Why go there

Wilson Lake in Russell County is known as one of the state’s hot spots for outdoor and water recreation. State park manager Rick Martin said the lake is one of the state’s clearest lakes. Wilson Lake is in between the cities of Russell, Ellsworth and Lucas, home to one of the Eight Wonders of Kansas: the Garden of Eden.

What to do there

Wilson Lake offers fishing, hunting, camping, hiking trails and about 20 miles of biking trails. Russell and Ellsworth also have historic downtowns.

For the kids

The Garden of Eden in Lucas offers tours of the 200 sculptures on the grounds and the cabin that Samuel P. Dinsmoor crafted out of limestone. It helped Lucas gain the reputation of “Grassroots Art Capital of Kansas.”

Pocketbook friendly

Encore Antiques and Collectibles is in southern Russell just off the I-70 exit.

Online/Twitter/Facebook

russellks.org; garden-of-eden-lucas-kansas.com; kdwp.state.ks.us.

Save the date

In Wilson, the annual After Harvest Czech Festival is the last weekend in July.

Did you know?

Russell is the hometown of two famous politicians: longtime U.S. Sen. Bob Dole, the 1996 GOP presidential nominee, and Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania.

How to get there

Wilson Lake is on Kansas Highway 232 about 10 miles north of Interstate 70. The lake exit is about 20 miles east of the Russell exit.