Crawford State Park & Lake: Fishing, Camping & Beach

The shore and lake at Crawford State Park, Kansas — The lake at Crawford State Park, Kansas. Photo: public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Crawford State Park is one of southeast Kansas’ most popular outdoor destinations – a full-service park built around a scenic 150-acre lake carved out by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. Nine miles north of Girard near Farlington, it pairs good bass-and-crappie fishing with cabins, a marina, a swim beach and an adjoining fish hatchery, all set in mature oak-hickory woods. It’s equal parts fishing lake and family park – one of the few small Kansas lakes with this many amenities.

This guide covers Crawford State Park and its lake – the fishing, the camping and amenities, and what’s nearby. It’s part of our growing Kansas Lakes Database.

Table of Contents

Crawford State Park at a glance
A CCC-built lake with full amenities
Fishing Crawford State Park Lake
Camping, the beach and visiting
Getting there and what’s nearby
Frequently asked questions
How big is the lake at Crawford State Park?
What fish can you catch at Crawford State Park Lake?
Does Crawford State Park have cabins and a beach?
Where is Crawford State Park?

Crawford State Park at a glance

Size: a 150-acre lake within a 500-acre park, 9 miles north of Girard near Farlington in Crawford County, southeast Kansas
History: the lake was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s
Top fish: largemouth and spotted bass, channel and flathead catfish, walleye, crappie, bluegill, redear and green sunfish, bullhead
Camping: seven campgrounds – 74 water/electric sites plus hundreds of primitive sites – two bathhouses, and rental cabins
On the water: a marina with a restaurant, two boat ramps and a swim beach
Bonus: the adjoining Farlington Fish Hatchery, linked by an interpretive trail

A CCC-built lake with full amenities

What makes Crawford stand out among Kansas’ smaller lakes is how much it offers. The CCC-built lake is wrapped by a developed state park with rental cabins, a marina and restaurant, a swim beach, sand volleyball, horseshoe pits and playgrounds. Seven campgrounds spread around the shoreline give you everything from full water/electric RV sites to quiet primitive tent camping. The mature timber and rolling terrain make it one of the prettier parks in the region.

Fishing Crawford State Park Lake

The lake is a well-rounded fishery. Anglers find largemouth and spotted bass, channel and flathead catfish, walleye, crappie, bluegill and other sunfish. The adjoining Farlington Fish Hatchery – built right after the CCC finished the lake – has long supported the fishery and is worth a visit via the park’s interpretive trail. Work the timbered shoreline and coves for bass and crappie, and the deeper water for catfish and walleye. Anglers 16 to 74 need a Kansas fishing license; check the current KDWP report before you go.

Camping, the beach and visiting

Crawford is built for a full weekend: book a cabin or a water/electric campsite, rent a boat at the marina, cool off at the swim beach, and grab a bite at the marina restaurant. A Kansas state park vehicle permit is required, with camping reservable through the state park system. As with any warm Kansas lake, watch for summer blue-green algae advisories and check beach status before you swim.

Getting there and what’s nearby

The park is 9 miles north of Girard and a short drive from Pittsburg and historic Fort Scott in the southeast corner of Kansas. For bigger reservoirs nearby, Big Hill Lake and Elk City Lake are both within day-trip range to the west.