Tuttle Creek ORV Area is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers off-road park on Tuttle Creek Lake near Randolph, Kansas (north of Manhattan). About 310 acres of open and wooded ground offer steep climbs, sharp turns, rock, ruts, mud holes, and creek-side terrain. It’s one of the better public places in northeast Kansas for full-size 4x4s, Jeeps, side-by-sides, ATVs, and dirt bikes.

Access: About 2 miles southeast of Randolph — Gardiner Road / Riley County Road 893, then east on Secrest Road to the staging area (picnic tables, vault toilet, loading ramp). Official maps mark boundaries with yellow posts/signs; beyond that is private property. Stay off the lakeshore (generally within ~100 yards of the water) and out of streambeds.

Hours & use: Day-use only, roughly sunrise to sunset (some Corps materials say 9 a.m. to sunset). No camping or overnight parking in the ORV area. Nearest camping is Fancy Creek State Park, a few miles north. No open fires (a past illegal campfire burned a large area). No fee for day use of the ORV area itself. Alcohol is prohibited in the area.

Terrain ranges from easier connectors to serious hill climbs and a rock garden near staging that some rate as advanced. Use existing trails; don’t cut new ones. Wet conditions tear the place up fast — stay off when the ground is soft.

Note: The separate Spillway Cycle Area (near the dam, Dyer Road) is for machines with a wheelbase under 66 inches. Full-size 4x4s and wider buggies belong at the Randolph ORV Area, not the Spillway.

Contacts: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Tuttle Creek Project Office 5020 Tuttle Creek Blvd, Manhattan, KS 66502 · (785) 539-8511 Corps ORV page · Kansas Outdoors / Tuttle Creek

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