Canoeists enjoy a summer paddle on a lake at at the Amazing Grace Bible Camp near Ottawa.

For Kansas, being in the bottom half of the nation’s most populous states does have its advantages.

The Sunflower State, with its wide open spaces in rural areas, has plenty to offer in the way of nature for those wanting to escape for a relaxing day or weekend in the outdoors.

There are sites across the state for birders, boaters, hunters, fishers, hikers and campers.

“Kansas has a lot of natural beauty. You have the opportunity here with public lands to get in touch with nature,” said Bunny Watkins, park manager at Perry Lake.

The travel and tourism division of the Kansas Department of Commerce promotes the natural tours and other hot spots, especially because these types of attractions often allow nature lovers to go at their own pace.

State wildlife and parks officials and nature lovers suggest several options for fun day trips or weekend excursions across the state, depending upon your pleasure.

Camping, boating

Summer is typically a busy time at the 24 state parks managed by the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.

Camping is a main attraction at several of the areas, usually around bodies of water like Perry Lake or Clinton Lake in northeastern Kansas, or sites across the state like Tuttle Creek, El Dorado Lake, Lake Meade or Scott State Park.

Nearly all of the state parks offer boating or fishing in addition to other forms of natural recreation, and they are typically busy from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Many state parks encourage families to plan trips where they can camp under the stars, spend the day outside and cook over a campfire.

“You can’t duplicate it or recreate it somewhere else,” said Watkins.

Hiking trails

The state parks offer preserved natural areas for hiking or biking and observing wildlife.

One recreational trail that reaches across the entire state, the American Discovery Trail, is part of a national effort to let people retrace the steps of pioneers as they moved west across the country.

In Kansas, the trail begins in Johnson County and runs through a mix of urban and rural areas to Lawrence, then on west to Overbrook and across central Kansas before making its way out of Kansas in Coolidge at the Colorado border.

The route’s total length is 570 miles, so it would take some planning and plenty of travel time to get across the state.

Hunting

Hunting season has been an economic boon historically for the state, especially in pheasant season in November through January.

Wildlife and Parks operates about 1.6 million acres of public land for different types of game seasons.

One major successful private venture is Flint Oak, about 75 miles east of Wichita, founded by Ray Walton to develop nearly 3,000 acres of a hunting preserve at the resort in Elk County that has been called a “country club that uses the outdoors.”

Birding hot spots

Birders have advocated and tried to promote what Kansas has to offer the last couple of years in an effort to document what kind of feathery creatures fly across the state.

Douglas County and many sites in northeastern Kansas are praised as ideal for bird watching, including the Weston Bend Bottomlands near Fort Leavenworth.

Other sites that gain high marks are the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge about 30 miles west of Hutchinson and the Cimarron National Grassland, in the far southwestern corner of the state.