Harlan County Lake is the perfect place for adventurous campers and RVers. There are tons of hikes and other fun activities to partake in. Experience some of the most stunning views that Nebraska camping has to offer. Search nearby campsites and find top-rated spots from other campers.
This recreation area is part of Harlan County Lake
$75 - $100 / night
Pulled in at night - was easy to get a spot. Very relaxing campground set against old growth trees. Beautiful pastures and some fishing ponds. Sites seemed pretty level. Right off highway but peaceful and quiet. Needs a little upkeep in terms of mowing the grass and cleaning trash up from the ponds.
First time at this park. 6/30/24. You roll in the staff are friendly to help. The park is quiet, plenty of room for your site. Its deffinetly a good stay if traveling through.
I've been here twice now. Once in July and now at the very end of Oct. Better in Oct. No ticks or bugs and frankly of all the camping locations, there is a number of different choices, I had my section to myself. This place has swimming, a small hike, your choice of camping location, a frisbee golf course and miles one could hike or bike. I think it is kind of a jewel in the Kansas system.
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!
Easy in and out, plenty of pull thru spaces. We could have made it a very long day and arrived at home, but this was a great place to shut down and rest with the air on so we are out of the wind and heat.
Enjoyed our short stay here. Found by accident trying to find a different location, but a pleasant place to stay for a couple nights. The one downside is the pit toilets. They hadn’t been emptied in who knows when. The tp was piled high and there were flies. Yuck! Thankfully, we didn’t have to use them. Hosts were very nice and even have bikes for the kids. Posting a video about this park on YouTube soon. Skyways to Highways
Very nice campground. Plenty of room between sites. Nice little beach areas. Plenty of room to walk the dog. And the dog park is big enough for the dog to run & play in. Wi-Fi is excellent. Cell service too. Now you wonder why not a 5. Being right next to the  highway very bad road noise. Had to turn the fan on high to drown it out. Other than that, this is a great campground.
If you don’t mind hwy noise (we slept in a roof top tent) after a long day of driving no issue sleeping. Nice level pads. Easy check in (after hours) called ahead and paid and they left us a camp map and our site info. Bathrooms were nice with laundry and “storm shelter”
Road noisy kept this from being a 5. Good facilities all around. Concrete pads, all drive through.
This is a nice site with electric and tent sites. Each site has fire ring and there are vault toilets around the site. There are tent site that are free. You can camp there off season. Some of the site are on the river. There are also several hiking trails.
Excellent for large RV’s. Pull thru sites with full hookups and overlooking Norton reservoir
Ok so the cost to camp here is very expensive considering what they offer... First the sites are all in terrible condition.. the shower house is gross and the vault toilets.. puke. They where so over full the toilet paper was at the top... We could smell it all the way down where we were and it was a long distance away .. the playground is terrible cigarettes and booze bootles everywhere... Come on you have an attendant on site what do they do but junk up the place with old dirty bicycles piled high In a nasty campsite... We had been heading home from a mountain camping trip where we where in a camping area with zero power zero water and vault toilets and those where immaculately clean.. we only spent like 6 bucks a night to stay there and it was much nicer than this crap hole..
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:
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.
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.
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.
Stopped here for one night headed east. Friendly staff, nice laundry and bathroom facilities that are handicapped accessible. Big dog park area for the pups. No fires here. Level concrete pads and you can move the picnic tables if needed. There are storm shelters available in the bathhouse.
The park was mostly gravel lot. It was all FHU throughout that I saw the staff was nice at check in. Didn’t have any other interaction with them after that. The park was clean. I just really to comment on the very odd bath house. The showers were separate shower rooms. Two were just shower. There were two other that had a toilet in them. The wasn’t any place to set your bath items or clothes. The were hooks, but some were missing one hook leaving only one. You had to be able to hangs items from a hook and also your bath towel. The toilets were separate rooms one toilet to a room. That’s it. Just a toilet and a trash can. Then the sink/mirror was out in the open room and just two sink-a. No place to set anything if you wanted to blow dry hair after shower. No trash can at sink area. The only place you found a trash can was in the separate toilet room. Very odd layout and any other camper we talked to said the same thing. Trees at sites were only in one area of campground. Our site didn’t have a tree. All sites were concrete pads which is nice. Hook ups were easy to reach without needing to add lengths of hose or cord. LOTS of highway noise. We just did an overnight on way from Montana to Florida. It’s was just okay and would have gotten. More stars from me if not for the odd bath house. I didn’t use the laundry facility, which was also housed in same open floor plan building as toilets, showers and sinks.
Bathrooms need work or at least someone that cleans them at least daily. The park is nice but the bathrooms are embarrassing 26 dollars a night
Camping for anyone arriving at anytime. Don’t expect the best when arriving late, but most of you will have reservations, right? Then you will have the best. (Pause; Coyotes calling) this place has everything for any State Park you could ask. Expansive open grasslands a lake full of fish and fowl. Turkeys and whitetail deer and the coyotes call in the distance. A photographer could get lost in the pure wilderness available in the prairie. I’ve visited here during every season. The heat and bugs of mid July to the frozen autumn morings, always beautiful and teaming with wildlife. A great place to stay no matter your style. Just please be quiet, Mother Nature is listening.
All as advertised! Easy set up, level, and clean.
We arrived late and they had a map and packet ready for us inside the lobby. Great wifi and the cleanest/ nicest bathroom and shower area!
Stayed here in late October and was pleasantly surprised by how nice this was. Had gorgeous fall color and a great sunset. Park was sparsely populated, but there were a couple other campers spread around. Very peaceful and quiet. Site and bathrooms were clean, altho the particular site I chose was hard to level my truck out in for car sleeping. Had a really nice sunrise walk around a field behind the site and saw lots of deer. Quick little ten minute or so jog off the interstate and about 15 to get into the actual town. Would definitely stay here again! Had good signal with verizon.
We only stayed one night. Got in late and left early. Was very peaceful, quiet, lots of sites. I think it was in September. Would stay again!!!
Clean well kept, mostly pull through spots I think. Ours was both times. Cement spots on gravel near a small pond. Easy access. Nice owners. Cleanest bathrooms/sowers ever.
Nice camp ground with helpful gate attendants, this Nebraska park represents the conundrum of many public campgrounds. Here, there are plentiful showers (yes, 75 cents for three minutes, woopdeedoo) but no water spigots and few usable pit toilets. There are primitive sites, 30 amp (yellow) and 50 amp (red) sites so no generator noise and all sites are near stocked ponds. A mix of overnight and long term visitors. Sandhills cranes can be viewed in the adjacent corn stubble in April. Limited cell service and no WiFi
We stayed in Prairie Dog State Park for one night on our way back home from Colorado and were pleasantly surprised with what a nice park this was. We stayed in a primitive site. The sites were spacious and had a wonderful shelter! The vault toilet, however didnt look like it had been swept in awhile as it had a LOT of bug carcasses. But otherwise a nice place to stay. Something for everyone, tents, RVs, campers. Beautiful views!
They took ok in as an emergency stop because our truck had DEF issues. Campground is nice level concrete pads and a reasonable distance between sites. There is a stocked pond you can fish without a license. It is catch and release only. It is right on a bike/walking path that goes into the city and to the archway that is super convenient. The park is clean and the staff is awesome! We would definitely stay again.
We’ve been camping at Patterson Harbor for the past 15 years off and on. It is a nice campground with 80 sites and also has cabins you can buy or rent. Camping is on a first come, first serve basis. The sites include electric and water and are on gravel sites. The beaches are nice and there is a marina which has bait, some food and supplies. There’s even a little bar. Patterson closes for the winter. You can drive your golf cart around(many other campgrounds don’t allow). Everyone is so nice and helpful. Define you check out if you are in the area.
Shaded RV spots with hookups. Good swimming
Camping near Harlan County Lake, Nebraska, offers a mix of beautiful scenery and outdoor activities. Whether you're looking to fish, hike, or just relax by the water, there are plenty of campgrounds to choose from.
Camping near Harlan County Lake, Nebraska, is a fantastic way to enjoy the great outdoors with family and friends. Just remember to plan ahead and enjoy the beautiful surroundings!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Harlan County Lake?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Harlan County Lake is Patterson Harbor Marina with a 4-star rating from 1 review.
What is the best site to find glamping camping near Harlan County Lake?
TheDyrt.com has all 11 glamping camping locations near Harlan County Lake, with real photos and reviews from campers.
