Pawnee Lake State Recreation Area was within 30 minutes of Lincoln, NE . Try to make sure all essentials are packed to enjoy your stay without frequent trips to town. This is one of those spots where you can easily park the car and use other means of transportation for your whole visit.(ie, feet, bike, boat, horse, etc.)

There are options to where you camp. RV sites and tent in three different areas. This is not my favorite sort of tent camping, you have to park and walk everything to your site. Some tent sites are located right on the lake which is nice, you can easily park your watercraft nearby. However if it’s busy your neighbors are going to be very nearby. Not much privacy in that case. We however were completely alone when we visited, the crappy weather played a part I’m sure. Shade, which we didn’t need and picnic tables. If you have a hammock you may have an issue with getting it hung, bring alternate means of suspension.

The trails are multi-use so pay attention. We were hiking in the rain so did not see anyone but the trail apples were fresh. Were we hiked it was grassy and mostly level, there was an area where hikers had trails to themselves and a few benches to sit on.

The lake looked nice but I didn’t see anyone on it. I didn’t see any algae signs but the weather may have been a factor too. We overnighted so I didn’t get to completely explore the entire area. It was pretty quiet, some motor noises but they were more of a background noise. Worth an extended stay as long as the lake is open.