Would you believe me if I told you that I went to the beach in Nebraska? Or would you assume I was off my rocker and couldn’t find this beautiful state on a map? Truth is, we did find a beach in Nebraska. A beautiful beach… with no sharks, no jellyfish, no red flag waves…. but plenty of sand, water, and fun to be had.
The dam at Lake Mac is one of the largest of its type in the world. Which is fitting for Nebraska’s biggest lake!
Lake McConaughy State Recreation Area is actually a lake and not at all the ocean. But for this family, we felt like we had hit the jackpot. It is located north of Ogalla, Nebraska just off Highway 92. It is a reservoir on the N. Platte River and is a spot you must check out if you are anywhere near here. Or if could be a destination in itself. The lake is around 30,000 acres, so it’s no small pond!!
The view of Lake McConaughy for our camper.
Camping at Lake McConaughy
We were able to make our reservations online pretty easily through their site. We stayed at Lone Eagle Campground with full hookups for only $44.40 a night. We were able to stay in a site with a trail that went right down to the lake. So we had the benefit of getting to the lake easily and we were able to have full hook-ups. We did decide after a day of playing at the beach that we wanted to use the bathhouse (Our camper runs out of hot water before you can say “icicles”).
Showers at Lone Eagle Campground at Lake McConaughy. The shower token machine is outside the shower rooms, so make sure you get plenty of tokens.
The bathhouse wasn’t the newest one we have ever seen, but it was plenty clean. Which I was happy about…. I figured it would be used quite a bit by those there on a day pass and those boondocking. But those guests before us had picked up after themselves. The shower does require tokens, so bring your change when you pack your shower shoes. The shower had plenty of hot water, so I never even had to say “icicles”.
One token for two minutes (2022) will have you making it a quick shower.
Lake McConaughy Shower at Lone Eagle Campground.
Showers were ok, and had plenty of hot water.
At our campground we were able to enjoy plenty of shade from the beautiful mature trees at our site. My kids wanted to hit up the playground that was centrally located in the campground, but it had NO shade trees. Doesn’t sound so bad as I write this on a chilly winter day, but I assure you… in the summer that baby needs some shade!
Lone Eagle Campground at Lake McConaughy has a nice playground.
Check out local VRBOs if you aren’t up for camping.
I have read the campground is dog-friendly. We were pet-free at the time so we didn’t have any experience with this. I have read the dogs are NOT allowed to swim, but I am not sure.
The walk from the campground down to Lake McConaughy
You can camp right on the beach, but keep some things in mind…. there are NO hook-ups down there. You can’t dump or hook up to electric/water. Also while I am sure its fun to have the house right there on the water instead of taking the long walk…. I can imagine it can possibly be noisy down there. (There were lots of boats and jet-skis there the day we visited.) It was plenty quiet up in the campground (especially with our A/C running) so I don’t mind taking a walk to get to the water. If you are planning to beach camp, come prepared with a 4×4 tow vehicle.
The on the beach camping sounds great, but be careful you don’t get stuck in the sand.
Things to know
We were able to check in for our site at their beautiful visitor’s center! I highly recommend spending a few minutes in here looking around. At check-in we were hit with additional fees that we didn’t realize were a part of the stay. You will have to pay $12 extra a day for camp fees. We were staying at another Nebraska State Park the next night as well so we were able to go ahead and pay for all our days at once.
Crystal clear water and golden sand await your family at Lake McConaughy, Nebraska
Their reservation season is May-September.
Reservations for beach camping can be made 30 days in advance, and campground site reservations can be made 180 days in advance.
In the winter the park has a heated eagle viewing facility on Saturdays and Sundays Dec. 30-Feb. 25. So it’s not just a summer destination.
I would love to hear what you think about “Big Mac” if you get to go!
