Prairie Dog State Park

About this park

Prairie Dog State Park covers roughly 1,150 acres on Keith Sebelius Reservoir in the High Plains of northwest Kansas, taking its name from Prairie Dog Creek, the stream that feeds the lake. Somewhat ironically, the park had no prairie dogs living within its boundaries when it was established in the 1960s. Prairie dogs were deliberately introduced to the area in the 1980s, and after early reintroduction efforts largely failed, the animals eventually found their own way to the park and established a thriving colony of roughly 300 individuals, now one of the park's signature attractions. The Steve Mathes Nature Trail, a 1.4-mile path with seasonal storybook signage for children, gives young visitors an accessible way to view the colony. Beyond the prairie dogs, the reservoir supports fishing, boating, and camping typical of Kansas lake parks, but the deliberately reintroduced, now self-sustaining prairie dog town remains the park's most distinctive draw, giving it a wildlife-watching identity unlike any other park in the state system.