Platte River State Park Campground, near Louisville, Nebraska, is a vibrant spot that caters to a variety of camping styles, from tents to RVs and even glamping options. With amenities like full hookups and clean facilities, it’s designed to make your stay comfortable while you enjoy the great outdoors.

The campground boasts a range of activities, including access to beautiful trails perfect for hiking and biking, as well as a small lake where you can rent paddle boats. Families will appreciate the well-maintained playgrounds and splash pad, which are great for keeping the kids entertained. One visitor noted, “The playgrounds are the nicest I have ever seen!”

While the campground is modern and offers many conveniences, some campers have mentioned that the sites can feel a bit close together, especially during peak season. However, the friendly atmosphere and the variety of activities available make it a popular choice for families and groups looking to enjoy a weekend away.

Located near Omaha and the Great Plains, Platte River State Park Campground is a great base for exploring the area. Whether you’re here for a quick stop or a longer adventure, you’ll find plenty to do and see in this lively campground.

Platte River State Park is nestled halfway between Nebraska’s two largest cities – and makes a great place for camping near Omaha. Before it was a state park it was two separate camps – Harriet Harding Campfire Girls Camp and Camp Esther K. Newman – and a tract of woodlands. The charming, vintage cabins that once housed campers today provide cozy accommodations while the gorgeous new glamping cabins offer a luxurious yet nature-immersive experience. Other popular draws are the park’s picturesque waterfall, spray park, scenic hiking and biking trails and two observation towers that allow those who climb to the top a spectacular view of the Platte River Basin.

Platte River State Park Campground

The Dyrt is here to help plan your best camping near South Bend. South Bend is an adventure-filled destination for those who love the outdoorsy camper lifestyle. But it's also great for those who prefer to spend time near the city, exploring and sightseeing. Search nearby campsites and find top-rated spots from other campers.

South Bend

The Best Camping Near South Bend, Nebraska

Four stars instead of five because we prefer camping with our own equipment which isn't a feature at this park. Our family camped in a tepee which was set up on a platform before our arrival. Our kids very much enjoy hiking along and through the rocky creek in the middle of the park that leads to a tower overlooking the Platte River and surrounding farmland. The outdoor pool and paddle boats are also fun. In all, this is a low-key park for getting outdoors with the family.

Cabins and Tepee Camping or Day Visits

There are many many campsites here but they are all very nice and it's a very quiet place to relax. They have a few ponds with great fishing and access to the river for fishing and boat launching. 

Platte River State Park

I didn't get a chance to camp, but did a little hiking. The trails are well kept up and easy to follow. The small waterfall was a nice surprise as well!! 

Nice little hike

we go every year, tents not allowed yet. plenty of cabins, water park and gun range. Horse rides available. 

rvs and cabins

Good hiking, horse rides, great hills for trail running.

Beautiful, Good Hiking

We stayed in a teepee which was a first for us. The teepee area has about 8 teepees, each on a platform. Short walk in but a wagon is provided to help unload equipment. Picnic and fire pit near the teepee. We did have a raccoon one night, he thought about checking out the tepee while we sitting around the fire but my dog's bark scared him away. Lots of hiking in the area.

TeePee Camping Fun

If you’ve looked up PRSP online, you’ve probably seen photos of the parks “waterfall”. I don’t mean to be the bearer of bad news but they must have had a stellar photographer because it’s literally only like 2-3 feet tall. Now, that being said, it’s still a great park! they are several great places to hike and family activities during summer hours. There is a lookout tower as well— also not much to write home about. I would say this park tried, but there are many better in the area! 

Great Trails, Waterfall will Disappoint 

Nice to be next to the water but not peaceful at all.

Trains running all night 

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!

Winter Getaway

They have a couple of different kinds of cabins. There’s a bunch of trails! The park in general is beautiful. 

Great for cabins!

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. 

Great beginning hikes

Very clean Campground very well maintained horseback riding was a blast and the archery range was cool as hell face to the T-Rexes

Horseback riding  and archery.

Very nice park! Not as crowded as neighboring Mahoney State Park but very similar activities.

Enjoy the 4 tent sites. They are spread apart  enough that your not on top of each other. Lots of wood to find on the ground

Hike in sites

Concrete pads, full hookups, free wifi, lots to do, and beautiful scenery 

My favorite State Park so far

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.

One of my favorites 

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.

Some of the Best Hiking in Southeast 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.

Wonderful and Fun

Mostly an RV campground. Sites are right next to each other &amp; very well laid out for easy access. We just prefer more primitive camping.
The bathrooms &amp; showers were very clean! 

Nice place

This park is on a strategic upper ground to give you a birdseye view of the flat Platte river. It is also a resourceful place for bird-watching. There are numerous camping sites and picnic shelters. It also has a watch-tower which gives you a scenic view of the river and places nearby.

A watch-tower overlooking the Platte river

Pulled our pop up to the new Bison Campground. The sites are nice and level.  If you are looking for shade or privacy this would not be the place for you, but the amenities are great! 
The campground offers free WiFi.  The kids were able to stream on multiple devices with no issues during a rain shower.  
Bathrooms were very clean and well maintained.  

The park itself has beautiful trails.  Bring your hiking shoes or fat bike and enjoy nature.  

For younger children there is a very nice splash pad.  $3/person, under 3 is free.  

Paddle boat rental is $10/30minutes.  

We didn’t fish this trip, but saw many others fishing.  Didn’t see any catches.  

With Mahoney, SAC, and  Louisville nearby there are plenty of places to explore.  

If you want a dinner away, check out Round the Bend steakhouse.  Try the beef fries 😉w

Something For Everyone 

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

Good

Two years old,  the Taj Mahal of state park campgrounds! Level, concrete pads, full hookups, clean toilet/shower buildings. Friendly staff. Concrete roads throughout!

Will be PERFECT once the trees are bigger!

RV camping at Platte River is a very new concept. Bison Campground has concrete pads with full hook ups located in a cleared area of forest on top of a hill, so there are no shade trees anywhere.  Summertime would be brutal ☀️.  Very clean campground but sites are very close to one another, so if you are looking for privacy this is not the place.  

Only NE State park with full hook ups

Platte River State Park is a beautiful, full service park with plenty of amenities. There are playgrounds and a splash pad for the kids, canoe rentals, and plenty of trails to hike or bike. Sites are concrete pads with full hookups and include a fire ring and picnic table. The campground also has a bathroom and dog park. 5 bars of AT&amp;T @ 120Mbps!

Perfect spot to explore Omaha and the Great Plains

We were passing through Nebraska and opted to stay the night here.  The campground is new and will be even nicer when the trees are big enough to provide shade.  We only stayed one night but enjoyed the walk to the small waterfall in the park.  There is a large dog park, clean restrooms and nice trails for walking.

Pleasant Surprise!

We were here in January and again in March so we pretty much had the place to ourselves. The sights are pretty close so I expect it would feel crowded during the summer. Shower house was warm and so was the water. Lots of trails to explore!

Best state park in Nebraska

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.

Great for a family get away

We stayed here one night as we were just passing through. The park is really nice and the playgrounds are the nicest I have ever seen! I even had to take my turn on the swings and down the slide. 
.
The new campground is nice with full hook ups, however this is not your normal state park style camping. This is full on RV parking lot with campers stacked on top of each other. I’m never a fan of sitting at my picnic table to eat 8 foot away from someone dumping their sewer tanks. That’s the only con I see here. Luckily we had one of the end sites. 

The playground! 

Camping in the teepee was hands down our worst camping experience ever. The teepee was hot, dirty and falling apart. We stayed in the“big chief” teepee and it was on a horrible slope with tons of ruts on nothing but bare uneven dirt. There was no privacy as the other two teepees beyond this one were set up so other campers were constantly walking by your camp. Even the door placement to the teepees were bad. There was a more well placed teepee they save for first come first serve camping, not reserved camping. That makes no sense. The worst teepee should be reserved for unreserved campers. There are also bike trails directly around the teepees so in daylight, meaning early and late, you will hear groups of bikers riding around a technical course and lots of whooping and cheering as well as hard landings. To make things worse, they didn’t tell us about an ROTC event they were hosting in the park where groups of ROTC young people were constantly walking by our camp from early morning to afternoon, looking for markers for a kind of seek out practice for them. This was highly disturbing. Zero calm and privacy. The teepee was shabby and the indoor outdoor carpet was dirty and old, and you got the feeling you were sleeping and living over everyone else’s ick. Also, right over the teepee there were loads of huge dead oak branches. With the high winds, we were pretty scared a branch might fall on us. It’s just a matter of time before someone gets hurt, or worse. There were many loud people in cabins with dogs, even dogs barking and crazy dogs running loose the whole time we were there. There was also a lot of trash and littered personal items scattered around in the woods and on the campground area. In the end, it is a very poorly planned campground for comfort, beauty, safety and privacy. We would have been better off to stay home. Like many things now, Platte River State Park feels overrun with activity and under preserved. The exact opposite of why one wants to get away from the city and camp in nature. Waste of time and money.

Worthless weekend at Platte River State Park

If you don’t mind lugging your stuff to your tent spot, it’s primitive, no frills camping at its finest! We chose the closest spot to the vault toilets. There are only 4. It’s a bit off the beaten path but we got to enjoy the beautiful horses. Bonus!

Photos of Platte River State Park Campground

Real photos from real campers