Looking for the best horse camping near Brainard? Whether you own a horse or are joining a tour group, equestrian camping is an adventurous and unique way to experience the city. Search horse campsites and discover top-rated spots, as reviewed by other campers.
$8 - $35 / night
Mahoney State Park offer Full Hookup, Electric Plus and Electric campsites. There are a total of 148 campsites. Lakeside Campground (100-148 campsites) are located close to Baright Lake and Owen Marina. Little Creek Campground (1-99 campsites) is close to a playground, basketball court and the coin operated laundry facility. Both campgrounds have drinking water, showers and modern restrooms. A dump and fill station is located conveniently near the park entrance.
Tent camping is available at Mahoney State Park in the two modern campgrounds. Tent campers will use the grassy area next to the pad site to set up their tent. Those tenting will pay the camping fee applicable to the site occupied. If making reservations, look for the site description of “tentable.” This means there is a level grassy space for a tent.
Reservations are accepted for half of the campsites in Lakeside and Little Creek campgrounds up to 180 days in advance of arrival date and paid in full at the time the reservation is made. All other camping at Mahoney State Park is first-come, first-served. Campers with advance reservations and those camping first-come, first-served must stop at the Lauritzen Administration building located at the park entrance to check-in or register to camp prior to setting up on a campsite. If arriving after hours, campers must go to the Peter Kiewit Lodge customer service desk and check in or register for a first-come, first-served site.
This modern state park is the perfect year round destination for a family escape. Families can visit the aquatic center and indoor playground, explore the park’s hiking and biking trails, adventure through the treetop ropes course, climb the observation tower and, when the weather turns cold, enjoy indoor rock climbing, sledding and ice skating. The jewel of the park is Peter Kiewit Lodge, which offers 40 guest rooms, most with balconies that offer a stunning view of the Platte River valley. The park also offers an arts and crafts center, an array of cabins, as well as camping opportunities. Mahoney State Park is located midway between Nebraska’s two largest cities, Lincoln and Omaha and is open year round.
$30 / night
Platte River State Park is nestled halfway between Nebraska’s two largest cities – and makes a great place for camping near Omaha. Before it was a state park it was two separate camps – Harriet Harding Campfire Girls Camp and Camp Esther K. Newman – and a tract of woodlands. The charming, vintage cabins that once housed campers today provide cozy accommodations while the gorgeous new glamping cabins offer a luxurious yet nature-immersive experience. Other popular draws are the park’s picturesque waterfall, spray park, scenic hiking and biking trails and two observation towers that allow those who climb to the top a spectacular view of the Platte River Basin.
$10 - $165 / night
Encompassing 192 acres, Louisville State Recreation Area boasts five sandpit lakes with approximately 50 surface acres of water. Surrounded by towering cottonwood trees, this inviting area offers picnicking, swimming, fishing, non-power boating, canoe access to the Platte River and a brand new floating playground. Paddle board, water bike and kayak rentals are also available. These amenities, along with the area’s close proximity to Platte River, Mahoney state parks and Schramm Park State Recreation Area and Education Center, have made Louisville SRA a favorite spot among outdoor enthusiasts in the eastern part of the state.
Camping reservations are available on half of Louisville SRA campsites.
Louisville State Recreation Area offers campers Electric Plus, Electric and Basic campsites and is very popular with campers with 223 camping pads with 20-, 30- and 50-amp electrical hookups, as well as Basic campsites without electricity. Other amenities include shower facility and modern restrooms. Campers also have access to drinking water and a dump and fill station and a playground for children.
Lousiville State Recreation Area offers canoe access to the Platte River, as well as a special canoe campsite on the river.
$10 - $35 / night
This recreation area is part of Branched Oak Lake
$30 / night
Ranger
We stayed here for a mountain bike race weekend. Nighttime is great for stargazing and they have pretty stellar sunrises. We enjoyed the archery range and took plenty of walks. The shower facilities need a lot of updating and the RV spots are pretty dated with narrow roads. We were glad it wasn’t a weekend with a full campground and we think it would be pretty hectic during their peak season.
Scout
If you don’t mind lugging your stuff to your tent spot, it’s primitive, no frills camping at its finest! We chose the closest spot to the vault toilets. There are only 4. It’s a bit off the beaten path but we got to enjoy the beautiful horses. Bonus!
Scout
We are avid campers, we are no strangers to all the things that come with camping including bugs. That said, the amount of mosquitoes here made any amount of time outside unbearable.
There was a lot of traffic through the campsite, not even people stopping to camp but literally just driving through, music blaring at 11pm.
And the GPS coordinates were wrong. They are closer to 40.63093° N, 96.57335° W
Scout
Populated but spacious. Friendly staff. Lots of greenery and trees. Only stayed one night but the list of activities seemed great. Safe, relaxing place. Bathrooms and showers could use some work but I was happy for a warm shower after traveling so long. Highway and trains can be heard from a distance but I found it soothing.
Guide
A short drive from Omaha, two rivers offers generally clean TV and tent camping sites across multiple campgrounds. I camped right by the river. Also a short walk to the outhouse and playground. Fun and quick trip if you’re in the Omaha area. My boys (4&7) loved it.
TravelerWe spent Memorial weekend here in 2022. We had to park in a designated parking spot and walk in to set our tent. The site was shady and came with a picnic table, fire ring and We were right on the shores of the lake. It was a beautiful and very relaxing to hear the waves, although the wind coming across the lake was mighty fierce and destroyed the canopy that we had over the picnic table. And the beating of the tent all night long was a little hard to get some decent sleep. But the area was nice and close to the restrooms and spacious campsites
Traveler
Small park with only 3 campsites. It has a hiking trail and a pond to do some fishing. Stayed for two days and would come back. Be wary though that there is limited availability
Scout
Nebraska campgrounds are never that stellar in my opinion often right by the freeway, but this one was the worst. The location is beautiful but the restrooms were the worst I’ve ever seen. It costs nearly as much as a site in a national park with the out-of-state permit, and music was played at all hours by people without any recourse. The cherry on top was our vehicle being pelted with rocks when the person next to us started mowing at 7am.
ScoutCamping in the teepee was hands down our worst camping experience ever. The teepee was hot, dirty and falling apart. We stayed in the“big chief” teepee and it was on a horrible slope with tons of ruts on nothing but bare uneven dirt. There was no privacy as the other two teepees beyond this one were set up so other campers were constantly walking by your camp. Even the door placement to the teepees were bad. There was a more well placed teepee they save for first come first serve camping, not reserved camping. That makes no sense. The worst teepee should be reserved for unreserved campers. There are also bike trails directly around the teepees so in daylight, meaning early and late, you will hear groups of bikers riding around a technical course and lots of whooping and cheering as well as hard landings. To make things worse, they didn’t tell us about an ROTC event they were hosting in the park where groups of ROTC young people were constantly walking by our camp from early morning to afternoon, looking for markers for a kind of seek out practice for them. This was highly disturbing. Zero calm and privacy. The teepee was shabby and the indoor outdoor carpet was dirty and old, and you got the feeling you were sleeping and living over everyone else’s ick. Also, right over the teepee there were loads of huge dead oak branches. With the high winds, we were pretty scared a branch might fall on us. It’s just a matter of time before someone gets hurt, or worse. There were many loud people in cabins with dogs, even dogs barking and crazy dogs running loose the whole time we were there. There was also a lot of trash and littered personal items scattered around in the woods and on the campground area. In the end, it is a very poorly planned campground for comfort, beauty, safety and privacy. We would have been better off to stay home. Like many things now, Platte River State Park feels overrun with activity and under preserved. The exact opposite of why one wants to get away from the city and camp in nature. Waste of time and money.
TravelerI understand wanting to keep state parks available for those that live in the state, but charging out of state people double for a daily pass seems a little unfriendly. $12 daily fee + $30 electric site = $42 for a state park. The park itself was very peaceful and had a similar number of reserved and drive up sites. The drive up sites has nice mature shade trees and were spaced for privacy, which we appreciated. The bathrooms were clean and well maintained. They had shower rooms, but bring your quarters if you like being in there for very long. The electrical sites are paved.
Traveler
Whether you sleep in your van like we did, or you like to stay in a tree house (they appear to be building one as rental cabin) or need a tent platform, the place is huge and sprawling, with wooded sites and open lawn. Friendly and peaceful and definitely one we'll go back to.
TravelerThe place is amazingly scenic and reasonably priced. But I've been camping in different campgrounds all over the US for the last 2 months and this is one of my top 3 for mosquitoes. Those things are relentless and not at all scared by deet. The only thing that surpassed them is the poison ivy that grows everywhere.
The place is wide open without privacy. Well-kept, clean and friendly.
But there's a train going right past our campsite. I had no idea trains can be this long when going through the plains with several engines front and back. If you wait for it to pass, your dinner will be cold.
And I don't know what industry is east of here. But it's 10pm and they're still running LOUD!
Scout
This campground is amazing! I’ve stayed at 100 plus campgrounds and I will say that this one is top 10. The park has beautiful views and the river is not far away.
LegendWe stayed here one night as we were just passing through. The park is really nice and the playgrounds are the nicest I have ever seen! I even had to take my turn on the swings and down the slide. . The new campground is nice with full hook ups, however this is not your normal state park style camping. This is full on RV parking lot with campers stacked on top of each other. I’m never a fan of sitting at my picnic table to eat 8 foot away from someone dumping their sewer tanks. That’s the only con I see here. Luckily we had one of the end sites.
GuideVery nice!!!
Guide
Pros
-Water/Electricity/Dump station
-Public restroom
-Near a gas station and convenience mart
-Free will donation for firewood
-Flat camping spots
-Park nearby
-Fire Rings
Cons
- There are only around 6 spots
-You share your water connection with your neighbor
-RV slips are right at the park entrance so there is the risk of traffic non stop if the park is being used for an event
I came in a couple days before memorial weekend and all of the RV spots were reserved so I only did a short drive around grabbing some photos. It looks like a great spot to swing in overnight if there are any open spots.
GuideNice walking trails and facilities. Lots to do for the entire family
Guide
Love the fishing , you can do river or lake, but didn't love the staff
GuideMultiple ponds/lakes to fish at plus the river. Facilities are nice and the people in the little store was great and food yummy. Check in staff completely rude !!!!
GuideFound on Google maps as a possible campsite during our trip east. It's fairly easy access from I-80, and made for a relaxing getaway from the interstate.
LegendTents, cabins and RV camping. Toilets, showers, fire rings. There is a small lake with paddle boats and kayaks for rent. They have a pool and dining hall for rent. Tons od trails and many of them a taylored to mountain biking. There are 2 types of cabins, basic that has a bed amd refrigerator. Then there are luxury glamping cabins.
ScoutWe camp here 3 4 times a year. Love it.
ScoutWe were here in January and again in March so we pretty much had the place to ourselves. The sights are pretty close so I expect it would feel crowded during the summer. Shower house was warm and so was the water. Lots of trails to explore!
GuideVery clean campground. Many sites are right on the water. Campsites are very close together.
LegendOnce we exited off I 80 per campground(CG) instructions, we traveled following our RV GPS, WAZE, and Google Maps on the back roads to the state recreation area(SRA) and specifically the South Shore CG. We saw the South Shore sign that was somewhat hidden by trees and also a sign for the dump station and potable water. We pulled into the dump station for potable water and to dump what we had from our overnight stay as we were going into back-in site 80 with only electric(50/30/20 AMP). There was a small unmanned check-in gate where we got our Nebraska State Park Pass, but no one was around to stamp our pass so we followed the signage to site 80, which was a fairly easy back-in. We were amazed at the lake view as this site sits up on a hill about 100 yards from the water. Our name was on the post as we had online reservations(there are some first-come-first-serve sites here). We could have put out our satellite, but we got a multitude of OTA channels out of Lincoln, NE. We also got 3 bars on Verizon and 2 bars on T-Mobile. The South Shore CG has a mix of FHUs, 50 AMP, and 30 AMP-only RV sites. Note that when the utilities state Electric Plus, there is no water at the site, just 50 AMP electric plus a 30/20 AMP as well. There are also tent areas within the SRA campgrounds. The sites in general are spaced so you are not right on top of your neighbor. However, the sites that run on both sides of site 80 have no one behind with lots of space down to the lake. This was a very nice CG that we would not hesitate to visit again.
RangerWe stayed here on a whim while passing through. The woman at the lodge was very helpful with the booking. We stayed at site #94 in the Little Creek campground which had electric hookup. The campground was a nice change of scenery from all the farmland and corn we had to endure in Iowa and in the rest of Nebraska. We saw a couple of white-tailed deer wandering through in the early morning hours. There seems to be a lot more to offer here than we had time to enjoy. Nice state park, would recommend to others and would stay again if ever in the area
TravelerThis campground is so peaceful. It’s one of our favorites. The trees have turned and leaves are falling. The air is cool. Love it.
The bath house was recently replaced. It is clean. Shower rates (bring quarters) are reasonable. $.50 for 3 minutes and every $.25 gives another 90 seconds. The change machine was either broken or out of change but that seems to be the norm this year at Nebraska parks.
There’s some mowed/natural trails to hike and Area 1 has a fun 9-hole disc golf course. There’s a swimming beach at Area 1 as well but it’s too cold this time of year.
Picnic tables are permanently in the ground. Many sites have a sidewalk from the pad to the table but ours did not.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Brainard, NE?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Brainard, NE is Branched Oak Lake State Rec Area with a 4.1-star rating from 27 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Brainard, NE?
TheDyrt.com has all 15 equestrian camping locations near Brainard, NE, with real photos and reviews from campers.
