Public land camping
Camping in Nebraska
12 federal places to camp in Nebraska, from Forest Service, National Park Service and Army Corps of Engineers, on the land they sit on.
- 12
- federal places to camp
- 5 Forest Service, 2 National Park Service, 5 Army Corps of Engineers
- 315
- campsites you can book ahead
- At the 5 places that take reservations on Recreation.gov. 3 more are first come, first served
- 4,257 ft
- the highest you can drive to
- Soldier Creek (Ne) Nebraska Nf
- 7
- counties with federal camping
- 7 gateway towns, each with three or more within 30 miles
The Nebraska campground map
Select a pin for its elevation, its sites and its page. Switch on forest roads or BLM routes to see how you get there, and use the finder for a campground, a town or a peak.
Interactive map. Drag to pan, scroll or pinch to zoom, and select any point to see which agency manages the land. Arrow keys pan and the plus and minus keys zoom when the map has focus. A list of every state with its share of federal land is on the Explore page.
Map layers
Legend
Federal land, by managing agency
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
US Forest Service (USFS)
National Park Service (NPS)
US Fish and Wildlife (USFW)
Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
Department Of Defense (DOD)
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
Other Federal
State
Local
Alaska Native Lands (Patented or Interim Conveyed)
Alaska Native Allotment
Federal campgrounds, by agency
- Forest Service
- Bureau of Land Management
- National Park Service
- Army Corps of Engineers
- Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife and others
State and local land (USGS PAD-US)
- State land
- County and city land
- Regional agency or district
- Land trust or conservancy
BLM roads and trails
Roads Managed for Public Motorized Use
Road
Primitive Road
Roads Managed for Limited Public Motorized Use
Road
Primitive Road
Trails Managed for Public Motorized Use
Trail
Trails Managed for Limited Public Motorized Use
- Trail
Forest Service Motor Vehicle Use Map
Roads
Roads open to all Vehicles, Yearlong
Roads open to all Vehicles, Seasonal
Roads open to highway legal vehicles only, Yearlong
Roads open to highway legal vehicles only, Seasonal
Special Designation, Yearlong
Special Designation, Seasonal
Trails
Trails open to all vehicles, Yearlong
Trails open to all vehicles, Seasonal
Trails open to vehicles 50" or less in width, Yearlong
Trails open to vehicles 50" or less in width, Seasonal
Trails open to motorcycles, Yearlong
Trails open to motorcycles, Seasonal- Special Designation, Yearlong
Special Designation, Seasonal
Trails Open to Wheeled Vehicles Only < 50" in Width, Yearlong
Trails Open to Wheeled Vehicles Only < 50" or Less in Width, Seasonal
BLM Wilderness
Wilderness Area
Wilderness Study Area
BLM recreation sites
- Camping
- OHV area
- Trailhead
Gaps with no tint inside public land are private parcels, often old mining claims and homesteads. They are not open to the public.
Dashed clay lines on the base map are unpaved tracks from OpenStreetMap. They show what exists on the ground, not what is legal to drive.
Select any point to see who manages the land.
The map could not start in this browser.
It needs WebGL, which is turned off or unavailable here. You can still browse public land by state, or use the BLM’s own maps.
Boundaries are approximate and land status changes. This map is a planning aid, not a survey or a statement of access. Confirm routes, closures and camping rules with the managing office.
Camping near a town
No town by that name has three federal campgrounds within 30 miles. Try the county list below.
Every federal campground in Nebraska
12 places
- Bessey Recreation Complex Forest Service · Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands · Thomas County 2,712 ftelevation 47sites 50 ftlongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Bow Creek Primitive Camping Park Service · Missouri National Recreational River · Cedar County 1,153 ftelevation n/asites n/alongest rig First comeor not listed
- Cunningham Lake Dam Site 11 Campground Army Corps · Zorinsky Lake · Douglas County 1,142 ftelevation n/asites n/alongest rig First comeor not listed
- Goat Island Primitive Camping Park Service · Missouri National Recreational River · Cedar County 1,147 ftelevation n/asites n/alongest rig First comeor not listed
- Hunter Cove Army Corps · Harlan County Lake · Harlan County 1,971 ftelevation 129sites 80 ftlongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Methodist Cove Army Corps · Harlan County Lake · Harlan County 1,948 ftelevation 90sites 80 ftlongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Nebraska Tailwaters Army Corps · Lewis and Clark Lake · Cedar County 1,193 ftelevation 37sites 80 ftlongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Pawnee Dam-Site 14 Campground Army Corps · Pawnee Lake · Lancaster County 1,258 ftelevation n/asites n/alongest rig First comeor not listed
- Red Cloud (Ne) Nebraska Nf Forest Service · Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands · Dawes County 3,898 ftelevation n/asites n/alongest rig First comepay on arrival
- Roberts Tract (Ne) Nebraska Nf Forest Service · Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands · Dawes County 3,951 ftelevation n/asites n/alongest rig First comepay on arrival
- Soldier Creek (Ne) Nebraska Nf Forest Service · Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands · Sioux County 4,257 ftelevation n/asites n/alongest rig First comepay on arrival
- Toadstool (Ne) Nebraska Nf Forest Service · Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands · Sioux County 3,787 ftelevation 12sites n/alongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
Nothing matches those filters. Clear one and try again.
Camping rules worth knowing in Nebraska
- Camping on the national forest, and where it is
- The forest publishes its campgrounds and cabins as one page covering both the sandhills and the Pine Ridge units. In a state where the federal estate is barely one percent of the ground, that short list is the whole federal camping supply, and the state parks carry everything else. Source 19
- Fire danger is posted on the forest’s alerts page
- The Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands publish alerts and fire danger together, which is the right place to look before planning a fire anywhere on the units. Grass fire moves faster than anything in this guide, and the danger rating changes with the wind rather than with the season. Source 20
- Five levels of camping, and a shoulder-season discount
- The state offers five levels of camping across its parks, historical parks and recreation areas: full hookup, electric plus, electric, basic and primitive. Most modern facilities, hookups, showers, restrooms and dump stations, close from mid-October through April depending on weather, and off-season rates are five dollars less a night except primitive, which stays ten dollars year round. Acquire firewood within 50 miles and burn all of it. Source 36
- Dispersed camping is 14 days, and 300 feet from the road
- On the Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands, dispersed camping is allowed on most of the forest for a maximum of 14 nonconsecutive days in any 30-day period. Camp at least 100 feet from any creek or stream and half a mile from a developed recreation site, and note that you may drive no more than 300 feet off a road shown on the Motor Vehicle Use Map even though you may walk and camp farther. The forest’s camping page states the limit differently, as 14 days in any 60-day period, so ask the district if it matters to your trip. Source 18
- School trust land is leased ground, not public ground
- The Board of Educational Lands and Funds holds Nebraska’s school trust land as trustee under the state constitution, for the benefit of the state’s K-12 schoolchildren, and its duty is to earn income from it. The Board collects rent on roughly 3,200 agricultural leases plus mineral and renewable energy leases, and recreational use is sold as a lease, tract by tract, at auctions held in the county where the tract sits. Land shaded as state-owned on a map is somebody’s lease. Treat it as you would any private ground and ask first. Source 41
Campground records: Recreation Information Database (Recreation.gov), read September 19, 2026. Elevations: USGS 3D Elevation Program. Fees, seasons and limits change; confirm with the managing office before you go.