Meade County State Park and Dalton Gang Hideout

The Dalton Gang were among the most infamous outlaws of the 1890s American West, a band of brothers and associates who robbed trains and banks across the plains until their careers ended in a disastrous raid. Before that, they had ties to the town of Meade, where one of the Dalton sisters and her husband lived in a modest house.

The legend that draws visitors is the tunnel. A hidden underground passage connected the house to a barn behind it, and the story holds that gang members used it to slip in and out and to escape unseen when danger threatened. The house, the barn, and the restored tunnel are preserved as a museum, and visitors can walk through the passage that gave the outlaws their secret way out.

The Dalton Gang's run came to a spectacular and bloody end when several of the brothers attempted to rob two banks at once in a single Kansas town, hoping to outdo the exploits of earlier outlaws. The townspeople recognized them and fought back, and most of the gang were killed in the ensuing gun battle, ending their brief but notorious career.

That dramatic downfall cemented the Daltons' place in Old West legend, and the Meade hideout, with its escape tunnel, has become a way for the town to preserve and share its brush with that history. It is one of many Kansas connections to the outlaw era of the plains, when railroads, cattle towns, and lawlessness collided across the frontier.

Just outside town, Meade County State Park surrounds a small lake and ranks among the oldest units in the Kansas state park system, dating back to the era when the state and federal government developed such recreation areas during the Great Depression. The lake and its shoreline offer a green, watered spot in the dry surrounding plains.

The park offers camping, fishing, and picnicking, and its longevity gives it a settled, mature feel, with trees and facilities grown in over the decades. For travelers crossing the wide-open southwest of Kansas, it provides a welcome place to stop, camp, or simply rest beside the water before continuing across the plains.

Meade lies in the high plains of southwestern Kansas, flat cattle-and-wheat country under a huge sky, south of the famous cattle town of Dodge City. This was long the country of Plains nations including the Kiowa, Comanche, Cheyenne, and Arapaho, who followed the bison across the grasslands, and whose peoples continue today, most now centered in Oklahoma.

The surrounding landscape is open, dry, and agricultural, which makes both the wooded park lake and the town's frontier history stand out. Spring and fall bring the mildest weather for camping and touring, while summers on the high plains are hot and bright and winters cold and windswept across the open country.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is a place we chose through independent editorial review, never a paid placement.

Meade County State Park, near Meade in southwestern Kansas, is a pleasant prairie state park set around a lake, offering fishing, boating, camping, and hiking, while the nearby Dalton Gang Hideout in the town of Meade preserves a famous outlaw landmark. The state park provides peaceful outdoor recreation on the plains, and the Dalton Gang Hideout, a historic house connected to the notorious Dalton outlaw gang, is famous for a secret escape tunnel that ran from the house to the barn, now a museum recounting the gang's Wild West story. Together they offer nature and Old West outlaw history. With its lake recreation and outlaw history, this destination offers a fascinating stop in Kansas.

You can fish, boat, paddle, camp, and hike at Meade County State Park's lake and prairie, and, at the Dalton Gang Hideout in Meade, tour the historic house, walk through the famous secret escape tunnel to the barn, and learn the story of the notorious Dalton outlaw gang. The lake recreation, the historic outlaw hideout, and the fun of walking the secret tunnel are the draws, blending outdoor fun with Wild West history. The tunnel is an especially memorable and quirky experience. With its lake and outlaw history, this destination offers a rewarding experience in Kansas.

The Dalton Gang were a notorious band of outlaws in the late nineteenth-century American West, known for robbing banks and trains before meeting a violent end during a famous failed double bank robbery. Members of the gang had family ties to Meade, Kansas, where a house connected to them featured a secret tunnel running to the barn, allowing a discreet escape, which has made the site a famous outlaw landmark. The hideout preserves and tells the gang's Wild West story. Understanding the Dalton Gang's history adds color to a visit to the Dalton Gang Hideout in Meade, Kansas.

The warm months of late spring through early fall are ideal for the lake recreation and camping at Meade County State Park, while the Dalton Gang Hideout museum can be enjoyed in various weather, though checking its current hours before you go is wise as they may be seasonal. Spring and fall offer pleasant weather for both. For water recreation choose the warm season, and confirm the hideout's hours, to enjoy both Meade County State Park and the Dalton Gang Hideout in Kansas.

Meade County State Park and the Dalton Gang Hideout are near Meade in southwestern Kansas, within reach of Dodge City with the Boot Hill Museum, the Big Basin Prairie Preserve, the Big Well in Greensburg, and the Fromme-Birney Round Barn near Mullinville. That makes this destination a fascinating stop to combine with the Boot Hill Museum, the Big Basin Prairie Preserve, and the other attractions of southwestern Kansas on a visit to the state.