CHENEY, Kan. — If it seemed like Kansas lakes and parks were busy you’d be correct. It has been a record year for Kansas lakes as the pandemic drove people outdoors and onto the water to get in some summer activity.
According to the Kansas Department of Wildlife Parks and Tourism more than 8.3 million people have visited Kansas lakes this summer. That breaks the old record of 7.9 million in 2002. That also comes with one month left on the calendar. With all of the flooding last year, most lakes were idle most of the year with only 5.6 million visitors.
At Cheney, it was very busy with most campsites filled up well in advance and a lot of boating and fishing on the lake. With December left, the park has taken on a record 744,842 visitors. The other two lakes in the area were also busy. Kanopolis has had 382,028 visitors this year and El Dorado more than 1.3 million.
It doesn’t look like things will slow down anytime soon. According to the National RV Association, things are expected to be busy again next year as people find the outdoors again.