Hutchinson and Abilene Kansas

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. If satellite reception is important the sites to the rear also work well. Power water and septic hooks ups all good in the back where we were...Did not feel a bit cramped.. Access was easy in and out...

The campground is a very short walk to the Eisenhower museum, the Greyhound Hall of Fame museum.. as well as a couple of local restaurants. BTW expect to meet some Greyhounds at the museum.

This is not a fancy place, but the folks that run it are cordial and professional. If our travels take us that way again we would stay at the Covered Wagon without any hesitance.

JohnnyT

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

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

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.

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.

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!!

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.

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.

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 :)

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.