Lake Scott State Park, named by National Geographic magazine as one of America's 50 must-see State Parks
http://tinyurl.com/oqcaj , is a beautiful, spring fed oasis on the plains which also contains more species of grasses, birds, and reptiles than nearly any other place in North America. I have taken visitors from all over the world to this park, and no one can believe such a place exists here in the heart of the 'Great American Desert'. Its looming, yellow-limestone bluffs, verdant, wooded canyons, crystal-clear springs, 120 acre recreational/fishing lake complete with a quaint Spanish-style beachhouse
http://tinyurl.com/mkekf, and diverse flora and fauna truly has to be seen to be believed. I'll never forget the words of my cousin who lives on a beautiful farm in the heart of Amish country in picturesque, wooded Lancaster County Pennsylvania as we picnicked in the shade of towering elm trees by the crystal-clear water of Big Springs
http://tinyurl.com/lrzfa , the only known habitat of the Scott Riffle Beetle, and where over 400 gallons of water per minute gushes out from the lush base of a two-hundred foot tall limestone bluff of the Ogallala formation over beds of peppermint and water cress. In that characteristic southeastern Pennsylvania/northern New Jersey accent, over the din of multiple conversations, I heard her exclaim from the other end of the table in a voice much like a kid who has just opened the greatest Christmas present ever- "I never dreamed I'd be having a picnic by a spring in Kansas!" This little piece of heaven is my personal 'most favorite place in the world', and I plan on having my ashes scattered there one day. Another of my favorite places in the park is heavily wooded Timber Canyon
http://tinyurl.com/qm47x.
Description by Dan P.
McBride Monument-Lake Scott State Park in Scott County, Kansas.
who was instrumental in helping to establish one of the first state parks in Kansas.
The park officially opened in June of 1930.