Kanwaka is an unincorporated community in Douglas County, Kansas, United States.

[1] It is located 4 miles west of Lawrence.

The name is a portmanteau of the Kansas and Wakarusa Rivers.

Kanwaka had a post office from 1857 to 1870 and again from 1898 until 1900.

[2] Kanwaka is located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 40 and Stull Road.