Timber Point Wetland offers free camping close to the Oak Creek Trail, which extends from Valparaiso to Brainard and accommodates equestrian use. The well-maintained natural area features three gravel camping pads situated near a vault toilet and water hydrant. While limited in dedicated horse amenities, the wetland provides a serene setting for horse owners looking for primitive camping options. The surrounding lake area includes trails often used for cross-country races, indicating terrain suitable for riders. Campsites are positioned close to the boat ramp, allowing convenient access for horse trailers. The campground remains relatively secluded, with visitors noting the quiet atmosphere and good maintenance despite minimal facilities.
Located within riding distance of established bridle paths, the area attracts equestrians seeking trails without the crowds found at larger state recreation areas. Small-scale horse camping is possible with sufficient space for trailers in the designated parking areas. The Oak Creek Trail serves as the primary draw for equestrians, providing a connected riding corridor through the countryside. Water access is available for horses at the hydrant, though riders should bring their own buckets and tethering equipment as there are no permanent corrals or tie-outs. Trail users appreciate the well-kept paths and lakeside riding opportunities. Campers should be prepared for primitive conditions and limited equestrian infrastructure, making this location best suited for self-sufficient horse owners comfortable with minimal facilities.
$20 - $30 / night
"My first time camping in Nebraska. Ive been to several throughout the US. Loved the spot, I was right next to the lake, great swimming access. Downside drinking water access was difficult."
"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."
"No people really, just a bunch of cows you pass as you drive down the gravelly/sandy roads to get to it. No mosquitoes, but bullfrogs aplenty throughout the night."
"My favorite campgrounds are the ones that are a little out of the way on unpaved roads in the middle of nowhere :-) there was a pretty lake, a bathroom, a dumpster, and a map of the hikes."
$20 - $485 / night
"As full-time campers we stay at Mahoney quite often as it is close to the Omaha-metro and there are so many things to do within the park: swimming, golf, zip lines, arts & crafts, trails, nature, horses"
"Walking trails. Camping spots galore. Arts and crafts. Horse riding. Water park. Lodge. Viewing tower. And they just added a ropes course. cabins for rent as well."
$340 / night
"It’s a bit off the beaten path but we got to enjoy the beautiful horses. Bonus!"
"We were passing through Nebraska and opted to stay the night here. The campground is new and will be even nicer when the trees are big enough to provide shade."
$10 - $30 / night
"A HUGE campground with around 250 total sites, with options ranging from walk-in camping tent-only sites to RV areas. There is a 3 decent-size lakes spread evenly across the grounds."
"A HUGE campground with around 250 total sites, with options ranging from walk-in camping tent-only sites to RV areas. There is a 3 decent-size lakes spread evenly across the grounds."
"Check out Blustem if you like to get away from RV heavy camps like I do. You’ll find clean raised toilets, trails, and archery range, boating, fishing and hunting here."
$100 / night
"The fishing is easy in all the lakes and they have a pay fishing trout lake that nearly guarantees success. Our kid and her friends love the swimming beach."
"Whether I was riding a bike around the paved roads. Fishing in one of the sandpit lakes they have to offer, or the river. Walk around the nature trails, or lakes."
$25 / night
"It is right next to lake 4 with some beach access. There are both reservable and walk up sites here. The walk up process is a little strange."
"Very nice camp sites and playgrounds for children nice clean fishing lakes and river access."
$30 / night
"This is a small campground a little ways before you get to lakeside campground. These spots are electric with fire pits and picnic tables. It is near the road and the dump station is in view."
"Take your pick, river or lakeside. Some areas are more modern than others but all are nice. A few have water hookups"
ScoutMy first time camping in Nebraska. Ive been to several throughout the US. Loved the spot, I was right next to the lake, great swimming access. Downside drinking water access was difficult.
LegendCamping 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.
LegendCampground Review
I stayed in this Louisville Rec area a few nights, moving around to three different areas of this HUGE campground are nestled in Nebraska. My plan was to spend a few days taking advantage of the many amenities and activity options this area appeared to have, and I since this is a popular destination option many are considering, I sought to provide a review of the grounds from the perspective of someone who is considering staying in the west, central, or east area of the grounds. This review is for the west area.
General Info on this overall campground
This is a state-funded park, so non-Nebraska plated cars have an additional fee. A HUGE campground with around 250 total sites, with options ranging from walk-in camping tent-only sites to RV areas. There is a 3 decent-size lakes spread evenly across the grounds. Near the central lake ("Lake 2") there is a small shop which has a market where basic kick knacks and firewood are available. This is also where you can rent boats like canoes, kayaks, and stand up paddleboards for hrs, half and daily rates. There is a trail in the woods running parallel to the North Platte River. The path is in a heavily wooded area, so no lakeside views, just a nice, quiet hike with the very occasional hummm of a mosquito. There is a swim area along the beach of Lake 2. There is canoe access at the far west side of the park. In summer, it was common to see people wading across the river as it was neither a fast moving current nor deep. This is a Rec area, so day use is also an option. There are numerous locations for picnics, including Grills, and for fishing in the lakes from some roof-covered docks. Coin-operated showers (takes quarters, change machines take $1 and $5 bills) and full-service, ADA-friendly bathrooms scatter the park as well. There is a play area in the center which has a basic jungle gym. Each site has at least a picnic table and a fire pit. All tent sites are park and walk. If you want to have your car next to your picnic table, you need a padded spot. Each area of the park has these options, as well as electrical, then RV. Most sites are reservable and there are some allocated for first come, first serve. Gates will close at 10pm so make sure your road trip stops before they do. Also, packing earplugs is a must, but it won't completely help you. There is a train that goes very near the grounds - the track basically borders the south side of the campgrounds - and it needs to use its horn while passing through, which happens A LOT.
Central location-specific Info
The harsh part of being located here is if you are looking for any kind of spot that accommodates a flat plot, like sites 206 - 236, you are butted up against the train tracks and that train is LOUD! You will have no chance of a solid night's sleep since the train uses its horn very often. I was in campsite 11 another night, literally as far away from the tracks as possible and wore ear plugs and there was no avoiding it - I was waking up at 5am no matter what. This is the place you want to camp if you are tent camping. The reserve sites or tucked away from a lot of the more family-friendly activities, so you'll get some reprieve from that energy, plus can have some spots that are very close to the N Platte river's edge.
Ranger Review
I was given a pair of the Midland X-TALKER TV1P3 Walkie Talkies to test out from Midland. Since they come with a hands-free option with a compatible accessory, I also got a pair of the AVPH3 Surveillance headsets.
These came in handy (pardon the pun) when I was biking with a friend and skiing. By hooking in the headset to the side of the radio it allowed me to leave the radio in the bag, run a wire and clip a little mic with a talk on/off button to my jacket, then put a little earpiece in around my ear that was out of the way of my helmet. This also protected the radio from debris, as water is easy to collect on electronics when skiing and dust when biking.
These radios aren't big, but they're packed with a lot of features. I personally love the weather scan capability. It locks into the NOAA weather broadcasts to deliver you a forecast. This is very useful while you are on a backpacking trip or in my case doing some kayaking because it helps me plan my routes and assess risk for my activities. They also charge through micro USB if you don't want to pack the included charging cradle (AC powered), so recharging them on the go is pretty simple since you already pack those cables and a portable USB power bank for other electronics.
The 28 mile range is a bit of a stretch (pardon the pun) but this is up to 28 miles. It worked fine for me over some densely forested lakes 2 miles away and even further over open water. I had these up at my cottage in Northern Ontario with me and I was able to get reception on these when I kayaked from one family friend's cottage from ours 8 miles away. It was getting crackly at that point but there is A LOT of interference over that distance so I was shocked they worked at all.
They have 22 channels and 38 privacy codes, so it's easy to create your own network and stay uninterrupted. I also got these working with another pair of radios I had, so they work with other brands. There are some other features, and the product support on their site is great. hey have a reference guide and a user manual to learn how to operate things like the quiet mode - if so inclined.
Overall Pros
Overall Cons
RangerAs full-time campers we stay at Mahoney quite often as it is close to the Omaha-metro and there are so many things to do within the park: swimming, golf, zip lines, arts & crafts, trails, nature, horses, etc. Huge amount of walk up sites all year long. Little Creek campground is the best place to stay for amenities: laundry, hot showers but avoid any campsite located at the bottom of the hill so you are not washed away by rain water or have a site full of mud.
LegendThis is really two large primitive campgrounds each capable of holding crowds of campers. Though this does not have flush toilets or showers they are very near in the adjacent campground.
This campground is on the peninsula of Branched Oak Lake and is close to area 6 which has all the fun stuff. See the review of area 6!
Nearby Malcolm has one of the best BBQ joints in the state, and people throughout the area go to a little town called Bee, close by, for an awesome fish fry every Friday night.
LegendThis free camping area is low on amenities, but os well kept and close to the Oak Creek Trail which extends from Valparaiso to Brainard Nebraska.
The Lake is lovely with such good trails it is often used as a cross-country race site. This NRD lake has 3 gravel slabs close to a vault toilet and water hydrant. It is just up the hill from the boat ramp.
LegendCampground Review
I stayed in this Louisville Rec area a few nights, moving around to three different areas of this HUGE campground are nestled in Nebraska. My plan was to spend a few days taking advantage of the many amenities and activity options this area appeared to have, and I since this is a popular destination option many are considering, I sought to provide a review of the grounds from the perspective of someone who is considering staying in the west, central, or east area of the grounds. This review is for the east area.
General Info on this overall campground
This is a state-funded park, so non-Nebraska plated cars have an additional fee. A HUGE campground with around 250 total sites, with options ranging from walk-in camping tent-only sites to RV areas. There is a 3 decent-size lakes spread evenly across the grounds. Near the central lake ("Lake 2") there is a small shop which has a market where basic kick knacks and firewood are available. This is also where you can rent boats like canoes, kayaks, and stand up paddleboards for hrs, half and daily rates. There is a trail in the woods running parallel to the North Platte River. The path is in a heavily wooded area, so no lakeside views, just a nice, quiet hike with the very occasional hummm of a mosquito. There is a swim area along the beach of Lake 2. There is canoe access at the far west side of the park. In summer, it was common to see people wading across the river as it was neither a fast moving current nor deep. This is a Rec area, so day use is also an option. There are numerous locations for picnics, including Grills, and for fishing in the lakes from some roof-covered docks. Coin-operated showers (takes quarters, change machines take $1 and $5 bills) and full-service, ADA-friendly bathrooms scatter the park as well. There is a play area in the center which has a basic jungle gym. Each site has at least a picnic table and a fire pit. All tent sites are park and walk. If you want to have your car next to your picnic table, you need a padded spot. Each area of the park has these options, as well as electrical, then RV. Most sites are reservable and there are some allocated for first come, first serve. Gates will close at 10pm so make sure your road trip stops before they do. Also, packing earplugs is a must, but it won't completely help you. There is a train that goes very near the grounds - the track basically borders the south side of the campgrounds - and it needs to use its horn while passing through, which happens A LOT.
Central location-specific Info
I personally this this area has the best spots on the grounds. I was loving campsite 11. I had a river-side view to a nice sunset and sat at my picnic table and watched fireworks go off on the other side of the river (4th of July long weekend). These sites are also furthest from the train, which isn't really helping all too much because it's loud anyway, but you're also away from all the noise of the main rec area and central market. Less kids in this area for that reason as well.
Ranger Review
As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I am sometimes given products to test and this time I am testing the FlatPak Toiletry Bottle and the NanoDry Shower Towel (large).
The NanoDry Shower Towel
I have other travel towels, but nothing this size that is this light, this packable, and this quick drying. It's a total keeper. Well, I actually forgot it at a different campground a few days later, but it's something I am happy to pay to replace. I would wake up, have a shower, lay out the towel on the picnic table, and 10 min later it was dry. Speaking of really cool, let me take a sec to talk about the carry case. It's this silicone thing that comes with a carabiner, so I can hook it outside my bag if it's still wet to keep it away from other stuff but also let it air dry a bit.
Overall Positives
Overall Negatives
The FlatPak Toiletry Bottle
I decided to get a few of these guys to solve a few pain points. Usually 'travel size' anything is a little pricier compared to the 'economy size' option, so now I just leave bigger bottles of things like shampoo at home and fill up one of these. Secondly, it's a case that's crazy light so you're pretty much taking whatever liquids, gels, and pastes you use with you with as little added weight possible. It's a travel accessory, so it should be TSA approved, and it is.
Overall Positives
Overall Negatives
LegendCheck out Blustem if you like to get away from RV heavy camps like I do. You’ll find clean raised toilets, trails, and archery range, boating, fishing and hunting here. I camped here in early spring with my boys and another family and we had the place to ourselves. This is yet another really nice state recreation area within 20 miles of Lincoln Nebraska. Check it out.
GuideThis is a great state park and possibly the busiest since it’s between Omaha and Lincoln. Walking trails. Camping spots galore. Arts and crafts. Horse riding. Water park. Lodge. Viewing tower. And they just added a ropes course. cabins for rent as well.
The only minus besides it’s always busy is the road noise from Interstate 80.
Timber Point Wetland provides access to equestrian camping near Dwight, Nebraska, with three designated gravel camping sites. Located 35 miles southeast of Dwight, the area connects to the Oak Creek Trail spanning from Valparaiso to Brainard. Seasonal variations affect ground conditions, with spring often bringing muddy terrain while summer offers firmer footing for horses and riders.
Fishing opportunities: At Timber Point Wetland, the small lake offers secluded fishing spots. "The Lake is lovely with such good trails it is often used as a cross-country race site," notes Charles C.
Explore nearby lakes: Branched Oak Lake State Recreation Area offers multiple water activities within 28 miles of Dwight. "There's a huge no-wake area of the lake for kayaking and paddle boarding. They also offer boat rentals," says Jordan H. from Branched Oak Lake State Rec Area.
Hiking trails: The area around Eugene T. Mahoney State Park provides trail systems suitable for day hikers. "We hiked here one morning and there weren't very defined trails, but the park is small enough where you won't get lost. Nice views of the river," mentions Zak L.
Secluded camping: Timber Point Wetland offers quiet camping away from crowds. "No people really, just a bunch of cows you pass as you drive down the gravelly/sandy roads to get to it. No mosquitoes, but bullfrogs aplenty throughout the night," reports Abigail H.
Stargazing: The open skies at Timber Point provide excellent nighttime viewing. "The stars were spectacular! There's some black cows nearby that kind of stare at you with no emotion," adds Aspen H.
Lake access: Branched Oak Lake State Rec Area features waterfront campsites. "The camp sites are forked out like the cul-de-sac properties, each facing the road and having a large portion of the lake or greens to themselves on the back," explains Patheeka in her review.
Limited facilities: Timber Point Wetland has basic amenities. "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," cautions Gabriel H.
Weather considerations: Strong winds can affect camping comfort at Timber Point. "It was super windy though. It died down eventually and we were still able to have a fire," reports Aspen H.
Varying water access: Water sources at Louisville State Recreation Area might be limited. "Downside drinking water access was difficult," notes Jennifer T., highlighting the need to bring adequate water supplies.
Kid-friendly activities: Platte River State Park Campground offers numerous options for children. "There's a splash park, shooting, archery ranges, horseback riding. There is an RV park, cabins, and a newer tent area," explains Tony B.
Alternative accommodations: Families might enjoy the unique lodging at Two Rivers SRA. "If you enjoy some extra comforts, rent one of the train cabooses which feature a small kitchen, bathroom, AC and beds with mattresses. Our kids loved the lofted full sized bed," suggests Carla D.
Swimming areas: Multiple lakes provide swimming opportunities. "Middle Oak Creek campground has a row of 10-12 electrical spots that are perfect for shore fishing, kayak launch, lakeside views! Nice playgrounds at both camp areas," writes Jen K.
Site selection matters: At Goldenrod Campground, choosing the right spot can make a big difference. "A lot of them have absolutely no shade whatsoever, so be mindful of that. I stayed here on a night where it rained maybe as much as an inch, and some campsites did flood," warns Sarah N.
Facilities and hookups: Branched Oak Lake State Rec Area offers various hookup options but might need updating. "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," says Pat V.
Reservation system: Two Rivers has specific processes for securing spots. "The walk up process is a little strange. You get put on a waiting list and have to return to main office at 3. Then they start at beginning of list and people start choosing so get on waiting list early," advises Shannon G.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Dwight, NE?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Dwight, NE is Branched Oak Lake State Rec Area with a 4.1-star rating from 28 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Dwight, NE?
TheDyrt.com has all 14 equestrian camping locations near Dwight, NE, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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