Harsh winter weather has people longing for warmer days ahead, and the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) has the perfect remedy for cabin fever. KDWPT invites outdoor enthusiasts to ”Spring Into Summer” on Saturday, March 29 with a free entrance day and open houses at all Kansas state parks. Most parks will host special activities for the whole family to enjoy. Visit State Parks Open Houses to learn about the special events at participating parks.
At Cheney Lake in southern Reno County, their office will be open from 8:00 a-m to 4:30 p-m that day for permit sales and to answer questions. The office will be serving cookies and there will be a sign up for the Statewide Cabin Stay give-away
There will also be Cheney State Park merchandise available in the office along with a drawing for some T-shirts.
They will also have cabin tours and patrons can take a tour of the Ninnescah Sailing Association facilities.
Visit with members of the Cheney Lake Association and learn more about their mission at Cheney State Park.
There will also be information available in the office and the KDWPT spring newsletter will be available.
At Kanopolis, their park office will be open from 8:00 a-m to 4:30 p-m. They will also have a cabin open house from 9:00 a-m to 2:00 p-m.
The statewide drawing is to win a free one-night stay at a state park cabin of their choice. No purchase is necessary. The free one-night stay must be used in 2014, is subject to availability and may be used for a single night or to extend a paid cabin reservation for another night. Limit one entry per person. The drawing will be held April 10, 2014. Local drawings will be held at each site for items such as T-shirts. Visitors do not need to be present to win.
During Spring Into Summer, park goers can take advantage of low off-season camping permit prices. March 31 is the last day annual camping permits are priced at off-season discounts. On April 1, the prices increase to their regular prime-season levels. Visitors can purchase annual camping permits and make cabin or campsite reservations during the open houses, as well. For pricing information and to purchase permits online, go to the KDWPT website, ksoutdoors.com. For online permit purchases, click License/Permits. For campsite and cabin reservations, click Reservations.
Kansas motor vehicle owners can now buy an annual park vehicle permit as part of their vehicle registration process. The permit – called a Kansas State Parks Passport – costs $15.00 plus a 50 cents service fee to the county treasurer. This lower-price, non-transferable permit is available only during the vehicle registration process at a motor vehicle registration office, through the online vehicle registration site (www.kswebtags.org), or when registering by mail. The Kansas State Parks Passport will expire when the vehicle registration expires a year later.