Best Cabin Camping near Valparaiso, NE

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 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.

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.

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

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

Nice KOA. There is a nice playground for the children and a pool with snack bar. Management was very friendly and helpful. We had a nice end campsite that gave us extra room with full hookups. The wifi was good and we were right next to a cell tower. They also had some nice cabins!

It’s flat and easy for young kids to bike around all the different lakes(ponds). Plus the Platte river is right there too that adds a great ambient sound. Lots of cottonwood trees for shade.

Lots of fishing opportunities in the ponds and river. Even a trout lake.

Cant forget that you can rent a caboose as a cabin.

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.

Wow, what a wonderful State Park. This park has so much to offer and is well kept and beautifully landscaped. Make sure to reserve you're spot well in advance because everyone loves this park. We enjoy the sites right by the water where the geese come up into our site. There is so much to do here at the park like guided horse rides, the pool, painting, zip-lining, Trails, fishing, and paddle boat rentals.They have an activity center, an arboretum, and a look out tower which is worth the climb. There are also playgrounds, and ball fields.

There are 2 different campgrounds with nice spacious pads mostly shaded. There are also many cabins of all sizes which we have also stayed in during Christmas time many times and were very pleased with. All cabins have everything you need. Just come and have fun.

There is also a beautiful Lodge with a restaurant and store which is a must see. All in All this park has something for Everyone and hopefully you will enjoy it as much as we do.

There really is so much to do, from putt putt to iceskating, climbing, the water park, this place has it all. It can be pricey depending on what you're looking for. Cabins are cute and spacious but book up very quickly. Tent camp sites are open more often than not. It is always super busy is the only real downfall.

I love Platte River State Park; there are accommodations for every type of camper - cabins, RV, privative - hell they even have teepees!

On top of the excellent camping offered, they have a wealth of amazing hiking / biking trails that traverse through some amazing scenery. Just like the camping, you can pick between the less intensive paved walkways or you can walk along the hilly bluffs that contour the Platte River.

Superb park for families as there is so much to do! Water park with wave pool and slides, mini golf, paved and dirt walking trails, fun melodramas, zip line course, etc. plus winter activities in the off season. Modern camping with electric at ever site. Updated cabins, and great views in the lodge rooms. Down fall no river access do to railroad tracks, can get pretty busy in the summer, no primitive camping.

I 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.

We live a short drive from Mahoney and have taken advantage of its convenient tent camping. Campgrounds are well kept. Sites are open and grassy and bathrooms are clean. Kids activities are endless with playgrounds, a water park, mini-golf, ponds, trails, horses, etc. One thing that stands out is the interactive Melodrama offered most evenings. Kids of all ages boo, cheer, and throw popcorn. Winter brings activities such low cost outdoor ice skating, a massive indoor playground, and a sledding hill. Cabins and a lodge are available.

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.

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!