Uploaded April 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
A hidden treasure of the Flint Hills, Carnahan Creek Park is on the shore of Tuttle Creek Lake northeast of Manhattan, KS. The park is owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and operated by Pottawatomie County. The little park in Olsburg, KS caters to camping, hiking, and horseback riding. The park took heavy flood damage in 2019 when Tuttle Creek lake flooded. The campgrounds were almost completely wiped out and many of the trails also suffered heavy flood damage. The main access road into the park is currently closed due to the 2019 flooding, so we had to hike in almost a mile and then try to locate the trails. At first it seemed like a rather desolate location but we were able to patch together portions of the interconnecting trail system to create a pretty decent hike. Finished with a beautiful view of Tuttle Creek Lake, we would highly recommend this park... in a year or two. The landscape needs time to recover and repairs need to be made to all areas of the park. We do hope to return in a year or so to see how it has changed. This location hidden away in The Flint Hills has the potential to be an absolute gem.
A hidden treasure of the Flint Hills, Carnahan Creek Park is on the shore of Tuttle Creek Lake northeast of Manhattan, KS. The park is owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and operated by Pottawatomie County. The little park in Olsburg, KS caters to camping, hiking, and horseback riding. The park took heavy flood damage in 2019 when Tuttle Creek lake flooded. The campgrounds were almost completely wiped out and many of the trails also suffered heavy flood damage. The main access road into the park is currently closed due to the 2019 flooding, so we had to hike in almost a mile and then try to locate the trails. At first it seemed like a rather desolate location but we were able to patch together portions of the interconnecting trail system to create a pretty decent hike. Finished with a beautiful view of Tuttle Creek Lake, we would highly recommend this park... in a year or two. The landscape needs time to recover and repairs need to be made to all areas of the park. We do hope to return in a year or so to see how it has changed. This location hidden away in The Flint Hills has the potential to be an absolute gem.
