Lake McConaughey was everything I didn't know I needed -- peaceful, scenic, and the perfect little reset. It's not far at all off I-80, which makes it super convenient, but once you're there it feels like a whole escape. The views are absolutely beautiful -- wide open skies, calming water, and just that tranquil energy that makes you slow down and breathe a little deeper. If you're up for a tiny adventure, there's a slight climb down where you can access the caves and get closer to the water. It's such a cool experience and definitely worth it if you don't mind a little exploring. Whether you're looking for a quiet moment, a scenic drive stop, or a mini adventure, Lake Mac delivers. I'll definitely be back. read more

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This was a good park and campground. Overall it was a nice stay. The only things that went wrong were that the bathrooms could have been cleaner, and that for the campground I was staying at the directions were not very clear so I was unsure of what entrance to use. In the end though, it's a pretty good state park. read more

The water as only 54% full this year but thst just gives us more and more beach to explore. We typically go to Martin Bay, beach access 1 and love setting up our camp for the day there. There is almost no trash, people are super courteous and considerate. The water is still crystal blue and this year was warm. There's tons of places to enter the beach after you get through the park rangers. Can't wait to come back. read more

Every year we hold our company party at Lake McConaughy and seems like the last five years I have had issues getting the reservations booked on beach 16. This year was no different. (I struggle with how the bookings are done). I mistakenly booked for beach 4 which is NOT the one we love. I seriously struggled to not have a panic attack but were it not for two WONDERFUL ladies named Laurie and Valerie I would have. They worked hard to figure a way for us to camp at our beloved spot. Please let them know we love them and are so grateful for their help in making the Pitner Drywall 2025 company vacation/party a HUGE success!! We have been visiting this lake at least once a year for 20+ years now and the company party has been yearly for the last 10. WE APPRECIATE YOU VERY MUCH!!!! read more

I had no idea that there were such places in Nebraska and I'm glad I stopped to check it out. Though I probably would have just blasted past if it wasn't for the construction on the dam that gave me an extra ten minutes to hit the Yelp. The lake was formed by the Kingsley Dam in 1941 as part of the New Deal. It catches the North Platte River and is the second largest hydraulic fill dam in the world. I spotted the outlet tower that is used to release water from the lake and knew then that this was a something to check out. Unfortunately, you can't get too close to it because "security." The hydro-electric plant was added in 1984 and is operated by the State of Nebraska. I had a nice walk around, enjoying the shoreline and the beach before continuing my journey. [Review 17832 overall - 53 in Nebraska - 1353 of 2022.] read more

Lake McConaughy - Lake McConaughy, Ogallala - Lakes Near Me - North Ogallala, Nebraska

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I recommend visiting the visitor center first @ 1475 NE-61 Scenic, Ogallala, NE 69153 ilovelakemac dot com is the website. Day pass can be purchased online $8 @ outdoornebraska.ne.gov We camped two nights right on the beach at 'Martin Bay' which is East of the lake. Beach Area #4 paved parking lot with latrines and showers. Beach Areas #1-6 had the most sand surface because water level is down. Beach Areas #15-18 has less sand and more tree trails if you wanted to 4x4. Did not venture to the west side of lake to Omaha Beach / Ceder view I assume it would have less sand and less people. Get there Friday early to claim a camping spot on the beach. Saturday the crowd filled up with jet skis and boats. Weather was 80s so warm enough to swim. Make sure you air down your tires (I did 25 psi) I was on 4 low center diff locked and still got stuck in the sand. Had to use my recovery tracks and rescued 3 SUVs out of the sand. Bring shade and hydrate because sand water reflects UV. They have bulldozers around pulling cars out for a fee $100-200 I heard. Also if you go Friday afternoon there are Park Rangers in a unmarked Ford F-150 pulling right up on you and confiscate any alcohol bottles in view and my friend got a $100 alcohol consumption ticket from the state of Nebraska. So drink at your own risk because the rule is zero consumption. When it's time to leave, pick up all your trash and stop at 'Casey's' gas station to fill your tires back up the air station is free! Be careful filling their $1.80 gas it's cheap because it's E85 personally I don't like ethanol/alcohol in my gas tank. Have fun be safe! read more

We camped here in a 30' 5th-wheel in site 018 on Lone Eagle Loop at the end of August 2022 for 1-day as we were passing through. The cost was $45 with tax with W/S/E. PROS: Check-in was easy. Gorgeous mature trees with easy to back-in sites. It is right next to the beach area that has beautiful sand and the water is clear. Pets are allowed to splish and splash without reservation (we kept ours leashed). Spots are spacious with plenty of room for kids to roam and play although not many amenities. CONS: In order to check-in, you have to check-in at the main office if you are later than 4p. This isn't anywhere near the actual campgrounds. We had concerns about whether they had a procedure for late check-ins because we were almost at the cut off time. There are no easy ways to get from the campgrounds above to the beach below - you'll have to navigate rocky areas and very soft sand to get there. It is a bit of a distance. The loop maps are misleading as to the location of the beach as compared to your actual campsite (ours looks like it is very close to beach access and it isn't anywhere near it). Wifi access is very poor and we didn't end up using it. I would suggest either having your own hotspot or a satellite link instead. The water hookup was in a very odd location for this site (and several on this loop as we went around) and it required extra hose to utilize it. It was a relaxing stay for passing through and the beach made it even more worth it. read more

Lake McConaughy - Lakes Near Me - North Ogallala, Nebraska

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We were on our way back from Colorado and decided to take i80 to go back to Missouri. And saw this one on the map and decided to stop. It a little ways off the highway but it's definitely worth it. I'm so glad we stopped. It was so worth it I would recommend a 4 wheel drive car if you want to go deep down the lake. You can drive everywhere along the lake. It's like an ocean it's so beautiful the sand is so soft and not muddy anywhere. Perfect place to came. Nice and quite. read more

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We stay at Lakefront Express across from beautiful Lake Mcconaughy. Great fishing. Weather can be unpredictable though.

I have mixed feelings about this place. The beach and lake are nice and our campground had shade, fire pit and lots of room the down sides are... goat heads everywhere! Rattlesnakes and a train that runs and blows their horn all night. So if you want to go, don't take your dogs because their paws will be tortured by the goat heads and wear thick soles not flip flops. Earplugs are a must seriously, the horns blow 3-4 times an hour mostly between 3-6 am read more

Ticks and nothing but dicks. People were beyond rude and telling us to go back to Colorado...like the water filling that lake isn't even all from there read more

Beautiful beach, sunrise and sunset. However, the park only gets 2 stars due to the total disregard for a VERY GLARING PROBLEM. That is the excess sand that causes at least half of all campers to get stuck at least once while they are there. You can't even drive onto the beach area without risk getting stuck. We got stuck in an AWD Subaru Tribeca (albeit not a tall vehicle, just read on) trying to get from the paved road to the sandy beach. One park ranger was not helpful, but another tried to pull around back of our vehicle to help but also got stuck in his 4x4 Ford F-150. We had to dig our way out without shovels, but only with sticks and our hands and putting our firewood in front of the tires. Once we got unstuck we parked on the beach up by the water where the sand was more solid. (Later that night a camp host for beach 14 said his 3/4 ton truck got stuck as well.) We found out the large tractors were there to pull people out when they get stuck. Great! Until we found out it cost $100 per tow. Now listen, I drove 5 hours from Omaha and paid money to visit and camp in this beautiful STATE PARK. Why can't the state have tractors standing by so the park personnel can pull people out (no charge - thanks for coming) OR why doesn't the state use their huge tractor with the bucket on the front to move the sand so people don't get stuck. We felt like we were in an escape room made of sand. What if there were an emergency? How would getting stuck in the sand take precious minutes away from saving a life in a heart attack or drowning situation? The challenge of leaving clouded the whole time we were there - worried we would get stuck again. I'm not sure we will be back. read more

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One of my MOST favorite places in the WORLD! So many happy memories over a lifetime. Best sand beaches you will find.

The lake is huge, beautiful and as blue as you'll get in these parts. You can see through the water quite a bit and it's a sand beach which is much nicer than the mud beaches closer to Lincoln and Omaha. The campgrounds are quite complicated and could be frustrating and confusing if you don't do your research! Martin Bay is the first campground and by far the most popular/overcrowded. If you pass this area and keep driving along Hwy 92 then you'll notice several campgrounds to explore. Tent camping is basically wherever you dare to camp as long as it isn't an RV spot. Pay for the fees at the booth at the beginning at any of the separate campground entrances (there are several, just pay wherever you plan to camp). Put the stub in your windshield or the tag spot near where you camp. We stayed at Cedar Vue which was on the northwest part of the lake and quite serene. It had its own separate beach/swimming area and if you come early enough you can score a tent or camper spot right up the hill from the swimming area! Lots of spots to have your privacy or be near other campers. Modern restrooms with showers. This campground is a five out of five in my opinion. read more

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After almost a decade living in Nebraska, we finally made it to Lake Mac. The drive from Omaha was not bad, about 4.5 hours. We have have young kids, so we stopped in Kearney, but others could make it in one go. We spent two afternoons at the lake. It is nothing like any of the lakes in Omaha, and one I wish we had in Eastern Nebraska. It has miles and miles of shoreline and it's not all the same. Even the type of sand may differ by area, which we found to be true. It's not really summer yet, so the water was cold. However, we found it to be much more tolerable closer to the middle of the lake. It is generally well kept with no more litter than what we see at local lakes. It is a great place to stop by or drive out to if you are looking for some 'beach' time. read more

This was a cool trip despite a few minor issues we ran into with our car. This may be due to lack of experience camping but remember to bring a car that can drive through the sand haha. read more

We stayed at the Martin Bay campground and I would have to say it was the most trashed state campground I have ever been to. It's unbelievable how much trash people left behind after they spent the day there. The beach trash was never picked up the three days I was there. The area was nice and perhaps if it weren't for the ignorant visitors that thought the place was their trashcan, it wouldn't be a bad place to stay. I'm curious what it would look like during the off-season. read more

A lot of stickers and a People kept on walking through like my campsite and stuff so they kind a got a just make it like a spot where you can cross really like it a sign that says don't cross through goes like pass campers 10 15 feet and and then they can walk through the stickers like to the park or something and there is this true I guess that can't yell over after 10 and people did and they just didn't read the sign or they should've put a sign right at the campsite like where they have like what time they get there and what time they have to is good and then they had to be quiet after 10 because there's these like poor people like a whole family having a face after 10 and they were yelling and people walked right in my cans like after that screaming and yelling and yeah and I think they should like mow the lawn or like you're going do you like that one path to get to the beach well the lake but because you might not be able to see a snake if there is any might be a bite and that's what I think they should Mow It read more

Stayed 5 nights at Theis campground for a sailing regatta.The lake is great the campgrounds are nice soft sand. For the most part other campers are nice with a few exceptions. First day of locating a campsite a lady marched out of her very large expanding 5th wheel and informed us that she was saving 5 or 6 sites for her friends to pitch tents. I had no idea one could such a thing on such a grand scale. We found a good site to pitch the tent anyway. The second note after dark a truck rolled in sounding like a Mars landing with lights and loud engine trying to navigate approximately 20 feet from our tent, causing a lot of commotion. The next morning they set up their site including a porta potty next to the picnic table we are using. The neighbors set up an enclave blocking access and the view for convenience. Sad. read more