Best Equestrian Camping near Ashton, NE

After much deliberation, and with great regret, I am declaring myself a Nebraska State Parks campground anti. There are three interlocking reasons for this decision:

1. Both the campgrounds I have been to (this one and Rock Creek Station SRA) seem to treat tent sites as an afterthought: each park has a very small number of tenting spaces that are kind of on the margins of the campground. At Fort Kearny, the sites that were available were also either totally slanted or full of trash. It does seem like other parks might not share this problem, but it at least indicates a pattern to be aware of.

2. In addition to the campsite fee, there is a $12 DAILY out-of-state vehicle entrance fee. This means that a $15 campsite is actually a $27 campsite. I will say, in fairness, that the $12 also allowed my car to enter the Fort Kearny historical site next to the campground.

3. The showers are coin-operated. This isn’t a cost problem so much as it is a logistical one: who has quarters anymore? Also, because the showers are timed, you can’t turn the water off and back on again, which ruins my entire haircare routine.

Obviously, these reasons won’t apply to everyone. If you have a camper or RV, your calculus will be totally different. If you’re in-state, and you only have to pay $6 for your vehicle instead of $12, I could see these sites being worth it. And if you don’t have hair that you need to condition, the shower thing might not bother you. But if you are like me, a long-haired out-of-state yokel trying to cross the country with a Honda Accord and a backpacking tent, you might take these considerations into account.

I will say that this campground is beautiful to drive through, with all the little lakes and the cottonwood trees. Also, the camp hosts offer free bikes for guests to use around the campground and presumably on the nearby hike/ bike trail, which is very kind of them and which I wish I had time to take advantage of.

Stayed here for a weekend when we purchased our new travel trailer.  We wanted a camp ground that was close to a city and only a 2 hour drive from our home if we needed to get something or an accessory that we forgot to pick up before leaving.  Location is the big benefit of this location.  Literally right off the interstate and all the amenities of the city of Grand Island are only 5 minutes away.  Its rare that I can go eat at Texas Roadhouse or ice cream at Cold Stone and its a 5 minute drive from my campsite.    

This is a nice and well kept campground.  Good shade on our section that is away from the lake and close to the shower houses.  Shower houses are clean and typical for NGPC camp grounds.  Electrical hookups on each campground with water spigots spaced through the campground.  Good access for backing in.

This park is right off I-80 off one of the Grand Island exits. This park was actually a surprise to me. It was pretty clean, especially for as packed as it was. The spacing between camp site were pretty good. The lakes for swimming, fishing,, and nonpowered boats were clean. The trees, and grass areas were pretty as well, and had modern restrooms and showers. There are playgrounds, volleyball court, disc golf and nature trails available. There are camping for rvs, tent, and generator camping. And honestly if it weren't for the interstate noise (which was not bad) I would of forgot I was next to one.

This is a great campground with lots of shade and amenities. The showers require coins to operate, so make sure you bring $1 bills for the coin machine if you don’t have quarters. Half of the campsites are first come first serve, but we had no problem getting a site late at night.

Note that you have to pay for both the campsite itself and for a motor vehicle permit. It seemed a little steep to me because we had to stay for two nights, and the total came out to $74. Maybe I’m just cheap.

There are lots of playgrounds for kids. Also the campground host is situated next to a free bike rental stand. You can take a bike for free and ride around the whole campsite at any time. Pretty cool!