Best Cabin Camping near Omaha, NE

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.

Love Platte River State park. Lots to do, especially fun for kids. Cute cabins. Camp sites are decent and bathrooms are clean. Lots of hiking on well maintained trails, the pool is usually pretty busy on weekends.

This is my second review, because second time is a charm. Even though the campsites are closer together than I am use to. We actually took 2 sites, one for us and one for my oldest sons site. This worked out and gave a little more space needed. This also gave us time to really explore those trails I was drooling over. We took one of the more scenic trails and took us over the top of some of those beautiful Loess Hills. I still believe it us a great hiking park, and is only a hour away from Omaha for us.

I’m biased because I live in Omaha but the camp grounds are clean. The place has rock climbing, horseback riding, Paddleboating, zip lines, pottery and more. I love to go in the winter (cabin) to go sledding and ice skating. Just a family friendly, fun place. Tons of places to picnic and have family reunions and more.

This 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.

This park offers a lot of nature activities. You can hike the many hiking trails to the mini waterfall, or Platte river. They have paddle boat and Kayak rentals. There is a splash park, shooting, archer ranges, horseback riding. There is a r.v. park, cabins, and a newer tent area. There is also the 2 lookout towers.

If you are looking for a place to stop for a night of for a few nights with family or traveling alone along I-80 don’t miss Eugene T. Mahoney State Park. There are challenging trails overlooking the Platte River and railroad line. Bring your camera. Visit the horseback riding area ($), water park ($), nature center, and newly added Zipline and treeline obstacle course ($$). There is a nice place to eat at the clubhouse. The staff are friendly and helpful. Cabins for rent can facilitate even large families or get togethers. Book cabins well in advance for holidays. Fishing and kayaking opportunities also exist. Visit the Marina for paddle boat rentals also. The only downside to this park is its proximity to I-80. You will hear interstate road noise at night but if you’ve camped right you will be too tired to care.

A short drive off of I80 and close to Omaha, Eugene T Mahoney State Park is convenient if you are passing through NE.  It is a large park with more than one campground.  Since it is close to the freeway there is the constant sound of traffic.  It isn't intolerable, but definitely noticeable.  There are lots of trees and the area is very pleasant.  

This is more than a campground.  There are many activities ie. golf, hiking, fishing, biking etc.  There is a lodge, cabins in addition to the campgrounds.

The sites are spaced well and have plenty of shade.

We stayed in the recently renovated Owen #4. The renovations really updated it and they need to update the pictures they have on the web, with what it looks like now. New appliances, new furniture, fixtures, new bunk beds, etc. The cabin was very clean and organized upon arrival. They supply most everything thing you need i.e. dishes, cookware, etc. The one thing it does need is a corkscrew! We forgot ours and went without the wine we brought for dinner. With that bombshell though, it was beyond worth the getaway. The winter hiking was fantastic and it was quiet except for the wildlife, but that is why we went out there!

Tents, 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.

Hitchcock Nature Center is north of Crescent, IA and just let outside Omaha, NE. A short drive from the city and you are in the Loess Hills that were explored by Lewis and Clark on their trek west. The is a $3 day use pass or a $20 yearly pass available.

This place has a lot to offer anyone. They have Nature education events, archery range, a handicapped accessible boardwalk trail, hiking trails, camping, etc. There are miles of trail available with backcountry camping available for $10 per night. RV camping is also available for $15 per night with electric, showers/bathrooms, picnic tables, fire rings, etc. They also offer a couple cabins for rent.

The hiking is fantastic and offers something for every skill level. There are absolutely gorgeous views of the Missouri River valley below. All trails are marked and the a multiple different trailheads, many which start around the visitors center/tower Overlook. During the winter they even over snowshoeing events. It is really a nice place to get outdoors anytime of the year.

We use this campground the most often for our weekend getaways. Our favorite campground is Riverside for tent camping. There are spots where you can tent camp right by the river. It does get loud during weekends but that's because everyone is having so much fun! When the river is low, you can go play on the beach. We've even walked through the water to go play on the "islands". There is a convenience store ran by a very nice family and they make a great breakfast for a low cost. We like to get up early and walk across the park to breakfast and then walk back to our campsite.

Okay, we use this for family weekends and friend gatherings. But, we have also used other campgrounds at Two River SRA for Cub Scout campouts. (It's just safer being away from the water.) The park has many, many opportunities to earn badges. You can even take a short hike into a little outdoor nature classroom.

The park has deer and turkey and many birds. There is also fishing. It's far enough outside of Omaha to feel like a getaway and get back to nature. And close enough to Omaha to not feel like much work to go camping! Enjoy!

Went there many year ago stay in a cabin for few day it was fun

Campground Review:

Eugene T. Mahoney State Park in Nebraska is on the Platte River off Interstate 80 about halfway between Omaha and Lincoln.  I will preface the review stating that the review is receiving four stars primarily because of the amenities at the park.  The campgrounds themselves are fairly basic.  There are areas to tent and park your RV within the state park.  The RV campground has about a dozen full hookup sites and the rest of the campsites have electric hookups.  There is not much room between the sites, so you do feel that you are stacked on top of the other campers.  There is a wait list for the campgrounds much of the year.  We were able to score a walk-up thankfully.  The site does have water fill stations and a dump station.  Their shower house is also decent enough.

But, as I said you are not coming here to hangout in the campground.  There is something for everyone at this state park.  They have hiking on paved and un-paved trails, which we utilized both.  There is an activities center for kids to make different arts and crafts.  They have horseback riding, a theater, paddle boating, parks, minature golf, etc.  During the summer you can have fun at the big water park they have on site.  They also have cabins and lodge rooms available for rent.  The cabins book quickly, and can get pricey at around upwards of $400 a night during their peak season for one of the newer cabins.  The lodge houses a decent restaurant with some great views of the Platte River. 

At the main activities area they have a massive indoor play area for kids.  This building also houses their new and extremely fun 40ft. climbing walls.  Outside this building during the winter they have a covered ice rink and they also produce their own snow for the sledding hill.  All-in-all it is a nice place with plenty to do onsite.

Product Review:

As a Ranger for The Dyrt I occasionally get to test products.  While out at the state park we got the opportunity to test out Banner & Oak hats. https://bannerandoak.com/ 

My boys and really appreciate good hats.  We found the Banner & Oak brand hats to be really exception hats.

The hats my sons wore were the Banner & Oak Eagle and the Banner & Oak Sierra.  These two hats were made in the United States.  I wore the Banner & Oak Switchback which was not produced in the United States.

All three hats are really quality hats.  The stitching is tight around the sweatbands and the bill, which is usually a sign the hat will last a long time.

The mesh used for the back of the hat appears to be an older heavier duty mesh.  This mesh reminds me of the mesh found in older hats, or the hats of my youth.  I still have a couple of these hats, so this is another good sign of lasting quality.

The overall designs of all three hats are really just cool.  They look cool and they feel cool, and I am really surprised by how much I like the flat billed hat, since I usually cannot stand them.  The boys and I are really impressed with the construction and feel of the Banner & Oak hats!

My buddies and I rented cabin in the area. Lots of options when it comes to cabins tent areas and RV pads. There is enough here to keep you busy for a long time my favorite is the eagles nest you can see miles down the river. If you have a family I would strongly recommend a visit. Might be biased due to having a bunch of birthday parties here growing up but it’s one of my favorite places to take my son. Photos are taken from river looking at Mahoney.

we go every year, tents not allowed yet. plenty of cabins, water park and gun range. Horse rides available.

They have a couple of different kinds of cabins. There’s a bunch of trails! The park in general is beautiful.

This place has it all....but books up months I’m advance and the crowds can get a bit annoying! Hiking trails, frisbee golf, horseback riding, driving range, fishing, tennis courts, river views, cabins!

This is a highly developed state park boasting an aquatic center, indoor gardens, zip lines, horseback riding, cabins and even a hotel on site. Popular for family reunions due to the amount of space and accessibility. There is a wonderful lookout tower that allows people to take in views of the Platte River. Nestled between two major cities in Nebraska, you're never far away from anything you may want to do or see. RV and tent camping is obviously available with limited privacy. This is also a great event venue with multiple large buildings available for reservations. This is not the 'roughing it' kind of camping, but rather a fun experience for the whole family.

Platte River has nice inexpensive cabins and lots of easy trails to explore with the family. There’s also horse trail rides and a splash pads. Don’t want to cook? There’s a lodge restaurant with yummy homestyle cooking.

Camping camping here is awesome they have great cabins that you can rent and there's plenty of amenities all sorts of stuff to do with your kids you can take them zip lining or go for a walk or go to the observation tower

We selected this campground as a base for a family get-together near Omaha, for 4 days/3 nights (Fri-Mon). For that mission, it worked well, but overall we were not super impressed for the price. This was our first KOA experience so maybe the thing we noticed were "normal" but there were some definite cons when compared to other campgrounds we've stayed at this year.

1. Very busy & packed... we noticed a lot of traffic seemed to be just a quick stop over for the night, so lots of rigs coming in the afternoon/evening and leaving the next morning. There is just enough room to park our average-sized trailer and truck, and have a picnic table next to it, but neighbors are very close. This is not what I would consider a campground for settling in and relaxing as a destination unto itself.

2. Some "deferred maintenance" was noticeable. The mini-golf course was in terrible shape. The playground equipment (swings, slides etc.) could use an update for sure. The road getting into the grounds has terrible potholes.

3. They seem to be very particular about some odd things, like not allowing rugs on the grass (which is definitely not premium grass!). Have to pay extra for a site with a fire ring, or even enough space for one, and the base price is already on the high side.

...BUT... it's not all bad!

1. Lots of good amenities, including picnic shelter(s?); community room with tables & games for larger gatherings; the pool seemed in good shape (though on the small side), big jumping pillow was a hit with the kids.

2. On-site shop with a good selection of basic items for you and your rig. Free coffee in the morning, pizza available for delivery (we didn't try it but heard it was good). Friendly and helpful staff overall.

3. The Kabins are really nice! A part of our group had rented one and it was a great base for gathering for meals, and had a decent firepit area. If we didn't own a camper, we'd consider this KOA just for the Kabins.

4. Close to Omaha - great as a jump-off point for family activities, shopping, etc.

In Summary: If you don't mind paying more for a campground which has plenty of amenities and is best suited for a quick stop, or, if you are looking to rent a cabin and would like to be located conveniently in the Omaha area, this is a good option, but is a bit overpriced when considering other campgrounds which have more generous spacing and a more laid-back and relaxing environment.