We took a little family getaway last weekend to Wilson State Park. The park is next to Wilson Lake, which claims to be "the clearest lake in Kansas" ..... which is not saying much, ha! But it turned out to be a pretty nice lake.
We're not quite ready to dive into tent camping with four kids, so we rented a cute little one-bedroom cabin. The girls slept on a futon in the living room/kitchen, where there was also a twin Murphy bed for Jonah. It was tight quarters, but fun to adventure together.
We drove over Friday night and got our cabin set up in time to walk down to the lake and watch the sunset.
Lots of rocks to throw and sticks to shake around. After the sun dipped below the horizon, we walked back to the cabin and made a fire.
On Saturday morning, we started off with a very windy hike along the Dakota Nature Trail. The trail had a lot of elevation change, but we were rewarded with great views of the lake. Esther did a great job keeping up with the big kids.
Once we got to the top, we started making our way back down. We lost track of Jonah and Cora a few times - going down was a lot faster than up.
Once we made our way back to the campground, we spent some time at the playground just down the road from our cabin. It was still super windy (Kansas wind is no joke!). But it was a nice little playground. The kids even found a few Easter eggs left over from last weekend :)
After lunch and naps (for some), we decided to take a hike on Wilson Park's famous mountain bike trails - 25 miles of well-maintained trails, many of which follow right along the lake shore. This actually made me a bit nervous - the lake shore is mostly cliffs, and the trail seemed awfully close to the edge!!
I'm such a rule-follower, but Brandon is not afraid to go "off trail" - even if it means hiking down into a ravine with small children. They all made it back unscathed.
Near the end of our hike, we discovered a little beach! The weather was a bit cool for swimming, but that didn't stop the kids from kicking off their shoes and splashing around in the water.
We had another campfire back at the cabin before everyone crashed into bed. Sunday morning, we cleaned up and packed up, then headed back to Wichita. Great way to end our time at Wilson State Park. I'd say our first "camping" trip was a success. Can't wait to visit more of Kansas's beautiful state parks!
We're not quite ready to dive into tent camping with four kids, so we rented a cute little one-bedroom cabin. The girls slept on a futon in the living room/kitchen, where there was also a twin Murphy bed for Jonah. It was tight quarters, but fun to adventure together.
Lots of rocks to throw and sticks to shake around. After the sun dipped below the horizon, we walked back to the cabin and made a fire.
On Saturday morning, we started off with a very windy hike along the Dakota Nature Trail. The trail had a lot of elevation change, but we were rewarded with great views of the lake. Esther did a great job keeping up with the big kids.
Once we got to the top, we started making our way back down. We lost track of Jonah and Cora a few times - going down was a lot faster than up.
Windy, sunny selfie :)
Once we made our way back to the campground, we spent some time at the playground just down the road from our cabin. It was still super windy (Kansas wind is no joke!). But it was a nice little playground. The kids even found a few Easter eggs left over from last weekend :)
Hiding from the wind
After lunch and naps (for some), we decided to take a hike on Wilson Park's famous mountain bike trails - 25 miles of well-maintained trails, many of which follow right along the lake shore. This actually made me a bit nervous - the lake shore is mostly cliffs, and the trail seemed awfully close to the edge!!
I'm such a rule-follower, but Brandon is not afraid to go "off trail" - even if it means hiking down into a ravine with small children. They all made it back unscathed.
Near the end of our hike, we discovered a little beach! The weather was a bit cool for swimming, but that didn't stop the kids from kicking off their shoes and splashing around in the water.
We had another campfire back at the cabin before everyone crashed into bed. Sunday morning, we cleaned up and packed up, then headed back to Wichita. Great way to end our time at Wilson State Park. I'd say our first "camping" trip was a success. Can't wait to visit more of Kansas's beautiful state parks!
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