A large unit with land in 14 counties around Emporia, this area has a diverse mixture of prairie land, farms, ranches, woodlots, riparian brush and timber, and supports good numbers of whitetail deer. Thousands of acres of public land are available.

With land in 14 counties around Emporia, this large unit varies from flat to hilly land along Verdigris, Kansas, Fall River, Cottonwood and Walnut rivers and many creeks. The area is dotted with many lakes and ponds. The bigger lakes include John Redmond Reservoir, Eureka City Lake, El Dorado Lake and Council Grove Lake. Most of the unit is between 1,100 and 1,400 feet above sea level.

Most land is farmland or prairie pasture land separated by timber along waterways. Wide bands of trees border rivers and large creeks, narrowing along small tributaries. Most trees are blackjack oaks, post oaks, ash, coffee tree, elms, maples, hackberry, walnut, redbuds and cedars. Much pasture land is tallgrass prairie, including cordgrass prairie, upland prairie and savanna. Cordgrass prairie is composed mainly of eastern cordgrass, eastern grama, buttonbush and common ironweed. Upland prairie is mostly bluestem grass, Indian grass, wildflowers and switchgrass. Savanna features wildflowers, various prairie grasses and scattered brush and trees.

Lake Shawnee Campground has RV and tent campsites and showers. El Dorado State Park, near El Dorado Lake, has campgrounds and seven cabins. Eisenhower State Park has cabins, yurts, RV sites and tent campsites next to Melvern Lake. Canning Creek Campground, near Council Grove Lake, has 43 campsites that can be reserved. Electricity and flush toilets are provided. Cabins, tent sites and RV sites are provided at Eureka Springs Park near Eureka City Lake. Turkey Point Campground at Melvern Lake has 49 campsites, many with electricity. Motels and bed and breakfast facilities are available in Emporia and many smaller towns, including Winfield and Yates Center. Options include The Cottage House Bed & Breakfast in Council Grove and Heritage House on Canning Creek Ranch.

Melvern Wildlife Area has public hunting on 4,000 acres of native tall grass prairie, 2,000 acres of woods and 3,000 acres of crop land. Hunters must check in first using the state’s electronic daily permit system. John Redmond Wildlife Area, situated along Otter Creek near John Redmond Reservoir, consists of 465 acres of cropland, 970 acres of grassland and 200 acres of riparian brush and trees and is open to deer hunting. Most of the 18,500-acres in Flint Hills National Wildlife Refuge is open to hunting. Hunters must have a refuge permit and may drive and park only where designated. No centerfire rifles and no ATVs or UTVs are allowed on the refuge. Archery gear, muzzleloaders and shotguns with slugs are permitted. About 2,700 acres of public hunting land surrounds Council Grove Lake, also called Council Grove Reservoir. Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is closed to hunting. The 4,000-acre El Dorado Wildlife Area by El Dorado Reservoir is open to hunting and has many whitetail deer. Through the state’s walk-in hunting program, public hunters may hunt at no fee on several private parcels listed in the yearly Fall Hunting Atlas, which also includes details on state and federal hunting areas. There are many controlled shooting areas in this unit, listed here.