Fishing is Milford's calling card, however, and adjacent to the lake is one of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks' most prolific fish hatcheries. There's plenty to see and do here without ever leaving the public land surrounding the lake.

Milford definitely is the largest lake/recreation area in the state, but Wilson Reservoir in the Smoky Hills region of western Kansas just might be the most scenic. The 9,040-acre impoundment is home to all the black bass subspecies, and it's one of the few places left in Kansas with a decent population of pure striped bass. Over the years, the KDWP has focused more and more on wipers in many state waters, but stripers are still roaming Wilson -- and some of them are pretty doggone big!

You'll also find bluegills, white crappie, white bass, white perch and walleyes in good numbers. Wilson definitely offers diverse fishing options along with scenery that truly is hard to beat.

The Hell Creek and Otoe Park areas offer modern and primitive camping, with all the facilities you'd expect to find at a Kansas State Park. And if you're into bicycling -- especially mountain biking -- don't leave the bikes at home when you come to Wilson. The Switchgrass Mountain Bike Trail is 13 miles long, and a wonderfully challenging ride.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION
For more information on all of these great family fishing destinations, visit the following Web sites.
North Dakota: www.gf.nd.gov;
South Dakota: Sdgfp.info.com;
Nebraska: Ngpc.state.ne.us;
Kansas: Kdwp.state.ks.us

Find more about Great Plains fishing and hunting at: GreatPlainsGameandFish.com