Agency-listedNGPCFee
Bluestem SRA
Drive-up · Nebraska Game & Parks · NE · 40.63093, -96.79178
Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.
Ask about this camp →Nebraska Game & Parks lists this site. Someone from the agency inventoried it, so it is a real camp — not a spot we guessed at. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
Nebraska State Recreation Area (NGPC), Lancaster County. The park's own page says: "Bluestem SRA has 39 Electric Plus campsites (including 3 accessible sites), as well as 47 Basic campsites. The area also offers a showerhouse, drinking water, primitive restrooms, and a dump and fill station. During peak season, about half of the campsites are reservable up to 180 days in advance of arrival. For first-come, first-serve sites, campers must register their nightly camping fees in a raised, locked box called an Iron Ranger. Self-service envelopes are provided at each station and accept cash or checks only." The park's own page lists drinking water in the campground. That is the agency's claim about a developed tap, not a field check, and not a claim about any lake or river here -- treat all natural water as NOT potable. NOTE FOR REVIEW: our map already carries 'Bluestem WMA' about 0.93 mi away (published) -- check these are genuinely different places to camp.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Bluestem SRA
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,305 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Bluestem SRANIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.
Everything you need — measured from Bluestem SRA · Nebraska Game & Parks · NE
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- @Mail2 mi
- FFuel6 mi
- EVEV fast charger8 mi
- GGrocery8 mi
- WWater8 mi
- MMechanic8 mi
- RxPharmacy8 mi
- HHardware9 mi
- +Urgent care9 mi
- LLaundry11 mi
- AAir-up13 mi
- DDump16 mi
- OOutfitter39 mi
- ShShower41 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 6 mi out.
Not within 60 mi: Propane. Plan those before you head up.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — Bluestem SRA
Access
Drive-up
Land
Nebraska Game & Parks
Elevation
1,305 ft
State
NE
Coordinates
40.63093, -96.79178
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Bluestem SRA · Nebraska Game & Parks · NE (OpenStreetMap)
- Drinking waterWater · ~7.9 mi
- FuelFuel · ~6.5 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~15.6 mi
- GroceriesWalmart Supercenter · ~7.8 mi
- PharmacyMeadowlark Pharmacy · ~8.5 mi
- Hospital / clinicHospital · ~9.1 mi
- HardwareTrue Value · ~8.6 mi
EV charging — from Bluestem SRA · Nebraska Game & Parks · NE — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger7.5 mi straight-line W — Sid Dillon Ford Lincoln, Crete, NE (at a public site) · FORD_CHARGE · CCS · 2 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach11 within 25 mi · 22 within 50 · 80 within 100 · 145 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)13.1 mi — Lincoln, NE - West O Street - Tesla Supercharger, Lincoln
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO9.5 mi — SDHYUNDAI W HY, Lincoln
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)8.8 mi — LPS SOUTHWEST HS, Lincoln, NE · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: Mon: 6:00am-10:00pm; Tue: 6:00am-10:00pm; Wed: 6:00am-10:00pm; Thu: 6:00am-10:00pm; Fri: 6:00am-10:00pm; Sat: 6:00am-10:00pm; Sun: 6:00am-10:00pm
- Pricing at the fast chargernot listed
- Power (kW)not listed by AFDC — “DC fast” spans roughly 24 to 350 kW, so ask the network.
- Read this honestlyStraight-line miles, like every distance on this site. Roads run longer than this, and you have to get back. We know where a charger is listed. We don’t know if it works today, how fast it is, or the road miles. Check the network before you commit.
Snapshot 2026-09-16 · AFDC record 358405 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Bluestem SRA · Nebraska Game & Parks · NE — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Highway rest areaBlue River Rest Area Eastbound · ~19.3 mi NW
- Restroom#1 Education Center/Admin Offices · ~23.6 mi S · NPS
- Highway rest areaGoehner Rest Area Westbound · ~23.9 mi NW
- RestroomHeritage Center Building #11 · ~23.9 mi S · NPS
Open Bluestem SRA elsewhere
Other camps near Bluestem SRA
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Bluestem WMA~0.9 mi
- Killdeer WMA~3.4 mi
- Olive Creek WMA~4.7 mi
- Yankee Hill WMA~6.5 mi
How we know this — Bluestem SRA
Permit
A valid park entry permit is required for all vehicles entering a state park area. Nebraska licensed vehicle: daily permit $7, annual permit $35. Non-Nebraska licensed vehicle: daily permit $14, annual permit $70.
Source
Nebraska Game & Parks (state parks and recreation areas)
Confidence
Agency-confirmed — The managing agency's own record names this as a campsite and puts it at these coordinates. About as good as it gets short of standing here.
How it was placed
Camping confirmed on the park's own NGPC page, https://outdoornebraska.gov/location/bluestem/, read 2026-08-17. Point from the NGPC Parks_Locations FeatureServer (https://services5.arcgis.com/IOshH1zLrIieqrNk/arcgis/rest/services/Parks_Locations/FeatureServer/0), the layer behind the agency's Public Access Atlas; it is a park-level point and may not sit on the campground loop. NGPC statewide rates, https://outdoornebraska.gov/parks/park-pricing/ (read 2026-08-17): camping Primitive $10/night year-round, Basic $15, Electric $25, Electric Plus $30, Full Hookup $35; off-season (roughly mid-Oct to Apr) all tiers $5 less except primitive, which stays $10. A park entry permit is required on top of the camping fee: $7/day or $35/year on a Nebraska-plated vehicle, $14/day or $70/year otherwise. Lake McConaughy and Smith Falls are the two parks priced off this card. Stay limits are posted per park -- several NGPC pages state 14 consecutive days in any 30-day period; confirm on site. Modern facilities (showers, dump/fill, full hookups) are generally closed mid-Oct through April. | auto:agency-trust 2026-08-18: state agency GIS record with a source URL and coordinates, confidence not low. Fee value is the agency's own, not field-checked. Not field-verified -- confirm access, road conditions and fire rules before you go. | nightshift-verified 2026-08-18: RE-FETCHED the park page https://outdoornebraska.gov/location/bluestem/ today (HTTP 200) and it STILL states camping. Camping detail read off that page today: 39 Electric Plus campsites (including 3 accessible) plus 47 Basic campsites; Iron Ranger self-pay for first-come sites. NGPC statewide rates were NOT re-read this fire; the rate text already in this note dates from 2026-08-17 and should be re-checked before it is quoted on a page.
EV chargers
US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.
Field check
On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.
What we don’t know about Bluestem SRA
A land record can put you within a few meters of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Seasonal & winter access
- Current fire restrictions
- Whether any water here is drinkable
- Shade & wind exposure
- Noise and who else shows up
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it
Before you go — Bluestem SRA
Fire rules & restrictions →Gear & rig loadout →Off-grid communication →First-night troubleshooting →All field notes →
Been here? Tell us what changed. This page is built from public records, so the fastest way it gets better is somebody who has actually pulled in. Road washed out, site gone, gate locked, or it is exactly as described — all of it useful. Send a report →