Best Tent Camping near Columbus, NE

This is the best lake in Nebraska for camping! They are tent sites right by the lake. The bathrooms are pretty clean. There’s a huge no-wake area of the lake for kayaking and paddle boarding. They also offer boat rentals.

The lake was awesome, not much shade on most tent sites. make sure you ask when they dredged the lakes that you want to stay on.

There were a lot of day use areas and tent sites. It was very beautiful and open. We went in the off season so we had a lot of space to ourselves.

Nice playground, picnic tables, and charcoal grills. Clean restroom. Free tent camping. good fishing in the canal. Close to town yet far enough away.

Nice parks in town including a memorial to Andrew Jackson Higgins, the inventor of the Higgins landing craft,

Mammoth waterpark.

Better park for a picnic than camping.

The pros! Lakeside tent camping is always fun. Lots of activities, like boating, swimming, fishing, hiking, etc. And its close to town.

The cons! Its close to town, so it can be a bit crowded on nicer weekends.

Its great for overnighters in the middle of the week.

We primary stop by this site for fishing as the lake is regularly stocked. It's great for kayaking or small boats. There is very little shade available at this campground as it is a man-made area so bring the sunscreen. Fires are allowed and pets must be on leash. RV sites and tent camping site are available.

We were able to stay here for 2 nights while visiting the city. My wife and I prefer to stay outside and camp most often. This campground not only has a fun name to repeat to family and friends (or try to remember when writing a review! lol) but has a ton of campsites right on the lake. I think we lucked out and got site 128. It was a tent site and was on the water but a few spots North of a peak fishing area. If you are here site 128 is where it is at! It is a stocked lake but I brought in a 32" northern. Had to let it go per regs so no fish dinner that night! It wasn't a skinny snake either. Like all places you need a permit to fish and better follow the regs. The tent sites were very well maintained. Clean pads and great parking. Overall excellent car camping and fishing spot!

This lake is a Nrd controlled lake that is relatively new, and requires a daily pass or annual pass. I believe it opened 2012. This lake sits just out side of the Northside of Wahoo, and sits off a relatively busy highway. So as you would expect there is some traffic noise. Also with the age of this lake there is no mature trees around the lake. So as you would expect it will make tent camping difficult for some on hot days. There is tent camping, and rvs, as well as a couple little cabins for rent. The fishing is pretty darn good on this lake. There are several online articles that will back that claim up, as well as myself. This is also a good kayaking lake. There is also a trail, or path that goes around this lake for biking, jogging, or just simply walking. The whole area and restrooms are clean, and well maintained. I thing it's a beautiful clean lake that the city of Wahoo should be proud to be next to. I believe this lake will get better with age.

This is another NRD lake, and pretty well maintained. However unlike Wanhoo you don't need a pass or permit. Also the tent camping is free, and electrical is 18. From what I heard the fishing is good and the lake itself is beautiful. Not to mention there is the little town of Prague and the lake itself is in the Bohemian alps of Nebraska. It is also quiet and peaceful. The few down falls I can see is the lake is not simply accessible from the rvs. Also the trees in the tent area, that are close to the lake, and could cause issues with mosquitoes. So if your looking for something different, but not a ling drive from Omaha or Lincoln area, I would tell you to give it a try.

Branched Oak is not the luxury park that Mahoney is but it is one of the premiere campgrounds at Branched Oak which is one of the premiere parks of Nebraska.

This Camp Area actually is two camping areas (east and west)  the West is high on a hill overlooking the water and has a shower/toilet within the camping area.  The East overlooks the play area and has a vault toilet.  There is a central shower/Toilet structure but it is a little jaunt from even the closest RV spot in either area.  As always they assume that the tent campers don't use toilets and don't need showers so they put those areas as far from the facilities as possible.

There is a beach, a play area, a dump station, and a nice trail going off the east tent camping area.

This campground is located north of the interstate at the Henderson exit. We came to just get out for the first time this year because of Covid-19. We requested a site closest to the pond because I just love to look at the water and wildlife. The campground restrooms were closed due to Covid and she had everyone spread to every other site. No tent camping or cabins open at this time. Had a great time frog hunting and boy were they big. Also paddle boated around the pond

Camping area 2 has a lot to offer, even if you don't own a horse.

The area is well known for being the equestrian camping area at one of the finest lakes in Nebraska. Pull through sites with full hookups, equestrian trails, and corals. Yet few people realize that there is a nice RV and tent camping area, lovely inlet with lakesides slabs, Boat docks, and Boat ramps. Showers are not available at area #2 but are available at a closeby area #1.

The lake has some nice trails including the equestrian trail that comes from the park. The park has several beaches 2 of them very close. There are archery and shotgun ranges at the lake and a decent disc golf course.

At a popular lake, this is a nice yet secluded camping area that often gets overlooked.

I tent camped in the old lakes part of the campgrounds. There are at least a dozen small lakes part of the grounds. The new lakes are busy and full of RVs. If you want a less busy area, find the older section.

Big beautiful sites, BUT there is a very busy set of train tracks that run about every 20 minutes all day and all night. Didn't get any sleep, even with earplugs. Plus, it's right next to a busy highway so you get to hear the locals revving their over-sized trucks into the early hours.

Facilities were very clean. Cleanest I have ever seen in a campground.

Tons of water, a few trails, lots of sites to camp.

When we got here on Saturday we were lucky enough to get the last spot. I would definitely call ahead to reserve a spot if going for the weekend. It is a college town and a state park so it was busy. Everyone was having a great time boating, fishing, camping, swimming, and etc. There are playgrounds, day use areas, picnic shelters,concessions, restaurant/shop, fishing pier along with many small fishing lakes. There are 2 larger rv campgrounds- Pathfinder and Victory Lake, and then a smaller one on the other side of the railroad tracks. All sites have Electric only. There are lots of tent sites. All around nice park and quiet during the week.

Pros 

- Own Beach Front! -- I can not express how amazing this perk is!!! 

- No "dogs not allowed" signs like the public beaches! 

- Plenty of trees for shade (and hammocks) 

- Close parking

- The breeze off of the lake helped so much with bugs

- Price $15/night

- Mowed grass trail nearby.. no clue where it leads - the bugs were too bad!

- Shower houses within driving distance, or longish walk (not currently open.. Covid)

- Stars are amazing at night 

- Fire Pits & Grate  & Picnic Table included

Cons

- No Water hydrants

- Bathrooms are not nearby (maybe 6-7 minute walk?)

- These sites fill up FAST.. Go out on a Friday at 3 pm.. there will not be sites left

---- We went on a Tuesday and got there around noon and there were only 3 sites available. 

- Minimal tent sites (I think 8 total?) -- at south shore

- Can hear vehicles driving on the nearby highway

- Can get crowded with visiting boaters during the weekends