Free Camping Collection
Established Camping
Oliver Reservoir State Recreation Area
About
State Park
Location
Oliver Reservoir State Recreation Area is located in Nebraska
Address
30
Kimball, NE 69145
Coordinates
41.23112668 N
103.82410418 W
Access
- Drive-InPark next to your site
Stay Connected
- WiFiUnknown
- VerizonGood
- AT&TGood
- T-MobileFair
Site Types
- Tent Sites
- RV Sites
- Standard (Tent/RV)
- Group
Features
For Campers
- ADA Access
- Trash
- Picnic Table
- Phone Service
- Drinking Water
- Toilets
- Alcohol
- Pets
- Fires
For Vehicles
- Pull-Through Sites
- Big Rig Friendly
Nearby train tracks
Really easy campsite off of I-80. Easy to navigate in the dark and flat dirt roads (Masada CX-5). The lake is a hot spot for many different birds and a beaver so no shortage of wildlife. The trains kept me awake until 10:30 and started again at 6am. The campsites that I saw all have picnic tables, fire pits, and BBQ. I felt very safe as a solo female.
The wildlife make dealing with the train worth it, would stay again.
- (6) View All
Nice quiet area
We stayed overnight with no issue. Roads were fine for our class A. Two turnarounds and spacious spots available.
Great stopover on road trip
We stayed on a Sunday night in April and we were able to get a campsite with no neighbors as far as the eye can see. There are long-drop bathrooms dispersed throughout the park that are pretty clean and have TP. The roads are gravel but in good shape and we had no trouble pulling our small travel trailer through the park. All facilities are free but they have a Dropbox at the entrance humbly requesting a $5-$10 donation to help the park maintain the facilities, which is very reasonable.
The only reason it received 4 stars is that there are multiple train tracks across the road and we were woken up 3 times between 11:00 and 6:00 by train horns blaring a bunch. Not just a regular “toot toot” but a “blaaaarn! Look out! Blaaaaaaaaaaaaarn” as if there were a deaf cat on the tracks 4 miles away. It didn’t overall ruin the night or anything but it sure does throw you off when you’re in happy dreamland then all of a sudden a hyper-aggressive freight train is chasing you through the dream.
I’ll reiterate that it was a great campsite and our dogs loved the freedom to run around our site off leash and we would stop here again for sure.
Nice stop for the night
Was able to find a spot in the dark and get set up away from people and close to the lake. Camping was peaceful but the best part was the pictures I got of the lake and the night sky. I was woken up quite early from a passing train so if you plan to sleep in good luck.
Nice Layover for a Couple Nights
We lucked out with this campground staying over Labor Day weekend. Our site (#49) was at the west end of the campground and relatively secluded with a full park. I would think non-holiday weekends would also be crowded, but would thin out during the week. Dry camping, so come prepared. Other than Union Pacific freight trains running frequently it was peaceful. Drove north about 45 miles and spent a day at Scott’s Bluff National Monument. Decent Verizon cell service.
Decent Stop Over
Close to highway and cheap! $5-$10 donation recommended.
Lovely swimming
Great small beaches to swim. Lots of people very popular spot but also lots of sites to park. Free but with a donation of $5 suggested. Windy so no bugs
Wonderful spot for either an overnight or extended stay.
This is a large, well maintained, campground situated on a beautiful lake. It is a short hop off from I-80 on state route 30 and could not seem further from the interstate! The only drawback we saw was the trains passing by periodically. There are three entrances, any of which will lead you to a great experience. Have fun!!
Beautiful campground!
This place is huge! There’s 3 sections, each having around 20 campsites. There are multiple clean and stocked restroom houses (vault toilet) throughout each section. Pick out a campsite and be sure to register, camping is free and donations welcome. You can stay for up to 14 days out of a 30 day timeframe. Beautiful and spacious sites along the water and away from the water. You can pick from shaded or sunny sites. There’s no amenities so be sure to pack it in and pack it out as well as come stocked with food and water. There’s a grocery store in Kimball which is about 10 minutes away. The host was always doing maintenance during the day. Very beautiful sunsets here. I stayed late April and only ever had maybe 4 campers during the week and maybe 15 on the weekend. I’d definitely stay here again. My only con is that there’s a train track across the road so you do hear it constantly at night since they love to honk their horns. AT&T cell service was great 2-3 bars LTE.
Plenty of room
Very large area so you can have your own space. The sunset over the reservoir was beautiful
Huge sites, nice lake
Not far off the road in Kimball, NE is a lake with nice large flat spaces. Huge old trees provide shade and we have excellent cell on both our Verizon and at&t networks. Good fishing and a sand swimming beach
It is dry camping with vault toilets and a dump. Actually free, but with a suggested donation. 14 day limit.