Powerhouse Park
WEEKENDS ONLY -- start there, because it is the district's own restriction and it is what makes this one different from its sister parks. The Loup River Public Power District says of Powerhouse Park: 'A limited number of primitive camping sites are available on weekends during the summer at no charge.' If you roll in midweek expecting a free night, you may not get one. The park sits three miles north of Columbus, Nebraska on 3rd Avenue, right at the district's hydro powerhouse on the Loup Canal -- an interesting spot if you like industrial landscape, and an easy run into a town with everything you need. Camping here is primitive: no electric at this park, no dump station and no direct water hookups anywhere in the Loup system, so arrive self-contained with your own water. The parks are open May 1 to November 1, weather permitting, no reservations are accepted, and the seven-days-per-month limit applies across the entire Loup park system rather than per park. All district facilities are alcohol free and there are no lifeguards on duty. 'A limited number' is the district's phrase and it is not a big campground, so have a backup: the same district runs Lake North Park (free, and with free electric), Loup Park on Lake Babcock and the walk-in Tailrace Park, all within a few miles. Confirm the current rules with the district before you go, buy your supplies in Columbus, and leave it better than you found it.
Everything you need — measured from Powerhouse Park · Loup River Public Power District · NE
- HHardware2 mi
- GGrocery2 mi
- FFuel2 mi
- MMechanic2 mi
- RxPharmacy2 mi
- @Mail3 mi
- EVEV fast charger3 mi
- +Urgent care19 mi
- OOutfitter36 mi
- ShShower38 mi
- WWater39 mi
- LLaundry42 mi
- DDump42 mi
- AAir-up55 mi
The read: water is a real 39-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 2 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 — Powerhouse Park
Nearby & resupply — around Powerhouse Park · Loup River Public Power District · NE (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureLoup River Canal · ~0.1 mi · USGS: canal or ditch, no flow class
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelSapp Bros · ~1.7 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesWalmart Supercenter · ~1.6 mi
- PharmacyWalgreens · ~2.1 mi
- Hospital / clinicPrairie Creek Family Medicine · ~19.3 mi
- HardwareMenards · ~1.5 mi
- Nearest rail line~1.9 mi · other track
- Nearest highwayno interstate or US route within 10 mi
EV charging — from Powerhouse Park · Loup River Public Power District · NE — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger2.6 mi straight-line SW — RUSS'S MARKET SUPER SAVER 1, Columbus, NE · ChargePoint Network · CHAdeMO, CCS · 1 fast port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach2 within 25 mi · 15 within 50 · 84 within 100 · 117 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)39.4 mi — Norfolk, NE - Tesla Supercharger, Norfolk
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)2.3 mi — NPPD EV STATION NPPD CG0W L2, Columbus, NE · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- 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 300565 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Powerhouse Park · Loup River Public Power District · NE — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- No mapped restroom within 30 miles — plan to pack it out.
Coming out here — Powerhouse Park · Loup River Public Power District · NE
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Loup River Canal as a canal or ditch (no flow class in the record), ~0.1 mi from the pin (National Hydrography Dataset, data refreshed October 2022). The record carries no flow class for it. Nobody has checked it for you. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Ground slope around the pin: about 1.1% — flat. Measured on USGS's 3DEP elevation model (1 m data here), sampled every 10 metres around the point. That is the hillside, not the ground under your wheels — a graded pullout or a bench a few metres across is too small to show up at that spacing, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- Rail line mapped ~1.9 mi from the pin — the national rail atlas classes it as other track. The nearest track the atlas classes as a main line is ~2.2 mi from the pin. That is the FRA/BTS North American Rail Network (data updated Jul 21, 2026), which records that a line is there and what class of track it is. Whether anything runs on it, how often, and at what hour, it does not say, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- No interstate or US route is mapped within 10 mi of the pin in the Census's TIGER/Line primary roads (TIGER/Line 2025, released Oct 2025). That file holds the divided, limited-access highways only — a state expressway or a two-lane US route near this camp would not be in it.
- Power: Dave carries his own — batteries or solar. A generator will run your rig and it is also the thing everybody camped near you can hear.
- Getting online: Dave recommends Starlink. He has had it since SpaceX introduced it, used it for four years living on the road, and it delivers as promised — several hundred nights out, and he can count on one hand the places he could not connect. The cable on his unit runs 150 feet, which is usually all it takes to find enough sky. Starlink → Referral link — Starlink pays Dave $100 in cash if you sign up through it, and that money funds this site and the next trip. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open Powerhouse Park elsewhere
Other camps near Powerhouse Park
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Lake North Park~2.7 mi
- Loup Park / Lake Babcock~3.7 mi
- Flat Water Landing WMA~4.7 mi
- Tailrace Park~4.8 mi
Who holds the land at Powerhouse Park
USGS’s Protected Areas Database (PAD-US 4.1, queried 2026-09-23) lists the ground at this pin as Powerhouse Park, manager on record: City of Columbus (local government). Our own record names Loup River Public Power District as the manager. The two sources disagree, and we have not checked which is right. That names who holds the land — it is not a statement that camping is permitted here.
How we know this — Powerhouse Park
What we don’t know about Powerhouse Park
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
- 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