Most people head straight for Eisenhower down the road. Big mistake. Carbolyn sits on the quiet northwestern end of Melvern Lake, giving you direct access to the water without the raging jet-ski crowds. Anglers drag their flat-bottoms down the concrete ramp at dawn to chase crappie around the submerged timber. You also get easy hookups. Twenty-eight campsites sit right off the gravel loop, mostly shaded by big hackberry and oak trees that keep the brutal Kansas wind off your tent.

The horse trails draw a steady crowd, too. Riders use the west trailhead here to jump straight onto miles of dirt tracks winding through tallgrass and limestone cuts. Mud gets deep after rain. Still, it beats paved city paths any day. Hunters also crash here during turkey season because the surrounding public wildlife acres start just a fence line away. Nothing fancy, really. Just cheap utility poles, running lake water, and absolute silence once the sun drops behind the dam.