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A dark green Toyota pickup with a roof tent parked in tall dry grass as mist closes in.

Army Corps of Engineers campground

Coeur D'alene

Army Corps of Engineers campground in Melvern Lake, Osage County, Kansas. 1,103 feet. 2.1 miles from Olivet.

Reserve on Recreation.gov
Managed by
Army Corps of Engineers Melvern Lake
Elevation
1,103 ft USGS elevation model, at the mapped point
Sites
48 33 standard electric, 15 standard non-electric
Longest rig
65 ft The longest vehicle any site is listed for
Hookups
Electric, Water, Sewer
Reservations
Recreation.gov
County
Osage County

Overview

Coeur d'Alene Campground is situated on Melvern Lake on the eastern edge of the Flint Hills of Kansas. Visitors come for the area's wide range of recreational activities, including boating, fishing, hiking and hunting. Find a virtual tour of Melvern Lake at http://www.photographyoptions.net/images/melvern/tour.html

Recreation

Melvern Lake impounds nearly 7,000 acres of water on the upper reaches of the Marais des Cygnes River Valley. Boating and swimming are popular activities on the lake. Anglers fish for walleye, crappie, channel and flathead catfish, black bass, white bass, striped and smallmouth bass. The 18,000 acres of land surrounding Melvern Lake provide plentiful hiking and hunting opportunities. The two trails that join the campground are the Breakwater Trail and the 4 mile Tall Grass Heritage Trail which connects Coeur d' Alene Campground to Arrow Rock Campground. Hunters may find deer, quail, turkeys, ducks, rabbits and squirrels throughout the area.

Facilities

The campground offers 47 campsites, 33 of which have electric hookups. Site 1 is an accessible site with 50-amp electric, water and sewer hookups. Sites 2-8, 34-43, 50 and 55 have 30-amp electric with water hookups. Sites 44-49, 51-54 and 56-60 are basic 30-amp electric. Two group day-use picnic shelters with electric hookups are available as well. Several family picnic sites can be used on a first come, first served basis.

Amenities include flush and vault toilets, showers, drinking water and a dump station. A boat ramp, dock, marina and fish cleaning station are located on-site, as are an overlook, two nature trails, three playgrounds and a swim beach.

Click Here for a Virtual Tour (http://www.photographyoptions.net/images/melvern/tour.html)

Natural Features

The Flint Hills represent America's last expanse of intact tallgrass prairie, made up mainly of big bluestem, switchgrass and Indian grass. The rolling hills on the south side of the lake are somewhat wooded, but trees and shade are sparse within the campground.

The description, directions and fees are the Army Corps of Engineers’s own words, from its record on Recreation.gov.

What people do here

  • boating
  • camping
  • hiking
  • swimming site

The land around Coeur D'alene

The ringed pin is this campground; the others are its nearest neighbours. Switch on forest roads or BLM routes to see the way in.

Map layers

Layers
Base map
Legend

Federal land, by managing agency

  • Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
  • US Forest Service (USFS)
  • National Park Service (NPS)
  • US Fish and Wildlife (USFW)
  • Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
  • Department Of Defense (DOD)
  • Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
  • Other Federal
  • State
  • Local
  • Alaska Native Lands (Patented or Interim Conveyed)
  • Alaska Native Allotment

Federal campgrounds, by agency

  • Forest Service
  • Bureau of Land Management
  • National Park Service
  • Army Corps of Engineers
  • Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife and others

State and local land (USGS PAD-US)

  • State land
  • County and city land
  • Regional agency or district
  • Land trust or conservancy

Gaps with no tint inside public land are private parcels, often old mining claims and homesteads. They are not open to the public.

Dashed clay lines on the base map are unpaved tracks from OpenStreetMap. They show what exists on the ground, not what is legal to drive.

Select any point to see who manages the land.

Boundaries are approximate and land status changes. This map is a planning aid, not a survey or a statement of access. Confirm routes, closures and camping rules with the managing office.

Nearest campgrounds

Camping near

Source: Recreation Information Database (Recreation.gov), record updated July 3, 2026. Elevation from the USGS 3D Elevation Program. Seasons, fees, water and fire rules change; the managing office has the final word.

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