Canning Creek

About

Canning Creek Cove Park sits on the 3,310-acre Council Grove Lake in the rolling Flint Hills of eastern Kansas. The campground offers 43 reservable sites including standard electric sites and three group sites accommodating 40, 75, and 100 people. Most individual sites feature 20/30/50 amp electric service, water hookups, concrete pads, and lakefront access. Sites 1-5 were recently upgraded to 50 amp service. The campground provides flush toilets, hot showers, a dump station, and two boat ramps for easy lake access. Council Grove Lake is a productive fishery known for crappie, catfish, and saugeye. The lake was the first in Kansas to receive saugeye stocking. Hiking trails wind along the lakeshore and into the surrounding forest, with Pioneer Nature Trail offering the most scenic route through wildflowers and wildlife habitat. Hunters can access nearly 2,700 acres of public land stocked with quail, prairie chicken, wild turkey, and deer. Historically, the area marks where Osage Indians signed a treaty establishing the Old Santa Fe Trail. The town of Council Grove, located about 2 miles southeast, is a National Historic District with seven Santa Fe National Historic Trail sites. The campground also serves as a starting point for the Flint Hills National Scenic Byway, which passes through some of the best remaining tallgrass prairie in North America.

Directions

From I-70, take Highway 177 south for 30 miles. Turn west across Dam Road, then turn right onto City Lake Road and continue for 2 miles. Campground entrance road is on the right.