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Established Camping

Mormon Island State Recreation Area

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Mormon Island State Recreation Area, near Doniphan, Nebraska, is a solid spot for campers looking to enjoy a mix of nature and convenience. With easy access right off the interstate, it’s a great place for a quick getaway or a longer stay, especially if you’re in the mood for some fishing or just relaxing by the water.

The campground offers a range of amenities, including electric hookups and clean shower facilities, which visitors appreciate. Many have mentioned the well-kept grounds and the friendly atmosphere, making it a comfortable place to set up camp. As one camper noted, “The sites are a little too close to each other but people are friendly and the park is well kept and clean.”

For those traveling with kids, there’s a playground and plenty of space for them to run around. The surrounding area features several lakes, perfect for swimming or fishing, and the variety of trees provides nice shade for those hot summer days. Just keep in mind that the sounds of the nearby highway can be noticeable, but it doesn’t seem to bother most campers.

If you’re looking for a convenient location with decent amenities and a friendly vibe, Mormon Island State Recreation Area is worth considering. Plus, with Grand Island just a short drive away, you can easily grab a bite to eat or pick up any supplies you might need.

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Location

Mormon Island State Recreation Area is located in Nebraska

Detail location of campground

Directions

Located on Interstate 80, Grand Island Interchange, Exit 312.

Address

7425 S US Hwy 281
Doniphan, NE 68832

Coordinates

40.82365401 N
98.37779782 W

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Access

  • Drive-In
    Park next to your site
  • Walk-In
    Park in a lot, walk to your site.
  • Boat-In
    Sites accessible by watercraft.

Stay Connected

  • WiFi
    Unknown
  • Verizon
    Available
  • AT&T
    Poor
  • T-Mobile
    Available

Site Types

  • Tent Sites
  • RV Sites
  • Standard (Tent/RV)
  • Group
  • Equestrian

Features

For Campers

  • Market
  • ADA Access
  • Trash
  • Picnic Table
  • Firewood Available
  • Phone Service
  • Reservable
  • WiFi
  • Showers
  • Drinking Water
  • Electric Hookups
  • Toilets
  • Alcohol
  • Pets
  • Fires

For Vehicles

  • Sanitary Dump
  • Sewer Hookups
  • Water Hookups
  • Pull-Through Sites
  • 50 Amp Hookups
  • Big Rig Friendly

Drive Time


Reviews

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4.0

out of 5

19 Reviews

Reviewed Jan. 12, 2022

Clean Amenities and Good Location

Stayed here for a weekend when we purchased our new travel trailer.  We wanted a camp ground that was close to a city and only a 2 hour drive from our home if we needed to get something or an accessory that we forgot to pick up before leaving.  Location is the big benefit of this location.  Literally right off the interstate and all the amenities of the city of Grand Island are only 5 minutes away.  Its rare that I can go eat at Texas Roadhouse or ice cream at Cold Stone and its a 5 minute drive from my campsite.    

This is a nice and well kept campground.  Good shade on our section that is away from the lake and close to the shower houses.  Shower houses are clean and typical for NGPC camp grounds.  Electrical hookups on each campground with water spigots spaced through the campground.  Good access for backing in.

Month of VisitOctober
  • Review photo of Mormon Island State Recreation Area by Eric P., January 12, 2022
Reviewed Nov. 28, 2021

Great layover

One night stop at the very well maintained RV and Campground. RV spots are level and electric hookup only. Dump station and water fill available. No problem getting a spot for the night as a walk up in the off-season(our stay was11/27), but likely not during peak. Must pay for state day pass and per night. ($8 for day pass and $20 for 30amp night winter rate.) Park/playground for the kids!

Site59
Month of VisitNovember
Reviewed Oct. 12, 2021

Good Stop Along the Way

Easy access to I80 for a quick over night rest. Only a handful of pull thru site but tons of back in. $38 for electric pull thru site which was level gravel. No campground WiFi but our Nomad Internet worked well enough. Verizon phones worked too. I80 road noise was pretty loud but certainly not a deal breaker. We’d stay here again.

Site71
Month of VisitOctober
Reviewed Oct. 6, 2021

Nice but loud

Nice campground

  • paved & level parking pads
  • decent bathrooms
  • Showers could use a cleaning.
  • very few campers on a Tuesday in Oct
  • nice paths for an after dinner stroll with the dogs
  • att cell service is good
  • no internet
  • easy acces from the Highway
  • lots of Highway truck noise
Site16
Month of VisitOctober
  • Review photo of Mormon Island State Recreation Area by Jan K., October 6, 2021
Reviewed Jun. 9, 2021

Glorious Trees

Great one night spot. Easy access to the Interstate so there was noise but it still was a great site because of the breeze, shade and variety of trees. The bathroom was clean and close by. Easy to walkup and pay using the drop box. I would stay here again if we need a one night place.

Site19
Month of VisitJune
  • Review photo of Mormon Island State Recreation Area by Kelly D., June 9, 2021
Reviewed Apr. 12, 2021

Easy access from I-80

Spacious and well maintained campground. In March, the campground was still in WINTER season so only one bathroom location open and no showers open in winter, and limited water access points, but we had a electric hookup. Our campsite loop bordered vegetation, was spacious between campsites, and fairly protected from Interstate noise. Had a fire ring and picnic table. Several lakes and pretty trees. Camp hosts were friendly and helpful with questions! Don’t forget to visit sandhill cranes in March/April.

Site7
Month of VisitMarch
  • Sandhill Cranes flying over campsite at dusk
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  • Review photo of Mormon Island State Recreation Area by oregonlums , April 12, 2021
  • Review photo of Mormon Island State Recreation Area by oregonlums , April 12, 2021
Reviewed Sep. 8, 2020

Mormon island review

I’ll start off by saying it’s pretty decent fishing. Some sides of the lake have a lot of moss but I caught a few decent sized in just a few hours. Besides that very crowded and would not consider camping at this location.

  • Review photo of Mormon Island State Recreation Area by Seth H., September 8, 2020
Reviewed Sep. 7, 2020

Surprisingly nice

This park is right off I-80 off one of the Grand Island exits. This park was actually a surprise to me. It was pretty clean, especially for as packed as it was. The spacing between camp site were pretty good. The lakes for swimming, fishing,, and nonpowered boats were clean. The trees, and grass areas were pretty as well, and had modern restrooms and showers. There are playgrounds, volleyball court, disc golf and nature trails available. There are camping for rvs, tent, and generator camping. And honestly if it weren't for the interstate noise (which was not bad) I would of forgot I was next to one.

  • Review photo of Mormon Island State Recreation Area by Tony B., September 7, 2020
  • Review photo of Mormon Island State Recreation Area by Tony B., September 7, 2020
  • Review photo of Mormon Island State Recreation Area by Tony B., September 7, 2020
  • (7) View All
Reviewed Aug. 28, 2020

Be prepared to wake early

After a long drive, I was looking for somewhere easy to get into and out of, near the interstate.  I stopped for gas and saw the sign for the sites and decided to give it a look.  

When I got there around 5pm, I was able to have my choice of sites.  By 8pm, every site was occupied in the tent area.  This seems to be a good stopping point for transient campers as they pass, like myself.  This does cause an issue with the noise from I-80 just outside of the grounds, but the trees and a dirt berm help to keep that down to just a low drone.

Great campground location, and inexpensive.  The site, and amenities, are very nice.  The campsite itself is very well maintained and level.  The tent area restroom was very clean.  The showers are located over in the Cottonwood Campground, and are adequate.  This was my first encounter with the pay showers though, and I had to scrounge around for quarters to feed into it. 

The only small problem is that at approximately 5am, I started hearing the air/fan boats from a local launch on the Platte River.  I was wide awake and had actually already packed my Jeep by 630am.  I am not sure if this is a normal occurrence, or just something that happened that one day.  Other than that, I would definitely say to give this place a try.

Edit:  The Bosselman Travel Center is a great place to pick up a little food as well as fuel up for your trip.

Site16
Month of VisitAugust
  • Review photo of Mormon Island State Recreation Area by David R., August 28, 2020
  • Review photo of Mormon Island State Recreation Area by David R., August 28, 2020
  • Review photo of Mormon Island State Recreation Area by David R., August 28, 2020
Reviewed Oct. 13, 2019

Mormon Island

Nice campground with access to fish 3 lakes! Very nice camp host!

Reviewed Aug. 12, 2019

Aug 5th-11th

While camping at Morman Island, we went through one of the worst storms! 85 to 90 mile an hour winds with hail! It was bad enough to go through the storm but it really was bad that not one person from the campground came around to check on us the next morning! They really just concentrated on the clean up. The priorities were messed up. At the time of the storm there were only 25 campers in the whole place. How long would it have taken to check on the well being of those 25 campers! There was no prior warning of the storm from anybody at the campground. Other campgrounds that we’ve stayed at, we always have had a heads up. The pictures are from the morning after. Not just a little blow! Overall the visit wasn’t the best with the storm and all. There are several rules that are clearly posted throughout the grounds and at the pond. Dogs on a 6 ft leash. No floaties in the swimming area. No dogs on the beach. No parking on the grass. All of these were being violated and not one person from the staff could be seen addressing any issues. People were doing whatever they wanted to. I would have loved to let my dog go swimming but it was against the rules. The section we were in was a new section, but we could not even let our dog out in our camp site because of an abundance of stickers and burrs! She at one point just laid down because of her paws filled with burrs and could not walk any more. This was in our site. I’m not sure if anyone else had the same problem. The facilities were very clean. (They need a shower house in the new section). Making the reservation was very easy. The people we did talk to were very nice.

  • Review photo of Mormon Island State Recreation Area by Dark M., August 12, 2019
  • Review photo of Mormon Island State Recreation Area by Dark M., August 12, 2019
  • Review photo of Mormon Island State Recreation Area by Dark M., August 12, 2019
  • (6) View All
Reviewed Aug. 6, 2019

To many signs!

The facilities are very clean. The grounds are well kept.
The only down side I didn’t like was the amount of signs throughout the grounds! There are signs every where telling you what you can’t do. They could do with a few less signs. A overall nice place to set up. Plenty of space between sites so you are not on top of each other.

Reviewed Jun. 8, 2019

Looks great!

This campground looks great. The lake looks inviting and has a swim area as well as fishing. Well maintained and the camp host was friendly and helpful.

Reviewed Sep. 30, 2018

Dry Camping

Had a great time. Kayak and bank fishing, hiking and just relaxing in general. We stay in the area with no power, etc., but we were prepared. There are modern showers and restrooms on this part of the camp. Showers need to be fed quarters. 7 minutes for $1.50 if memory serves me right. The traffic noise off I-80 was the only drawback, but the trees blocked the view. Caught some Bass and Bluegill, but were not bragging size.

Reviewed Sep. 12, 2018

Nice fishing area and camping along I-80

Mormon Island is a nice, clean State campground along Interstate 80 at the Grand Island exit. There is a store right before the entrance in case you forgot anything or need to purchase firewood. There are 3 different areas for campers, a tent area, a Rv area, and an area for generator use. The Rv area has Electric and the sites are evenly spaced on black top and are level. Each site has a fire ring and picnic table. There is also plenty of day use areas. The restrooms are clean and have water fountains. There is a separate shower house and laundry that is also well kept. The grounds are maintained and are attractive.

There is a playground for children, a fishing pier, biking, and nice trails to explore. This is a nice area with lots to explore including the Platte River. Just beware of deer ticks. Spray,Spray,Spray..my husband left with 32 visitors that needed to be pulled out.

Site15
Month of VisitMay
  • Review photo of Mormon Island State Recreation Area by Shannon G., September 12, 2018
  • Review photo of Mormon Island State Recreation Area by Shannon G., September 12, 2018
  • Review photo of Mormon Island State Recreation Area by Shannon G., September 12, 2018
  • (9) View All
Reviewed Jun. 1, 2018

Fun

Family and pet friendly campground

Site24-25
Month of VisitMay

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Does Mormon Island State Recreation Area have RV hookups?

    According to TheDyrt.com, Mormon Island State Recreation Area has 50 amp electric hookups, water hookups and sewer hookups.

  • What is the max vehicle length at Mormon Island State Recreation Area?

    Mormon Island State Recreation Area allows vehicles up to 45 feet.

  • Are fires allowed at Mormon Island State Recreation Area?

    Yes, according to campers on TheDyrt.com, fires are allowed at Mormon Island State Recreation Area, although make sure to check current fire restrictions in the area.

  • Does Mormon Island State Recreation Area have wifi?

    Yes, according to campers on TheDyrt.com, Mormon Island State Recreation Area does have wifi.

  • Is there cell phone reception at Mormon Island State Recreation Area?

    According to campers on TheDyrt.com, Verizon signal is available, AT&T is poor, and T-Mobile is available.