Jackson Lake State Park — Jackson Lake

I have had some good experiences here and some not so good. I’ll start with the bad first. There are insufficient trashcan and dumpsters here so often that the beaches are trashed. Also, there have been times I’ve camped here and the water smelled like cattle manure. My only assumption is the local agriculture dumps into the water that feeds the lake. After driving 40 miles from the nearest city - a smelly lake was not what we had in mind. The good: this is basically what you want it to be. Inexpensive campsites where people are friendly and the amenities are fine. When the water is clean and you can swim on a sunny day it’s a great time.

Getting there: Located out in the plains South of Pawnee National Grassland near and a bit NE of Ft. Morgan off I-76 

Check in and staff: We made an online reservation, entered and camped. We were on the far Southern side of the campground, which is much larger than it looks. Later we discovered the Visitor Center as we were leaving. The ranger there was very nice and helpful. 

Amenities: Water is available, as are dumpsters. Roads are dirt/gravel and can be uneven in places, but not bad at all. Power available as well. 

Bathrooms: clean, well kept. On the southern side near our site there is a single toilet, no shower. Those are located in the area near the visitor center, a long walk from where we were. They were reasonably clean, but we did not use them. 

Site: Lakeside, on the Southern end of the campground. Cannot recall the number!

Comments: It was quite windy when we were there. On the other hand, no bugs!

The camp site we had was close to the lake. We left a day early because of tornado warnings. Other than that we had a great time

We saw some negative reviews, so weren’t sure what to expect, but thought it was great!  We were in 25’ van in Site 87 Pelican Campground.  Campground faces east and has a great view of the lake.  The van created shade in the afternoon, but there’s no shade in the morning.  Other camp sites had more trees, but then the view isn’t as good.  Trade offs!  Vault and flush toilets in each campground, but no soap dispensers to be found, so carry your hand sanitizer!  Important detail - showers are coin operated (50 cents for a few minutes).  We skipped the shower, but quarters could be important if you’re into cleanliness!  Roads in/out are rock/sand, so a little rough in spots, but there were all kinds of campers who seemed to manage just fine - vans, pull trailers and big rigs.  We like to relax by the lake, but didn’t check out the beach or any of the water sports, so can only say that it was a great place to stay for a couple of nights just to get away.  Road gravel bikes from camp in the morning (OK riding, but not great - maybe better when there hasn’t been as much rain), relaxed and watched the water in the afternoon, and enjoyed the Dark Sky Community vibe at night.  Perfect for what we needed!

You can reserve spots online for camping, but you still need a day pass to enter. Ends up at roughly $45 but it's quiet, well maintained and easy to navigate. A great stayover or extended stay.

We stayed at site 147 in the Foxhill loop. It was nice little basic site. Our site didn’t have hookups, but I think others do. Our site was near the vault toilets, which was convenient. They were very basic, but clean.

Short walk to the lake where people were fishing and boating. The kids had fun at the little beach. There aren’t many trees so it feels open and there isn’t much privacy, but our site was far enough away from others that we weren’t bothered. This isn’t the place for a secluded experience.

Easy access, clean, and fairly quiet.

Have been here several times. The lake is very different depending on when you travel. The last trip when the water was down provided tons of sand for a beach like adventure. Sites are all very different:. Well spaced, fairly clean, and varying degrees of shade. It is frequently windy and dusty in the campground. Be sure to plan for some water activities to enjoy the trip. And be on the lookout for snakes.

Was surprised when my spot was right next to the next one, in basically a small parking lot. I though state parks would be more parklike. The lake was muddy and lots of bugs. Some sites and experiences may be better than others.

Perfect for family camping, swimming, boating. Massive Tstorm came through one night and it was a stunning experience. Book early to get near the lake, it’s worth it. Easy to get to but feels away. Decent camp store, nice fire rings and grates. Bring your bug off and your shade shelter!

Solid campsite option. Nothing to extraordinary but don’t have anything bad to say. We had a pull through site with electric hook ups, a fire pit that had a grill grate on it, and a picnic table. The campsites are spaced out pretty well but there aren’t really any trees to give you privacy. There are stairs down to the beach in the water area which was a nice place to take a walk. When we went, there was construction and took us down a fairly bumpy dirt road detour. They do have water available throughout the campsite so we were able to pull up and load up our RV tank. Super peaceful at night.

Once you get off of the main road you have to drive 10+ minutes on a very rough dirt road. Not fun with a camper.

While the campground was just fine for an overnight stop, we would not have stayed more than one night. The bugs were very horrible. While I know that it’s part of camping, they were swarming so bad you heard a constant loud buzzing. Every time you needed to open your door, the RV would be swarmed with bugs. I am from MN, where bugs are bad, and this is the worst I’ve ever seen.

The lake must be very low, looked about halfway full. Looked a little sad with how little water there was in it.

For the price, I would say it is a little expensive for how it looked this time of year. Might be better during the summer months.

We stayed for 2 nights, changing plans from mountain camping to avoid wildfire effects. The lake (even with low water level) was great to play and swim in, especially with small kids. We stayed in Pelican Bay in a site by the water. Yes you will likely experience bugs, but nothing that deterrent doesn’t take care of. (When you have camped in the Midwest or Southeast US, these pests are nothing!). Well-tended sites and facilities. I recommend sites that have a bit of shade, which many of the ones we saw in Pelican Bay had. Nice pull-through sites that were spacious. Check it out for a close to Denver non-mountain, water alternative!

Clean, nearly level, with amazing views of the lake. Great beach, water throughout the campground. Yep there were midges.. but they aren’t interested in people and they don’t bite. Leave a light at the other side of the site from where you are sitting and they will all go there. Super easy to get to on a smooth gravel road for just the last bit, the rest is paved. Sandpiper is very well spaced and wasn’t at all crowded like the other campgrounds there were. We’re going back in two days! Site #128 is closest to the water... #124 has fresh water right in the pull through!... and #122 has a wonderful huge tree shading the pull through site. We stayed in (and the photos are from) #126.

We have been going to this campground since as long as I can remember. I would always jump for the electrical sites but any sie will do. The non-electrical sites have much less natural shade so you will need canopies. We love taking our boat out and we recently got an ATV and enjoyed time on the OHV track. There is so much to do here including a lot of things for the kids to be involved with nature. We love camping but also having access to running water and showers and toilets for convenience.

Loved the spot we had, (105) but after driving around it’s the only spot we would want. It had great shade, and was very flat. The spot was nice because it had power too.

Now the bad - upon arrival (on 7/20/2020) we realized we forgot coffee, and marshmallows. Well no worries there is a little store, and it’s open until 6pm 👍... well that’s if the lazy girl wants to stay open I walked up at exactly 5:44 and the doors were locked, I knocked as I knew she was in There but she ghosted me. 😡 oh well. I saw her leave at 5:58pm.

Now let’s y’all about the bugs around 9pm we heard a buzzing. I thought it was coming from a mother sight. Then we realized we were completely engulfed in a variety of flying insects. We couldn’t keep them out of our tent. It was awful!

Loved the spot we had, (105) but after driving around it’s the only spot we would want. It had great shade, and was very flat. The spot was nice because it had power too.

Now the bad - upon arrival (on 7/20/2020) we realized we forgot coffee, and marshmallows. Well no worries there is a little store, and it’s open until 6pm 👍... well that’s if the lazy girl wants to stay open I walked up at exactly 5:44 and the doors were locked, I knocked as I knew she was in There but she ghosted me. 😡 oh well. I saw her leave at 5:58pm.

Now let’s y’all about the bugs around 9pm we heard a buzzing. I thought it was coming from a mother sight. Then we realized we were completely engulfed in a variety of flying insects. We couldn’t keep them out of our tent. It was awful!

Will never ever camp here again! Our camp trip cost us an additional$400 because our site#42 fried our surge protector. We had to run and buy a new one as soon as we realized we had no power and the surge protector would not work or even supply any power due to the fact This site is not grounded! BEWARE! Do not camp in site 42! I bet the entire park is not grounded! Thanks for nothing State Park!

We stayed in Pelican camp grounds (#86). Easy pull-through, clean spot, large metal picnic table with large fire pit and grate. Each camp spot in Pelican has an entrance to lake although a rocky step before water. There is a small beach at the end to put your kayaks, rafts, boards in. You have to walk through that camping spot but that’s the pros/cons of that last space. You are allowed to enter water anywhere.

Dogs are allowed anywhere as long as on leash, including beaches.

Never went to the main beach. The marina was stocked with a variety of things but not a lot of quantity. Plenty of wood and ice. Friendly staff. Fires allowed!

Biggest complaint- SOOOO MANY GNATS!!!! I mean more than we have ever seen anywhere. The gnats issue almost made this a 3-star review.

We went during off season and the campground was very isolated until the weekends so we had lots of room to explore and play without having others around

No shade what so ever but a very nice camp ground and marina with beaches.

A lot of sites are available for tents and RVs. Some with hook-ups and some without. We camped once with hook-ups and a pull thru (new trailer owners) in Oct and it was extremely windy and TONS of flies. Dead carp all over the shores :( The second time was in the spring (May) and we camped closer to the lake with no hook-ups. Great spot with easy access to fishing. Not as windy...no bugs really. Camp host was nice. Kind of noisy with so many people in close proximity. Not our favorite camping spot but a great place to check out your RV for a first run of the year.

liked the trails joining each campground.

Great for families. Wind can be an issue, so always put down awnings/canopies and secure belongings before leaving site. Bugs can be an issue. Low lake levels and green water can be an issue later in summer season. Some sites are well shaded , others are zero shade. Check google satellite images to find sites that are good for shade. Sites are good sized. Campground kept relatively clean. Great for fishing and boating.

Great for taking kids, fishing is awesome the swim beach is lots of fun too. Everytime we go we meet new friends! The amphitheater always has fun family type activities which is cool.

Nice place to stay.

Upper Campground is quiet and not crowded.

I have stayed from April to August.

More for big rv camping, tons of sites with electrical hookups. Sites are really close together though and vegetation is really sparse. Would be awesome with a boat/rv combo.

This is a very basic campground with no trees/shade and is close to the marina. There is a bathroom, but with no plumbing and no mirrors (bring your own TP!). Make sure you DO NOT PARK ON THE GRASS - the Rangers here are very strict and you will receive a ticket. If you plan to spend all day on the lake and just need a close enough spot to crash, this campground will do the trick.