Being a relatively recent transplant to Kansas (back in the fall of 2018), I’ve realized there is still much of the state I haven’t seen. I’ve ventured down to Wichita and Topeka, but for the most part, I’ve only explored the Kansas City area. Since Kansas has 27 state parks spread out across the state, visiting each one and activating them for Parks on the Air (POTA) seems like a cool way to see the state and play with radio at the same time.
I’d also like to complete each of the POTA activations on satellites, which means 10 unique satellite QSOs per park visit. This may be a challenge depending on timing of satellite passes and the typical weekend pass antics, so I’ll have to plan carefully. I may bring an HF setup as backup, but my initial goal is to cross the threshold on satellites alone. Since some of these parks are a fair distance from the KC area, I might be doing some multi-day camping at the parks along the way.
I haven’t set a goal in terms of completion date for all 27 parks, but I’m hoping to make significant progress by the end of this summer. As of April 19, 2020, all of the state parks remain open despite the COVID-19 situation. I plan to do all of my operations alone, so I will be abiding by the social distancing requirements.
At the top of this post, I’ve created a map to show all of the parks on my list. Reg flags denote parks yet to be visited while green flags mark activated parts. Click on the flags for details on an individual park and my associated activation report which I will be posting as individual blog posts as I continue this effort. I will also link to the activation reports below.
Check my Twitter (@kd8rtt) for spots and details on planned activations before they happen!
Activation Reports:
- K-2340: Hillsdale State Park (4/25/2020)
- K-2350: Prairie Spirit Trail State Park (5/9/2020)
- K-2333: Crawford State Park (5/22/2020)
- K-2337: Elk City State Park (6/27-6/28/2020)
- K-2343: Lovewell State Park (7/2/2020)
- K-2339: Glen Elder State Park (7/2/2020)
- K-2354: Webster State Park (7/3/2020)
- K-2349: Prairie Dog State Park (7/4/2020)