Agency-listedNGPCFee

Lake McConaughy SRA

Drive-up · Nebraska Game & Parks · NE · 41.26136, -101.77426
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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), Keith County. The park's own page says: "During peak season, May 20 to Sept. 10, all overnight camping requires an advanced reservation at Lake McConaughy and Lake Ogallala state recreation areas. The reservation system allows for campground reservations up to 180 days in advance and beach camping reservations 30 days in advance of your stay. Reservations can be made online , on a mobile app or by phone at 308-284-8800 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. everyday. All overnight camping on designated camping beaches and in campgrounds are first-come, first-served Sept. 11 to May 14. 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 does not mention water. Assume none and carry your own; treat all natural water here as NOT potable.

USGS topo — contours & terrain
USGS topographic map of Lake McConaughy SRA
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Aerial image of Lake McConaughy SRA
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Weather outlook — at Lake McConaughy SRA
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 3,294 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Lake McConaughy 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 Lake McConaughy SRA · Nebraska Game & Parks · NE

15 MI30 MI60 MIYOUR CAMPN ↑Stetsons Corner · Fuel · 4 miFGrocery · 6 miGSafeway · Pharmacy · 10 miRxBomgaars · Hardware · 11 miH308 Mobile Truck Auto & Tire Repair · Mechanic · 9 miMOgallala Coin-O-Matic Laundry · Laundry · 10 miLShower · 2 miShCams Medical Clinic · Urgent care · 38 mi+Minnow Bucket · Outfitter · 53 miOLemoyne Post Office · Mail · 2 mi@Ogallala, NE - Tesla Supercharger · EV fast charger · 11 miEV
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
  • @Mail2 mi
  • ShShower2 mi
  • FFuel4 mi
  • GGrocery6 mi
  • MMechanic9 mi
  • RxPharmacy10 mi
  • LLaundry10 mi
  • EVEV fast charger11 mi
  • HHardware11 mi
  • +Urgent care38 mi
  • OOutfitter53 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: fuel & food sit about 4 mi out.

Not within 60 mi: Water, Dump, 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 — Lake McConaughy SRA

Access
Drive-up
Land
Nebraska Game & Parks
Elevation
3,294 ft
State
NE
Coordinates
41.26136, -101.77426
Cost
Fee

Nearby & resupply — around Lake McConaughy SRA · Nebraska Game & Parks · NE (OpenStreetMap)

  • Drinking waternone within 10 mi
  • FuelStetsons Corner · ~4.1 mi
  • Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
  • GroceriesGrocery · ~6.4 mi
  • PharmacySafeway · ~9.5 mi
  • HardwareBomgaars · ~10.8 mi

EV charging — from Lake McConaughy SRA · Nebraska Game & Parks · NE — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

Nearby restrooms — around Lake McConaughy SRA · Nebraska Game & Parks · NE — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

Open Lake McConaughy SRA elsewhere

Other camps near Lake McConaughy SRA

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

How we know this — Lake McConaughy 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
Researched — The record is detailed and internally consistent, and the coordinates land where the managing agency says this site is.
How it was placed
Camping confirmed on the park's own NGPC page, https://outdoornebraska.gov/location/lake-mcconaughy/, 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.
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 Lake McConaughy 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.

Before you go — Lake McConaughy SRA

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 →