White sand runs to the waterline at Lake McConaughy, west of Ogallala, and the beach sites put the water at the van door with the reservoir filling the rest of the view. People still call it Big Mac. Prairie is behind the site, the days are swimming and walking that shoreline, and those beach sites go first.
Designated loops at Cedar View, Martin Bay, and Sandy Beach take a pad if you want one. The park is reservation-only, and from Memorial Day through Labor Day those summer weekends fill first, so you lock the overnight before you lock the rental. After Labor Day camping still runs, and the same beach is easier to get.
If McConaughy is gone, Lake Ogallala across Kingsley Dam is the overflow night, a no-wake lake with electric sites on the east side. Ash Hollow State Historical Park is the day stop west of the lake on Highway 26, wagon ruts from the Oregon and California Trails, then back to the beach.
The Sandhills and the Niobrara
North of the Platte the grass dunes take over. You sleep in the Nebraska National Forest at Halsey, at Bessey Recreation Complex, among the trees in the middle of that grass. Tent and electric sites on the Hardwood, Cedar, and River loops are reserved on Recreation.gov from mid-May through mid-October.
Merritt Reservoir is the dark-sky overnight, electric campgrounds around the shore. In July the Nebraska Star Party puts its campers here, with electric at Cedar Bay and no pads on the Observing Field.
You float the Niobrara at Valentine. Smith Falls comes in at the end of the run, a white drop the state calls Nebraska's highest waterfall. Sleep at Merritt or Bessey and paddle for the day, including the stretch through Fort Niobrara.
Scotts Bluff and the Pine Ridge
You drive Scotts Bluff, near Scottsbluff, for the summit overlook over the North Platte valley, then Chimney Rock for the spire on the plains. On the Summit Road, vehicles longer than 25 feet or higher than 11 feet 7 inches are prohibited, and all trailers are prohibited, as of September 2026. If you need more sleeping space than a van, Nebraska RV rentals sleep at Fort Robinson or Chadron and skip the Summit Road.
South of Gering on Highway 71, Wildcat Hills has a Nature Center and short trails on the escarpment. Basic camping is there if you want the night on the ridge instead of pushing on to Fort Robinson.
Fort Robinson State Park puts Soldier Creek Campground under the buttes west of Crawford, electric and primitive sites in the Pine Ridge. Cabins occupy the old officers' quarters, built between 1874 and 1909, if you want a night out of the van.
Chadron State Park is the other Pine Ridge overnight, electric sites and cabins on Highway 385. Toadstool Geologic Park is the badlands night, hoodoos on a short loop, and the campground has no water on site.
The Platte River parks, the Missouri bluffs, and the March sandhill crane migration belong to Omaha. Lincoln, Grand Island, Kearney, and North Platte, with Buffalo Bill's ranch, are the towns on the drive west.
From the Pine Ridge the next range north is the Black Hills, and from Valentine the road continues into South Dakota. Iowa continues east of the river. From Scotts Bluff, Denver is the Front Range continuation, and Wyoming is the next state west. Carhenge outside Alliance and the Cowboy Trail from Norfolk to Valentine are a day or a pass-through.