The weekend of May 10th, an old college friend and myself headed a few hours east of Kansas city to Knob Noster State Park. The goal of the weekend was to hang out, catch up, test some gear, and have fun. The weather could not have been better for the weekend. Low forties for the lows and high sixties to low seventies for the highs. Perfect temperatures for tent camping. We left my place around noon and picked up a few last-minute items and grabbed lunch before heading out of town.
The park was relatively empty when we arrived with a few RVs and spots taken for the weekend. We arrived set up camp and headed out for a quick hike before dinner. The hike was a nice one and a half mile loop and was a perfect warmup for the weekend. The trail ended at the park office and as we walked through the campground to our site in the back the entire place had filled up almost completely while we were out hiking. We built a fire had dinner and just chatted the rest of the evening.
I had heard of Knob Noster the town and had visited Whiteman Air Force base, but this was my first time to the park. Overall it’s a great park and I recommend going if you are in the area. It is quite small and only has a handful of trails to hike. We grabbed some maps from one of the trailheads, but they ended up being incorrect and the longest trail was 6 miles.
The first night I opted to test out the Big Agnes Fly Creek UL 1 tent. I will not spoil my thoughts on the tent but it was easy to set both of the Big Agnes Fly Creek tents and they are quality shelters. The other gear that I tested the next day was the RIBZ Front Pack. We hiked several trails and were able to get in about 8 miles that day. There is not a whole lot to do at Knob Noster state park if you go there to hike. It is great for folks who camp in RVs or campers because it’s quiet and allows you to just enjoy whatever you RV folks do. A great weekend catching up and testing gear. Also did some research on possible locations for other hiking and camping trips later in the summer.
If you are planning a trip to Knob Noster, the Knob Noster place page has the practical details including coordinates, what to expect, and photos. Weston Bend State Park is worth adding to the same weekend if you have the time, with ridge trails above the Missouri River about two hours north.
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