Best Tent Camping near Pierce, NE

Camped in tents. Was impressed with the options of tent sites. Offers all the amenities we needed while tenting. Wooded sites. Beautiful scenery and plenty outdoor activities to take in. Would recommend to those seeking a lake, woods, hiking, swimming, and family friendly camping adventure.

We are staying at a basic tent camping site. There is available to us a pit toilet. Water is still shut down for the season.

Luckily, they do offer off-season rates. A Nebraska park permit is required for your vehicle.

Picnic table and fire ring are also here for us.

We are the only ones here in the entire park (mid-March 2025). Grounds are clean. Our site (site 5) is very large, and located on a small Bluff above the Missouri river.

Walking paths, frisbee golf, playgrounds, fishing, and boating are all available.

I have 4 bars of 5G cell service at my camp site. A WIFI hot spot is available at the camp office as well.

This place is gorgeous with its flat grassy camping area, distant hills, and lots or water and sky. Tent camped along the waterfront with friends. Spacious campgrounds were well maintained. Spent our mornings fishing for walleye, our afternoons were made up of great boating, tubing and water skiing. The nights were filled with stars. Went with friends this time, but am eager to bring my family for another visit.

This campground is situated along the Missouri River. There is a fishing pier and boat ramp. There are only about 10 tent campsites and a bunch of RV sites. The shower facilities were clean. It is near Lewis and Clark Lake which is a very nice lake. There is a dam which takes away from some of the natural feeling, but hey, there are showers here too. The Missouri River Valley is worth seeing at some point in your life. There are a lot of birds in the park which my wife appreciated.

Clay County Park underwent some staffing and management changes at the beginning of last year. The whole area was thoroughly cleaned, trees trimmed, trails groomed, restrooms spiffed, etc.  Guest feedback on these changes was overwhelmingly positive and we expect further growth this season. 

We've begun working closely with SD Game, Fish and Parks and they are a great partner. This season, we will be adopting their reservation platform for guests to register. We expect to continue making incremental improvements and are looking forward to the 2023 camping season.

For additional information, please visit our Facebook Page (Clay County Park). We will be open for campers beginning Saturday April 15, 2023. Reservations can be made online at campsd.com or through the call center at 1-800-710-2267 from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Follow the link and select "Make a reservation" tab. Reservations are accepted up to 90 days in advance of your arrival at the park.   **Camping reservations must be made before setting up on a campsite. 

Clay County Park features 40 electric campsites, 8 tent sites, 1 cabin, a multi-use trail, picnic shelters, and a boat ramp. We look forward to seeing you at the park soon! Thank you.

Park staff and volunteers did a great end of season cleanup and are now fine-tuning details for Summer 2023.

I had the please of staying at this beautiful Nebraska state park with my youngest son on a return trip home from North Dakota over the July 4th weekend 2019. We pulled in after office ours and easily found several primitive walk up sites to choose from. We selected T45 for it’s proximity to a scenic Missouri River overlook and it’s flat, shaded ground. Ponca SP is a large clean and hilly state park offering just about everything you could want from Glamping in cabins to roughing it on one of several pack in trails. There is plentiful wildlife to observe. We witnessed deer and many species of birds in our one evening and morning stay. Guests to the park can partake in horse trail rides($), golf($), fishing, hunting, shooting/ archery range, biking/hiking, water activities such as kayaking or canoeing on the Missouri River, and a large pool near the entrance. Food service is also available on site if you get tired of cooking at your camp. If you want a power site for an RV I’d highly recommend reserving well in advance because this is a popular SP. For those of us who tent camp without power you’ll likely find the perfect spot for your small to large tent on a walk up site with plentiful shade trees at all of the sites that I observed. I highly recommend trying to get the site one spot to the North of T45, it literally looks right over the Missouri River and sits just steps away from the scenic overlook. The bathroom facility right by T45 was clean and well maintained and there was a water faucet next to this site as well as the trash bins. Scenic hikes, drives, or bike rides around the park are largely shaded with a rich tree canopy over rolling hills throughout the park. There are at least two scenic river overlooks with historical referenced to the area’s rich history including the Lewis and Clark expedition. Check the park’s web site at outdoornebraska.gov/Ponca/ to find out what educational and fun events might be happening at the park. They hold a Harvest/Halloween event over a few days in October each year, but you’ll have to book a site a year in advance if you want to for sure get a spot during that time. Don’t forget to stop in to the education center and learn all about the river’s history. The education center is top notch and one of our favorite things about the park. This is a five star state park by any measure and I can’t wait for a return trip to this park.

• ARCHERY HUNTING ONLY

• Must have a Vehicle Entry Permit

 Nebraska Resident         Non Resident 

Annual  $30.00 Annual   $45.00

Daily$ 6.00 per day          Daily$ 6.00 per day

Basic camping per day $15.00

• Picnic table

• Fire ring

• Boat ramp

• Water

• Pit toilet

• Trash

• Fishing pie

r• Parking for boat launch

• Check in 4 pm check out 11 am

This campground is open and nicely shaded. Very quiet and secluded. Several mature trees surrounds the camp. The campground is very well maintained. If you want to get back to the basics this is your camp. Great for birding, kayaking, fishing or just kicking back.

This campground is sitting on the second largest lake, Lewis & Clark which runs along the border of Nebraska and South Dakota. The lake is about 16 miles long and up to 3 miles wide. It has a maximum depth of 45 feet.

If you are planning a visit to Miller Creek you need to have a small rig or tent. If you come by way of Springfield, South Dakota or Neobrara, Nebraska on Highway 12 then Highway 12 from the west of Miller Creek the road becomes dirt. If it has rained the dirt will turn to a nasty mud. The road is also very potted and rough.

A bonus for visiting Miller Creek is the joy of feasting your eyes on the natural beauty of what makes Nebraska great. The rolling farm land and friendly locals that wave as you pass by. Whether fishing, birding, hiking, boating, or fishing is your passion a country campground in Nebraska can help sooth your soul.

Firewood Alert: Please purchase firewood in the local area. Do not transport from another state, if you do please burn immediately due to the Emerald Ash Borer. Proper permits/Licenses and park entry passes may be purchased in advance online at http://ngpc-home.ne.gov/

We arrived on the cusp of the 100 year anniversary celebration of the Nebraska State Parks. Lots of fun extra things to do!

We found a great space in the Turkey Ridge campground. Electric with a water spigot between 2 spaces. We were in a tree cave with very little sunlight. Another campground Oak Bluff is for reservations only. Lots of tent spots and primitive tent only.

We rode our bike around and got an incredible workout with lots of hills.

Great views of the Missouri at the 3 state corners viewing area.

For the 100 years celebration they had re-enactments, making walking stick adornments, bird catch and release to show an up close and personal peek at the local birds.

The town of Ponca is a few miles outside the park and several nice little places for groceries, beer, a pharmacy, pizza, etc!

Pretty warm and humid for us high desert folk but we enjoyed our stay.

Nice camping for extended stay of 14 days. Different length back in sites with picnic table and fire ring with grill. Camp host available. Handicap pad sites. I would have given a five star except for the cost!

We think $30/day for just electric is expensive but we’d been boon docking so we sprung for the expense for 3 nights. Showers are extra😳. Laundry available.

Little town of Niobrara, just a few miles away has limited shopping but a nice little grocery store, hardware store, museum, and fuel.

Confluence of the Missouri and Niobrara Rivers.

Nebraska State Parks have walk up and reservable spaces. We usually risk it and easily found a walk up on a Monday afternoon after the weekend crowd left.

We stayed in the RV campground but took a bike ride around the rest of the park. We stopped at the park office and chatted with assistant superintendent Nate. Very nice guy with lots of good info.. He told us about a nice loop we could continue our bike ride and we went around the picnic and tent area. Some incredible exclusive sites and great views of the Niobrara.

Great place to camp!!! South Dakota has it right with making reservations! Nebraska is HORRIBLE!!! We quit the Nebraska State parks years ago! Putting in coins to take a shower?! Really?! South Dakota doesn’t do that!!! South Dakota State Parks ROCK!!!!!

Army Corps Campground with all the bells and whistles. It was closed when we went, but we will return. The interpretive center was very informative and Lewis and Clark Lake is huge with nice beaches and great fishing.

The ranger said that electric sites in season were only $16. That is less than the state parks at the lake. Yankton is nice but don't miss the Nebraska tribal museums.

This camping area has open sites close to the edge of the lake. Electric hookups, toilets, and convenience store close by.

The lake is artificial and has steep metal walls like a reservoir, which was probably what it was. Next to the reservoir is a large wetland teaming with wildlife. There is a long paved trail that skirts the lake.

Columbus Nebraska has a lot going on including a rather mammoth waterpark.