooksville Kansas that was a hotel.

That's on my list too. Thanks for the suggestion!

trailertraveler wrote:


In 2013, we visited Hutchinson and stayed at Spring Lake RV Resort in Halstead, East of Hutchinson.

........

Good to see you didn't let the escapees sour you on Rving.

Spring Lake is my backup to the Kansas State Fairgrounds. I was originally planning on being in Hutchinson on the weekend of the Reno County Fair so we backed up our travel plans by a few days to avoid the fair. If the fairground doesn't work out I'll be calling Spring Lake.

As to the escapees, you are good ... and have a good memory! :B

There are only two people on that board that really rubbed me the wrong way. Unfortunately, one of them has to throw their two cents in on every thread posted so it made sense for me to move on rather than deal with the aggravation. I've led a good clean life and never been in trouble, if I run across that one particular person in my travels I will be quickly weighing the amount of trouble I could be in vs. the enjoyment I would get from punching them right in the mouth.

Mile-High-Endura wrote:

I was there in May could have used a whole day at the Cosmosphere. Stayed at the State Fairgrounds just blocks away and the Salt mine was about 5 miles away. Full hookups too.

Fairgrounds is my first choice. Thanks for making the suggestion.

[Mile-High-Endur]

ksbowman wrote:
While in Hutch go to the space museum. A must see.

I was there in May could have used a whole day at the Cosmosphere. Stayed at the State Fairgrounds just blocks away and the Salt mine was about 5 miles away. Full hookups too.

Jeff 🙂

[Tom_Trostel]

Colliehauler,
Thanks for the memories about the Brooksville Hotel. I'm a Air Force brat that lived in Salina, KS in 1962-63. The Brooksville was THE place to go for special occasions. Didn't know it still existed. Thanks again.

[mikhen]

A few local, town owned parks we stayed at, one in Lyons and one in Sterling. Sterling even has a pool and fishing, and full hookups. Not quite in Hutch but not real far away.

[trailertraveler]

MoFanatic,

We have stayed at a few of the Corps campgrounds in Kansas and many across the country. Never felt any of them were bad and for us with a senior pass they are tough to beat. We have only stayed at one state park in Kansas (Tonto) and it was great, but it was in October in the middle of the week and we were the only ones in the loop besides the camp host.

In 2013, we visited Hutchinson and stayed at Spring Lake RV Resort in Halstead, East of Hutchinson. It is a decent park, not fancy, but the grounds were well kept and the staff friendly and helpful. It is a Passport America Park. There were some seasonals and some working folks. All were friendly and our dogs really enjoyed the large open areas and the ponds. If it matters to you they have a tornado shelter in the basement of a brick building.

Good to see you didn't let the escapees sour you on Rving. Hope you have a Great Trip!!

[colliehauler]

There is a good place to eat in Abilene as well called the Brooksville Hotel. Not a hotel but a copy of the original restaurant from Brooksville Kansas that was a hotel. The guest book had a lot of famous people from the old west such as William Cody. While not a hotel they rebuilt the rooms as they were in the old building that you can tour. The original restaurant took up several buildings in Brooksville and had different rooms from the buildings they took over , such as the bank room. The new restaurant has recreated these rooms as well. Abilene has a old west town with a steam train south of the EIsenhower museum.

[colliehauler]

X3 on Kansas Cosmosphere, allow plenty of time . If yo like BBQ there is a small hole in the wall place called Roy's In Hutchinson, only open from 11:00 to 2:00 or when they run out of food.

[Islandman]

X2 on the museum, this is a world-class place sponsored by the Smithsonian I believe; allow several hours for your visit.

[ksbowman]

While in Hutch go to the space museum. A must see.