Photo by Tom Berg

Summer's here, and folks across the Great Plains are planning their getaways.

It's vacation season, so families are getting ready for some fun in the sun. Some will stay close to home; others will travel in search of new places, new sights, new adventures. This story should interest both groups.

Those who don't want to travel very far will learn about some destinations that will provide great family fishing vacations close to home. Those who are interested in new scenery will get lines on destinations throughout the Great Plains that will provide good fishing and great times this summer.

The choices here aren't arbitrary, but they're also not the only places in the Great Plains for family fishing vacations full of variety. And "variety" is indeed the byword in this group. Some may be familiar to you; others, not. Each offers something you may find attractive; all of them are just a little different. One thing you can depend on: When it comes to family fishing vacations in the Great Plains, these spots are representative of what you'll be able to enjoy this month -- and all summer long.

Listings are by state, and states are in alphabetical order.

KANSAS
Southeast Kansas' Fall River State Park offers vacationers the opportunity to fish a very good impoundment, albeit a not too large one, in the form of Fall River Reservoir, beneath whose 2,540 surface-acres swim bass, bluegills, crappie, walleyes, white bass and channel cats. They can also try their hands at stream-fishing in the wondrously clear waters of Fall River and Otter Creek above the lake. Stream-anglers will find bass, sunfish and catfish in plenty.

Wade-fishing can be great fun, but you might want to consider a trip to Eureka, about 16 miles away, to rent a canoe. A lazy afternoon of drifting on Fall River, stopping to fish if and when you get the urge, is simply an unparalleled pleasure.

Camping facilities include both primitive sites and sites with RV hookups. For more information on the park and everything you can do there, contact the park office at (620) 637-2213.

Some 23 miles west of Hays in western Kansas, Cedar Bluff State Park offers anglers a chance to sample what may be one of the best fisheries in all the Sunflower State. Over the last decade and more, much has been written in these pages about the rebirth of western Kansas reservoirs, when, about a dozen years ago, rains returned after protracted drought. The state now owns the water rights to Cedar Bluff, so the lake no longer suffers severe impacts from long dry spells such as the other western reservoirs are subject to.

The lake's area is 6,800 acres at normal pool. You're likely to find it low this summer, but certainly not unfishable. The state park actually has two areas -- Bluffton on the north shore and Page Creek on the south shore. A jewel adorning this area, the trail west of Page Creek allows you to walk or to bike along an area that a spectacular view of the Smoky Hill River Valley and the 100-foot-tall limestone bluffs that, all dressed in cedar, earned the lake its name.

There are five cabins available at the pWark, along with 121 campsites, utility hookups and hundreds of primitive campsites. For more information, contact the park office at (785) 726-3212.

Kansas' largest impoundment at 16,000 surface-acres, Milford is home to solid populations of bass, walleyes, crappie and catfish. And June gives you the chance to fish spawning bass at Milford. You also should contact the park office at (785) 238-3014 to ask about the date of the annual kids' fishing clinic and derby, which comes to Milford each June.

When you're not fishing, there are a half-dozen trails for hiking or biking. And two park trails -- the Old River Bluff Trail and the Eagle Ridge Trail -- join with the Junction City Riverwalk Trail to take you on the 17 1/2-mile trip into town, if you like.