Goodland, Kansas, KOA Campground Review
Whether you’re looking for a home base or a place for a quick stopover near I-70, the Goodland, Kansas, KOA is an excellent choice!
Located just 5 minutes off of the interstate, this family campground has multiple options, including tent spots, cabins, pull through camper sites, and smaller back in camper sites.
Plus, it’s close to everything in Goodland, including the World’s Largest Easel, shopping, and restaurants.
In the review below, you’ll find everything you need to know about this campground from site photos to an overview of the property’s amenities.
The beautiful landscaping leading to the front office
Goodland KOA: What to Consider
Goodland is in the that part of Kansas where it seems like the fields on either side of the interstate must go on forever.
It’s really flat, very rural, and is prone to sudden and strong spring storms.
So, why stop in Goodland in the first place?
Given that you’re in such a rural area of Kansas, you’ll need to plan your RV stops carefully as you can go for miles and not see a gas station, much less an excellent, family friendly campground.
When planning the part of our RV journey from South Carolina to Colorado, I knew we’d need an overnight somewhere after we left the previous stop in Missouri, and Goodland put us within easy striking distance of our Colorado Springs destination.
Plus, the campground is only 5 minutes off of the interstate—far enough that we didn’t hear any road noise, but close enough that we could quickly get to our site and start resting.
When you get off of I-70, you’ll pass several fast food restaurants, a Walmart, and a couple of gas stations, so you could fill up groceries, gas, and hungry bellies without making any unnecessary detours.
Goodland, Kansas, is fairly small, but there’s enough here for a good night or two’s visit.
Camping Options near Goodland, Kansas
One of the many carved wooden totems around the Goodland KOA property
Like I mentioned above, there aren’t many camping options in this part of Kansas (the western part of the state less than 20 miles from the Kansas-Colorado border), but you still have a few options.
Goodland proper only has 2 campgrounds: the Goodland KOA and the Mid-America Camp Inn.
The Goodland KOA is to the north of the interstate and within walking distance to the town’s claim to fame, the World’s Largest Easel. (But more on that later!)
The Mid-America Camp Inn is south of the interstate and behind a truck stop. It seemed run down with just basic sites, and lacked a playground, pool, or defined common areas.
Beyond those two options, you’ll need to go at least 30 miles either east or west along the interstate to find another RV campground.
I ultimately settled on the Goodland KOA because of the easy on and off from I-70, the kid-friendly amenities, and excellent reviews online. We stayed here for one night as part of our 4-night long haul from our home in South Carolina to Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Montana, and South Dakota.
After staying there, I can absolutely recommend it to other families traveling along this part of I-70 who need a quick stopover with a decent variety of shops, stores, and restaurants nearby.
Goodland KOA Campground Review
Even though we stayed at the Goodland KOA just one night, it ended up being one of the campgrounds we liked the most on our 8-week road trip.
PIN ME!
The campground wasn’t huge, but every single part of it was meticulously maintained. That attention to detailed combined with the quiet, country feel (despite it being just 2 turns away from the interstate) are why I wouldn’t hesitate to stay here again on our next cross-country adventure.
Because we were visiting during an odd time of the year—mid-May before the summer season starts in earnest—we nearly had the place to ourselves. This KOA does close in the winter, so if you’re planning to stop by between October 31 and April 1, you’ll need to find alternate accommodations.
The other campers we did have as neighbors were considerate to the point I barely noticed anyone else was on the property.
The amenities, cleanliness, and atmosphere at most KOAs are what keep us coming back again and again to this campground chain (all have been excellent except our uneven stay at the Colorado Springs KOA, but that’s a story for another day). The Goodland KOA is right in line with the great stays we’ve had at other locations in Anderson, South Carolina; Alamosa, Colorado; Tucumcari, New Mexico; Cherokee, North Carolina and many more!
For a full overview of all of our campground reviews, check out our U.S. campground page here.
We stayed here in our Winnebago Micro Minnie 1800BH travel trailer, which is only 22’ but there were lots available for campers and travel trailers of all sizes.
Check-in Process
You can’t miss the large, yellow entrance sign!
The morning of our check-in day, I received a phone call from the Goodland KOA. We were on the road when I got it, heading from Higginsville, Missouri, to Kansas.
I picked up immediately, worried that something terrible had happened and our reservation wasn’t going to be good.
Instead, I was greeted by an upbeat woman from the KOA front desk confirming my reservation and walking me through the reservation process. Knowing that they were not only aware of my reservation, but actively waiting on us made for an excellent first in-person impression.
Several hours later, tired of driving and ready to get out and stretch our legs, we arrived at the Goodland KOA. The directions on the website were accurate, and you only have to make 2 turns to get here once you exit I-70.
The exit puts you out on Commerce Road going north; then, you turn right onto Old US Highway 24, follow that for just over 1.5 miles, and make a left turn into the KOA entrance. The entrance is well advertised with a big yellow KOA sign, and Highway 24 is infrequently traveled, so you can’t miss it.
Once you’re on property, you’ll find an area where you can park while you go to check in.
The same friendly woman I’d spoken to earlier was at the desk, and she patiently listened to my kids’ questions about the campground. She also gave me some suggestions for dinner, and let us know where we could find our site, the pool, and the play areas.
All in all, she was one of the most attentive desk attendants we’ve had at any KOA, and appreciated her patience and friendliness after hours of being on the road.
Setting Up Camp
From there, we quickly navigated to our site, which was one of the shorter sites near the camp office, bath house, and pool.
In my efforts to save a few pennies, I opted for a back-in site over the slightly more expensive pull-through sites, and that meant my dad had to get our trailer into our overnight spot. (I’m still working on not hitting everything in site while going in reverse—but I am excellent at pull through sites!)
The area in front of the site was nice and wide, so he had plenty of room to swing around and get the trailer situated to back in.
Individual Campsite Review
My pool-obsessed kiddos and me at site B3
Our site was B3, which includes 30 amp electric and water, but no sewer hook-up.
The site is wide and deep enough to park without uncoupling from your tow vehicle
There is a dump station near the office to use for free if you opt for a site that doesn’t have full hook-ups.
It was nice and wide for our travel trailer, and it had plenty of room on the left side for our picnic table.
If it hadn’t been so windy, we could’ve extended our awning, which would’ve fit nicely despite the trees on the lot.
The site is partially gravel with grass surrounding, and it backs up to a small grassy buffer; on the other side of the site was a large lot with an old farmhouse that was not on the KOA property.
I should also note that the site, despite being one of the shorter ones, was plenty long enough to fit our trailer and our Ford F-150.
Because we were making a quick overnight stop, we didn’t unhook the trailer from the truck so make our morning easier.
Cabins and Tent Camping
The 4 wooden cabins at the Goodland KOA
No RV? No problem!
The Goodland KOA has both tent and cabin sites.
If you prefer to tent camper, there are 6 spots exclusively for tents behind the office. We could see the tent area from our site, but there wasn’t anyone staying there that night. (It was late spring, so it was still in tornado season for this part of Kansas, and it was SO windy: not ideal for tent camping.)
The tent sites are roomy and come with a fire pit and picnic table, and there are communal games like corn hole so you can get to know your neighbors. There aren’t many trees in this area of the park, so bringing some sort of tailgating tent would be a good option if you’re visiting in the depths of summer.
On the far side of the office are 4 smaller KOA cabins. These are set off away from the RVs and are all together in a row, making your cabin experience separate from the RVs and travel trailers.
Goodland KOA Amenities and Activities
As I mentioned earlier, this KOA is one of the prettiest ones we’ve seen so far! The owners have mature trees throughout the campground as well as potted plants and beautiful landscaping everywhere.
I’m sure that takes a lot of time and effort to keep up, but the results are stunning.
Beyond that, there are many other things offered for guests here.
Pool
My kids LOVE a pool, which is why I seek out campgrounds with pools whenever we travel and especially on the very, very long driving days we have when doing cross-country trips.
The pool here at Goodland KOA doesn’t have any fancy slides or a hot tub, but the water was crystal clear and clean, and there were plenty of deck chairs, all in excellent condition.
That meant that I could watch my kids while reading under the shade of the trees while they jumped and swam for quite a while.
It’s important for us to have places to relax and play on those long travel days as it helps the kids burn off some steam before they have to get back in the truck for another 8-10 hours of driving.
Playground
The grassy playground area near the entrance to the campground
The playground is just around the corner from the pool. It’s not huge, but it does have the basics—swings, a slide and play structure, and plenty of room to run around.
There’s an old tractor that kids can sit on and pretend to drive, as well as a row of tires to crawl under and on top of.
The playground is right next door to the Kamp K9 dog run, so you could let your kids play while you also let your dog get some energy out.
Camp Store
For a smaller KOA, the camp store was excellent. We bought some pool toys while we were here, and they were very reasonably priced. With the sale the KOA was having during our stay, the pool toys were less expensive than what we’d pay at Walmart or other big box store.
There’s also a small coffee stand, camping themed ornaments, t-shirts, candy, and much more.
Laundry
The dryers at the Goodland KOA
I used the laundry while I was here, and, just like everything else on the property, it was clean and well maintained.
The laundry is small with just a handful of washers and dryers.
Still, it seems reasonable given the roughly 50 sites available here.
We’ve seen similarly sized laundry rooms for much bigger campgrounds.
The machines are coin operated, so bring your roll of quarters. You can also get change at the front desk.
In the laundry room, there’s also a 4-person wooden table and a big comfy chair if you are waiting around for your load to be done and/or you need to get away from your camper for a bit for whatever reason.
Bath House
The interior of the bath houses
The bathrooms seemed to have just been renovated before our stay, though I forgot to ask the employees about this.
Regardless of how recent the renovation was, the bathroom was modern and clean with large stalls and plenty of hot water.
The countertops were granite with deep sinks and polished faucets. On all of the campgrounds we stayed on our 2 month road trip, the Goodland KOA had the second best bath house of all! (It was only beat out by the gorgeous shower stalls at Zion Canyon Campground and RV Resort in Springdale, Utah.)
Nearby: World’s Largest Easel
At the World’s Largest Easel just down the road from the Goodland KOA
While it isn’t on the KOA property, the World’s Largest Easel is very close (about a block away) and it is well worth your time.
You’ll have to pass the easel when you’re going to the KOA and then getting back on I-70, so you don’t have a reason NOT to stop.
If you’re like me and love an odd roadside attraction, this is the perfect addition to your stay in Goodland.
Located in Goodland Pioneer Park and right next door to the Goodland Visitors Center, the World’s Largest Easel towers 80 feet above visitors!
You can get right up underneath it for a photo, but getting the entire thing into frame is harder than you might think.
It’s free to visit the park (which also has a dog park, splash pad and walking trails), and the gravel parking lot is large enough to easily navigate with an RV or travel trailer.
Final Thoughts on Goodland KOA
Our Winnebago Micro Minnie parked in our site
Despite it being in a more rural area of Kansas, this KOA is one of the nicest that we’ve stayed at so far, and I would not hesitate to return whenever we’re nearby.
The owners’ pride in the property shines through in every aspect of your stay, from the welcoming phone calls and check-in process to the beautiful landscaping.
The Goodland KOA is kid-friendly with plenty of activities to keep your family occupied while you’re visiting.
The sites—even the smaller ones like we stayed in—didn’t feel cramped, thanks to the wider layouts and abundant mature trees.
Plus, the easy on and easy off from Interstate 70 makes this the perfect place to stay for a quick overnight visit or a multi-day home base.
All in all, I highly recommend stopping here while you’re heading along I-70!
