Best Cabin Camping near Columbus, NE

Brand new campground moving up quickly. The cabins are 5 star quality and they're still building more. RV sites are spacious, concrete patios w/ picnic tables, new fire rings. Baby trees were just planted to help with some shade, but there are a few mature trees too. Along the Big Platte River & has a pond for fishing only, with sites around the pond. The shower house is brand new and beautiful & very clean inside. Great place to stay in eastern Nebraska! Columbus has activities for kids too. Water park (the Pawnee plunge) & playgrounds (Centennial Park). There's a Walmart & Menards within 10 min. And plenty of food choices too.

First, the owners are SO nice and helpful. The campground is right off the exit so it is very convenient and easy to get to, they have full hook ups for a very reasonable price so it was a great choice for a stop on our cross country trip. The amenities are nice- they have a pool, large playground, mini put and standard camp store. Things look a bit old but well maintained. Each spot had a porch swing, picnic table and fire ring which we very much enjoyed. The laundry room was closed due to Covid, but they do have one which is helpful too :) my kids particularly enjoyed the mini put and pool.

Older park with new owners. Convenient to hwy 80, Waco Nebraska. That means some hwy noise but it’s Nebraska, it’s flat! No jake brake noise. Besides we now wear ear plugs to bed so not an issue (try it, you’ll like it.) This place has all kinds of activities for kids young and old(er). Arcade, pool ( being repaired at time of review, it’s too cool now to think of swimming), corn hole toss game, miniature golf or just rocking on one of the many swinging chairs. Our site was ample, gravel pad and grass, fire ring, table and swing. Everything worked ( other than pool) even Wi-Fi, it worked well! That’s enough to bring me back. A few more of the new owners upgrades and repairs and this place could be a five star.

We’d passed through this area a few years ago when traveling I-80 and noticed there was a campground(CG) and golf course here in Waco, NE. We added this CG to our list and finally got a chance to stay here. The CG is a little ways off I-80 and easy to get to. Check-in was quick and easy and we were led to pull through site 303 with FHUs. There are separate prices for weekdays and weekends. The utilities were at the center of the long gravel pad. Water pressure was okay at around 40 psi. We got 2 bars on Verizon. The sites here are decently spaced especially for a private CG. The CG was clean and well-maintained. If there were long-term residents, you could not tell. We were here over a weekend, so there were families and a lot of kids using the swimming pool, mini golf, and the large playground area. Each site, along with a picnic table and fire pit has a bench swing. There’s a decent-sized dog park on the south side and larger one on the north side. The CG has its own tornado siren plus an underground tornado shelter. There’s one cabin for rent. They also have a well-kept laundry room with 2 washers and 2 dryers. York has your main amenities such as Walmart. The golf course right next door is a deceptively tough 9-hole course.

Lake Wanahoo is a fairly new lake in Saunders county Nebraska. The lake is part of the local NRD and was originally managed by the state parks department. You used to be able to use your state park permit to gain entry, but now you need to either buy a day pass or a yearly pass from the NRD.

There are plenty of places to camp here including gravel pads and grass pads for RV’s. While most people seem to prefer the gravel pads closer to the lake, we actually prefer grass pads because they are 2-3 larger, so you have more room to setup.

The tent camping area is huge and there always seems to be plenty of availability. We were the only tent in the entire area. The tiered tent area allows you to have a great view of the lake from wherever you setup. All RV and tent spots have picnic tables and fire rings. Unfortunately when the lake and campground were built they planted saplings, so during the hot months there is no shade to be found.

The is still plenty to do at the lake from getting the fishing boat out, using their three wide boat ramp or fishing from the shore using bank or using a jetty. There is a gravel trail that goes all the way around the lake, which provides about a three mile loop. The trail also leads down into the town of Wahoo. There are two large play areas for kids. One is in the campground and one is across the lake in the day use area.

No matter where you go you are not far from a restroom. There are nice clean vault toilets available all around the lake. There is also a large bathroom/shower house in the campground. The shower house does have a change machine on the outside of the build to get change for the showers. These are kept very clean and tidy.

When pulling your RV out here the water fill is in an awkward spot in a parking lot of the campground. To get to the dump station you have to leave the campground, get on the highway and drive to the opposite side of the lake to the day use area. These were just installed a couple years ago. They are nice and level, but just add a bit of driving to get to them.

All-in-all this is a nice place and in a few more years of tree growth, it could be even better!

Campground Review

We pulled into The Double Nickel Campground off of I-80 at the Waco exit(360) in Nebraska and were pleasantly surprised. We had a pull-thru site with Electric and Water. The site was a level, gravel pad with a picnic table and a large fire ring and a cute wooden double swing.

We learned that the owners Jeff and Amanda had bought the campgrounds in 2014 and moved here from Georgia. They have been working hard to improve it and are going to be making all RV sites into full hookups this winter. They also had started decorating for a haunted Halloween at the campgrounds.

This campground had free putt putt golf, video games, volleyball, yard games, playgrounds, a swimming pool, kids toys and books, crafts, and even an outdoor movie. Lots to do for family fun. There was also a golf course right next to the campgrounds.

The campgrounds offered tent and RV camping with Electric and Water to full hookups. There was free Wifi. The owner brought our firewood to the site and there was trash pick up at the site. There was a fenced in dog run for the pups. The only con was the interstate noise which we got use to. Everyone was very friendly and we made new camper friends and enjoyed fellowship around the campfire swapping stories and listening to the coyotes chattering in the distance. We will definitely return.

Product Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time. At this campsite my husband and I tested the Midland ER 210 Emergency Weather Radio and XTalker T31 Walkie Talkie Bundle. Some of great features and things I liked about the Emergency Weather Radio are

1. The ultrasonic dog whistle and flashing beacon to help aid search and rescue locate you in case you are lost or hurt.
2. Loved all the different ways to charge this Radio. You can use the solar panel, the crank, the rechargeable batteries, or 6 AA batteries, making it a great tool to have.
3. When we were listening to the radio, a siren went off to alert us that we were in a severe thunderstorm watch and that high winds were expected.

The XTalker T31 Walkie Talkies have

1. Split chargers making them easy to charge
2. A call or page button to call each other
3. Ease of use

September is Emergency Prepareness Month and this bundle will definitely be a great asset to have especially here in Nebraska where the weather can turn bad quickly. Please check them out at https://midlandusa.com

Arrival was smooth. Parked outside of office and checked in. Was escorted to site and given a run through. Site has a slight dip but was not a big deal.

On site 12, it seems like you would need to share a fire pit and picnic table with site 13. Luckily, site 13 wasn’t ever occupied during our stay since there was a parked utility trailer there.

Pond has three paddle boats and you can fish. Water is murky and seems to only contain bluegill and bullheads. We had a lot of bites but never caught anything. Would be nice if it was stocked with more fish.

Free firewood nightly was great.

Shop in the office contains supplies, food, and drinks. This was nice.

Camp hosts are very friendly and accommodating.

This is generally going to be a great place for campers looking to stay overnight but not really for extended stays.

This campground is a really nice campground right off Interstate 80. The owners live on site and take pride in their business and it shows. The campground is well kept, and the bathrooms/shower house has been remodeled and was immaculate. The sites are gravel, level, and good size. They offer tent camping, Electric and water, or full hook-ups. The sites are pull thru which is always nice. There are fire rings and picnic tables scattered throughout the sites.

We were at a sight closest to the pond, which I loved because I could walk my pups down to the pond and sit at the yard swing and just relax. I thought the interstate would be really noisy but the trees muffle the sound and you really don't hear it. There was even free paddle boats to use for the pond. We also played horseshoes. They also had many other Yard Games to play, a Sand Volleyball Pit, a Sand Box with toys, and a swing set.

The owners were very sweet and Patty brought us fresh baked cookies-something no other campgrounds has ever done and something I will never forget. They also give you your first bundle of firewood free. They go out of their way to make you feel welcome and we did. We will definitely be coming back here.

DONT GO HERE UNLESS YOU WANT TO GET SCREAMED AT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT FOR SNEEZING!!! No joke!!! Very sweet owners, when taking your money. But when my youngest son ran a fever of 104 shortly after we got there at 8:00 p.m., and we had to take him to the ER, the owners actually came out of their house at midnight and yelled at us for "slamming our car door". I tried to apologize and explain the situation the next morning and there was no empathy what so ever! In stead, we got blamed for "making a huge mess in their public restroom". WE WERENT EVEN THERE LONG ENOUGH TO USE THEIR RESTROOM, NOR WOULD WE HAVE AS WE HAVE OUR OWN IN OUR MOTORHOME!!! Just weary travelers trying to get some rest. Not loud, obnoxious, didn't even sit at the picnic table. Didn't have time before we were run out. FOR SURE, two elderly people who SHOULD NOT be in business running a customer service establishment!!! If you want my advice, KEEP DRIVING!!!