Elk City State Park
Encyclopedia
State park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...
in Montgomery County
Montgomery County, Kansas
Montgomery County is a county located in southeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 35,471. Its county seat is Independence, and its most populous city is Coffeyville. The Coffeyville Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Montgomery...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, located west of Independence
Independence, Kansas
Independence is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 9,483.-Geography:...
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The 857 acres (3.5 km²) park is settled adjacent to the, 4,500- acre, Elk City Reservoir and the, 12,000-acre (49 km²), Elk City Wildlife Area. The Reservoir offers good/excellent fishing opportunities for channel catfish
Channel catfish
Channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States they are the most fished catfish species with approximately 8...
, white bass
White bass
The white bass or sand bass The white bass or sand bass The white bass or sand bass (MoroneIt is the state fish of Oklahoma.- Range :White bass are distributed widely across the United States, particularly in the midwest. They are very abundant in Pennsylvania and the area around Lake Erie...
, crappie
Crappie
Crappie is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. The type species is P. annularis, the white crappie...
, flathead
Flathead
Flathead may refer to:* Flat-head screwdriver, a screwdriver designed to turn slotted screws* Flat-head screw, a screw with a flat top, designed to be installed in a countersunk hole* Flathead engine, a valve configuration...
catfish, largemouth bass
Largemouth bass
The largemouth bass is a species of black bass in the sunfish family native to North America . It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, southern largemouth...
and saugeye. The Wildlife Area offers a chance to view white-tailed deer
White-tailed Deer
The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...
, wild turkey
Wild Turkey
The Wild Turkey is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes. It is the same species as the domestic turkey, which derives from the South Mexican subspecies of wild turkey .Adult wild turkeys have long reddish-yellow to grayish-green...
, bobwhite quail
Bobwhite Quail
The Northern Bobwhite, Virginia Quail or Bobwhite Quail is a ground-dwelling bird native to the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean...
, cottontail, gray squirrel
Gray squirrel
Gray squirrel or grey squirrel may refer to several species of squirrel indigenous to North America:*The Eastern gray squirrel , from the eastern United States and southeastern Canada; introduced into Britain, Ireland, western North America, Italy, and South Africa;*The Western Gray Squirrel , from...
, prairie chicken
Prairie Chicken
Prairie Chicken refers to several birds in the genus Tympanuchus:*Greater Prairie Chicken **Attwater's Prairie Chicken **Heath Hen **Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus...
, beaver
Beaver
The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver and Eurasian Beaver . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...
, raccoon
Raccoon
Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...
, bobcat
Bobcat
The bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family Felidae, appearing during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago . With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States...
, coyote
Coyote
The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...
, gray fox
Gray Fox
The gray fox is a mammal of the order Carnivora ranging throughout most of the southern half of North America from southern Canada to the northern part of South America...
, opossum, mink
Mink
There are two living species referred to as "mink": the European Mink and the American Mink. The extinct Sea Mink is related to the American Mink, but was much larger. All three species are dark-colored, semi-aquatic, carnivorous mammals of the family Mustelidae, which also includes the weasels and...
and muskrat
Muskrat
The muskrat , the only species in genus Ondatra, is a medium-sized semi-aquatic rodent native to North America, and introduced in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands and is a very successful animal over a wide range of climates and habitats...
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A nationally recognized trails system invites visitors to take in a rich variety of flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
and fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
. The Green Thumb Nature Trail at the Timber Road campground is a one-mile loop which rewards hikers with a panoramic vista of the lake. The nearby Table Mound Hiking Trail runs 2.75 miles north along the east side of the lake to the scenic overlook at the dam. At the overlook is the 2/3 mile Post Oak Nature Trail. There is also a paved and handicapped accessible 3.3 mile South Squaw Multipurpose trail. Running outside of the park is the Elk River Hiking Trail, a scenic 15 miles (24 km) route that begins at the west edge of the dam and ends near the U.S. Route 160
U.S. Route 160
U.S. Route 160 is a 1,465 mile long east–west United States highway in the Midwestern United States. The western terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 89 five miles west of Tuba City, Arizona. The eastern terminus is at U.S...
bridge on the Elk River
Elk River (Kansas)
The Elk River is a tributary of the Verdigris River in southeastern Kansas in the United States. Via the Verdigris and Arkansas rivers, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed.-Description and course:...
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Contact information
Elk City State Park4825 Squaw Creek Road
Independence, KS 67301