Top Backpacking Trails in Kansas

Kansas has very little backpacking, and this site covers only four trips. Three are on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land around reservoirs in the east: the Perry Lake Trail, a loop of about 29 miles north of Lawrence; Woodridge Park’s 4.5-mile George Latham Trail at Clinton Lake; and the Elk River Hiking Trail, about 15 miles of rocky bluffs and oak woods at Elk City Lake in southeast Kansas. The fourth is the Santa Fe Companion Trail, 19 mostly flat miles beside historic wagon ruts on the Cimarron National Grassland in the far southwest corner.

Expect short trips, rolling hills rather than mountains, and campsite rules that change from trail to trail. Woodridge allows tent camping along its trail, Perry Lake allows camping only at Corps campgrounds on the loop, and sources disagree on where you can camp along the Elk River trail. On the Cimarron grassland, a Forest Service order through December 1, 2026 bans camping and stove fires outside developed sites in mapped areas, so call the grassland office before planning a camp there.

Water is the other constraint. The Companion Trail has none, and the Elk River trail has little, so carry or cache it. The guides behind these pages favor fall, winter, and spring, when ticks, poison ivy, and summer heat ease off. Fall also brings hunting seasons on public land around the lakes, so wear orange.