Looking for the best tent campgrounds near Scribner? Find the best information on tent camping near Scribner, including sites, reviews, and tips for getting the most out of your camping experience. Search nearby tent campsites or find top-rated spots from other campers.
Preparation Canyon State Park, in the heart of the Loess Hills in western Iowa, encompasses 344 acres, including what used to be the town of Preparation. Today, Preparation Canyon is a quiet enclave offering backcountry hiking, picnicking and beautiful views of the unique Loess Hills.
Camp in one of ten hike-in camping sites, which are some of the only hike-in sites in the Iowa state park system. The trailhead to the hike-in sites is located in the southeast corner of the park. The sites each have a table and fire ring, but no bathroom facilities. Registration is on a first-come first-served basis with self-registration in the east parking lot.
$9 / night
$15 / night
TravelerThe only good from this Campground is its full hookup year round. It was dirty and very outdated. Most of the sewer hookups were broken and backed up and the electric boxes were broken and outdated. If you have a newer rv I would suggest not staying here or try to find a good electrical box. No fire rings, most sites just had a fire on the ground. This place is just run down and dirty, ok place for a night.
Traveler
Cute little campground, electrical only. Picnic table and grill at each site. No fires. Shower house available until it's gets down to freezing weather. Dump station and water fill.
Traveler
Very quiet and peaceful place I have been there few times and I never see anyone else around. There is no bathroom or drinking water so make sure you are ready for that. October is a very colorful time of the year very peaceful the pond for what I heard isn’t a good place for fishing but just a mile away there is a hunting park highly recommend it
Ranger
This campground is one of our favorites. It’s got clean restrooms and showers, plenty of water available plus the dump station. Nice lake for fishing or kayaking. Great trails for hiking or mountain biking. Super quiet place and some pretty great sunsets!
Guide
I pulled in late at night easy to navigate stayed the next day and did some trails apparently the land formations are 1 of only 2 in the world how about that Iowa.
Ranger
We stayed here for a mountain bike race weekend. Nighttime is great for stargazing and they have pretty stellar sunrises. We enjoyed the archery range and took plenty of walks. 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 and we think it would be pretty hectic during their peak season.
Ranger
It’s been a few years since we stayed at Lake Wanahoo, but we decided to stay there over our anniversary weekend. The place is still great, and this time of year it was very quiet and peaceful.
I was able to fish at the lake, we used the trails for walking and biking. Being close to town allowed us to have a great anniversary dinner at a steakhouse!
We are definitely going to be using it more!
TravelerStopped overnight in late August. Did not want to drag our gear up/down a hill to the tent campsites in the lower loop. Paid more to stay in the upper RV loop where we listened to a neighbor's generator all night. Pretty buggy. Showers/toilets okay. Note there are at least 2 railroads running nearby in the wee hours of the morning. Also, this is on the flight path for jets leaving (I assume) the Omaha airport. Not a restful night--won't be back.
ScoutI planned an event at this military installation because of pricing and being a gated community. The prices are good and the overall area is clean but the reason for the rating given is below:
Due to this being a military site with a managed gate, ID or authorization roster is required...I submitted and got my roster approved within the allotted time only to find out that it was not shared with the gate guards so no one was being let in. The keys for each facility had issues like broken locks or no pin code given for the key system to even get the keys. The cabins are nice but not very well cleaned and the emergency phone number that is provided is a great feature although no one answered it.
If you find yourself looking for a venue for your event, pass on this one. Too much hassle for the money saved. I wish the state of Nebraska could figure out how to hire competent people to manage their facilities.
TravelerWe live(my dog and I) on a motorcycle - think Van Life on two wheels. A quiet place to put up a tent is so welcome. There are no amenities. It's strictly dry and pack out but a great place for a few tents or a couple vans. Highly motorcycle travel recommended
Scout
This lake and campground are inundated with geese. We kayaked and I noticed “things” floating everywhere in the water. Goose poop. It was gross. Someone had also smeared (likely) human poo all over the walls and floor of the outhouse. I’m not going back.
Guide
Stayed July 2024,
Good: Flat piece of grass to place two tents for only $ 20 bucks. Just what I needed at 10pm
Bad: One quote from son sums it nicely, "saw the mens room and so used the women's". Also, two miles of dirt road was less than fun. Would have been nice if the pay station had more directions.
Future: I would remember to make a reservation at the KOA 10 minutes away.
Guide
They have 18 electric sites $26/night and tent non electric sites for $18/night. 7 day max stays. Reservable.
ScoutGreat stopover campground or for staying awhile. Norfolk is nearby and has a lot of restaurants and shopping. The Cowboy Trail starts here and continues to Valentine, NE. Clean bathrooms and showers as well.
Traveler
There are areas dedicated for daily use, primitive camping and electric sites. Great Lake for kayaking or a small jon boat. Has restrooms available, no showers. No dumpsite. Fire pit and picnic table available at sites.
Appears to be a quiet retreat with minimal campers.
Scout
Don’t forget the day use fee it’s $14 a day for out of state and seven dollars in state A decent number of mosquitoes on my visit in July in the evening
Guide
Beautiful park, beautiful scenery and amazing playground!
GuideWe camp all the time at different locations, and I 100% recommend this campground! The hosts are so polite and helpful and they keep the place immaculate. Even the pit toilets were spotless and didn’t smell. The hosts went around several times a day collecting trash and even mopping the pit bathrooms. Camping here also gives you access to the playground and nature trails into some beautiful countryside. The only downside is bring several bottles of bugspray, the mosquitos are terrible!
Scout
Populated but spacious. Friendly staff. Lots of greenery and trees. Only stayed one night but the list of activities seemed great. Safe, relaxing place. Bathrooms and showers could use some work but I was happy for a warm shower after traveling so long. Highway and trains can be heard from a distance but I found it soothing.
Guide
Clean and mostly well-kept campground. Much nicer than I had expected. Has on-site host, but we didn't see much of her/him/them. Had good cell service (ATT).
The only serious complaint I can make is that the water, while potable (so we were told), has a very, very strong iron/metallic taste. To the point that, for us, it was undrinkable.
The campsite we chose was level, concrete, and cost $20 (the site we wanted by the water had electric). Very little shade though, which made it really hot (other sites had more shade).
Other observations:
The river current is quite fast here. I wouldn't plan on letting my kids or dogs get into the water, except to, maybe, wade at the boat ramp where it is protected from the current by small islands where the creek comes in.
They have a table near the boat ramp that, I assume, is for cleaning your caught fish. If it matters, it did not have running water.
The small dock from the boat access area felt unstable and one had to step across a couple of rocks to get to it from land, maybe because the river level was up(?).
Of the 4 bathroom/shower combination rooms in the bathhouse, only two were unlocked. That said, we were the only tent campers and the RV campers didn't seem to be using them. And they were clean and in good repair.
Our campsite was right next to the facility loading/unloading barges next to the campground. (They were unloading dried soybeans while we were there.) There are also security lights, but the light is mostly blocked by the trees at night. They start work at 7am and seem to stop at 4pm during the week.
I would call this location reasonably quiet. But not absolutely quiet. There is noise from various sources at various times: the loading/unloading from the barges, the farming going on across the road from the campground, boats going up or down the river, and, minimally, the sound from the traffic on the highway. So not absolutely quiet, but it wasn't loud enough or continual enough to detract from the stay.
Lastly, it probably doesn't need to be said, but I didn't think of it before our stay (duh), so just a reminder. You're camping by a river (i.e., water), so there are many, many flying insects. Be sure to have insect repellent, as they are merciless.
Guide
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.
TravelerWe spent Memorial weekend here in 2022. We had to park in a designated parking spot and walk in to set our tent. The site was shady and came with a picnic table, fire ring and We were right on the shores of the lake. It was a beautiful and very relaxing to hear the waves, although the wind coming across the lake was mighty fierce and destroyed the canopy that we had over the picnic table. And the beating of the tent all night long was a little hard to get some decent sleep. But the area was nice and close to the restrooms and spacious campsites
Traveler
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
Guide
This is a nice small campground that is well taken care of. We stayed at site number 8 which may be one of the more unlevel spots. The passenger side of our 5th wheel was about 7" lower than driver side and rear of fifth wheel was about 3" lower than front before we levelled out.
Pros:
-Well maintained walking trails that are perfect for dogs
-Most sites have 30 and 50 amp hookups
-Fire rings and picnic tables at most sites
-$18 a night for electric hookups
-Quiet
Cons:
-Some sites are very unlevel
-No water or dump station
ScoutOnly spent one night but would have stayed longer if we would have had time. Nice clean bathhouse and restrooms. Lots of hiking trails and even hiking sticks. We really enjoyed this short stay!
Traveler
Late October tent camping- low around 19f... we seemed to be the only souls in the place.
Our site was a few hundred yards from the lake, and we had a great morning walk.
Downsides:
Cost- $12 for out of state plates and $15 for a site without amenities is steep.
We were also by the dumpster, and they came by to empty it around 7am. Probably a Monday morning problem, but still worth mentioning.
TravelerNice quiet camping experience. Clean restrooms with showers. Also has a mountain bike trail.
Scribner, Nebraska, offers a variety of options for tent camping enthusiasts looking to enjoy the great outdoors. With a mix of amenities and activities, campers can find the perfect spot to set up their tents.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Scribner, NE?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Scribner, NE is Centennial Park Campground with a 5-star rating from 1 review.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Scribner, NE?
TheDyrt.com has all 12 tent camping locations near Scribner, NE, with real photos and reviews from campers.
