El Dorado State Park
Managed by Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks
2,637 acres9.2 mi of trail
Boulder Bluff TrailShady Creek Hiking TrailTeter Nature TrailSatchel Creek Cove Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Prospect Township
Prospect Township has 2,276 acres of parks, 889 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: El Dorado State Park (9.2 mi). 6% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5% of Prospect Township’s land is conserved, about 2,547 acres.
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns · #73 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
2,547 acres · of 79.1 sq mi of land
Trails
10 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,276 ac
889 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
6%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
2 beaches · 4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Prospect Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Prospect Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Prospect Township is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns, #73 of 151 in Kansas. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Prospect Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical KS town 2% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · KS 0.2 · U.S. 0.4CPark land889 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,276 acres) · KS 13 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home6% of residents within a half mile of a park · KS 76% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 50%
LessMore
Kansas towns of 2,500+ (151)Ahead of 52%
Few Kansas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Prospect Township’s 5% is ahead of 86% of Kansas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 37% of them.
Water is 7% of Prospect Township’s area (6 of 85 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 5%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is El Dorado State Park, with 9.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
2,547 conserved acres
5% of Prospect Township’s land. Water is left out: Prospect Township has 79.1 square miles of land and 5.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Prospect Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks2,547 ac
State Park · 2,547 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Dorado State Park State Park | State parks | 2,547 | Open |
Things to do
19 places to go in Prospect Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Prospect Township
El Dorado State Park Beach
DirectionsEl Dorado Swim BeachIn El Dorado State Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Prospect Township
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Prospect Township
4 boat launches without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Prospect Township
Bemis Creek Campground
DirectionsBig Oak CampgroundIn El Dorado State Park
DirectionsBig Pine CampgroundIn El Dorado State Park
DirectionsFishermans Point CampgroundIn El Dorado State Park
DirectionsGoose Cove CampgroundIn El Dorado State Park
DirectionsPatriot Lane CampgroundIn El Dorado State Park
DirectionsQuail Run CampgroundIn El Dorado State Park
DirectionsSunflower Meadow CampgroundIn El Dorado State Park
Directions2 more campgrounds
Sunset Cove CampgroundIn El Dorado State Park
DirectionsVeterans Point CampgroundIn El Dorado State Park
DirectionsTrails & water
5 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.2 miHorses · 1.7 miUnpaved · 5.3 mi
Boulder Bluff Trail1.7 mi
Shady Creek Hiking Trail1.5 mi
Teter Nature Trail0.8 mi
Satchel Creek Cove Trail0.7 mi
El Dorado State Park Singletrack North Trail0.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
5Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Prospect Township
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 43 | 48 | 58 | 67 | 76 | 85 | 91 | 90 | 82 | 70 | 57 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 0.9 | 1.4 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 5.8 | 5.4 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 1.9 | 1.3 |
January is the driest month (0.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 5.8 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Prospect Township →
Next door
Prospect Township and its neighbors
Prospect Township has the second most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
El Dorado Township43 miProspect Township10 miEl Dorado6.1 miChelsea Township5.4 miRosalia Township4.8 miLittle Walnut Township0.4 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prospect Township | 5% | 0.1 | 889 | 6% | B− |
| El Dorado | 1% | 0.6 | 8 | 86% | B− |
| El Dorado Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Chelsea Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Rosalia Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Little Walnut Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Prospect Township
Where can I hike in Prospect Township?
The longest trail networks: El Dorado State Park, 9.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Prospect Township is conserved land?
5% of its land, against a typical 2% for a Kansas town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Prospect Township’s trails?
El Dorado State Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Prospect Township?
3,858 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Prospect Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,276 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Prospect Township have?
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #73 of 151 in Kansas. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Prospect Township neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →