$15
Bessey Rec Complex
Total sites: 39
Available Today: 37 FF*
Available this Weekend: 5 + 16 FF*
Booking Window: 6 months
Available Today: 37 FF*
Available this Weekend: 5 + 16 FF*
Booking Window: 6 months
2,714 ft
73°F
60°F
60°F
weak
Nebraska National Forest › Bessey Ranger District › Nebraska
› Thomas County
› Halsey
› Bessey Rec Complex Campground
Bessey Rec Complex Campground, NE - Latest Reviews, Photos & Campground Map
Bessey Rec Complex Campground is located in the Bessey Ranger District, Nebraska National Forest (2 hrs 11 min northwest of Grand Island, NE) with an elevation of 2,714 feet. There are a total of 39 campsites including 11 tent-only sites. The campground is open all year. 28 sites can accommodate RVs and trailers between 25 and 50 feet. All sites are currently reservable. Reservations can be booked up to 6 months in advance. 27 sites have electric hookups. Fees range from $15.00 to $125.00. Some amenities include shower, dump station, flush toilets. Activities include fishing, hiking trails, floating sports.
Campground Capacity (Next 30 Days)
Campsite Reviews (93)
4.1 out of 5
| 5 star | 43% | |
| 4 star | 27% | |
| 3 star | 13% | |
| 2 star | 6% | |
| 1 star | 4% |
@TomC6900040 · Camped on Aug 8, 2025 at Campsite #25
Beautiful campground in the Nebraska Sandhills. Campsites are well spaced, and most are very well shaded. The shower house is nice but unfortunately when we used it late at night it wasnt very clean. My only recommendation would be to have a shower hose so you could clean/wash the floor down when in use. I also wish the spare truck/trailers could be parked in the site (if room allows on parking pad.) I understand if the sites are too small, but many are plenty big enough. Overall a great experience and a hidden gem!
@JoyH9920179 · Camped on Aug 8, 2025 at Campsite #14
We arrived after dark and left early the next morning so our experience with this campground was very limited. However, Upon arrival around 9pm, 3 young boys were riding motor cross bikes in the camping loop. While our site was a large pull through, the other sites were very small and crowded together. At best, this campground provided a safe camping spot with full hookup in a very rural area of Nebraska. On a positive note, we thoroughly enjoyed taking the old highway route across the Sand Hills of Nebraska. We did not get to meet any of the campground staff.
@GregH2281385 · Camped on Jul 24, 2025 at Campsite #9
Campsites and bathrooms were clean, with park staff visible and working hard. Other campers were friendly. Interesting to see the park in transition back to grassland after the wildfires.
@CraigR8509397 · Camped on Jul 22, 2025
Nice tent sites with big fire rings. Self check-in easily accessed with clear instructions posted. Active railroad crossing at the entrance will awaken all but the heaviest sleepers. 7 overnight trains during my stay.
@EveIC615878E2C · Camped on Jul 21, 2025 at Campsite #31
Nice campground, long walk to the showers from our spot, but thats the only bad I can say.
@DJS1A12C4CF0AA · Camped on Jul 18, 2025 at Campsite #13
Pleasantly surprised in this campground. This is a hidden gem!!
@CharlesH720196 · Camped on Jul 15, 2025 at Campsite #6
Very nice
@JeffO643462914 · Camped on Jul 2, 2025 at Campsite #GRP01
Great place for camping and riding ATVs every year.
@TomS3186246 · Camped on Jun 30, 2025
Great Campground: clean bathrooms.
@PattiC7178227 · Camped on Jun 22, 2025 at Campsite #24
1st time camping here! Nice & quiet & very well maintained. We camped during the week to avoid so many ATVS & the noise.
@JerryC3010960 · Camped on Jun 20, 2025 at Campsite #15
The park staff were very nice and extremely helpful. The park and facilities were very clean, even the pit toilets. Nice trails, really enjoyed taking pictures on the footbridge over the river. Enjoyed reading all the placards by the plants.
@DebbieC9683255 · Camped on Jun 8, 2025 at Campsite #9
very nice campground, well maintained, quiet (except for trains, but we are used to that). Various types of sites depending on your needs. Thedford has nice restaurant, Sand HIlls Corral, which has good salad bar and very generous entrees.
@RichardS712869 · Camped on Jun 1, 2025 at Campsite #12
VER Nice campground. quite a few side by sides and ATVs, but they were relatively well behaved. And usually went up the road to the trails as soon as they got the engines started. NICe bathrooms clean and private.
@LindaL9678479 · Camped on May 29, 2025 at Campsite #14
If you have an ATV this would be a good place to camp. If not, the noise & dust will drive you crazy! And - there is also a train nearby! Also, the ticks were horrendous! We had to put out chairs under the 5th wheel overhang on the road to avoid them. We tried to hike the trail, but it had burned in the past so there was nothing and no animals to see. It was hot, dry, and dusty. We will not be back.
@ShaneH7BEDFDEE · Camped on May 24, 2025 at Campsite #3
It was a nice place to stay the staff was very friendly and helpful. With that said if you are wanting a quiet place to camp I would not recommend for this park favors the outdoors enthusiast that loves the OHV and ATV trails. I will also pass that we were there on a Holiday weekend. Happy Outdoors
@CynthiaH772154 · Camped on Sep 13, 2024 at Campsite #23
Very interesting learning about the planted forest in the center of Nebraska.
@RichardG179702 · Camped on Sep 7, 2024 at Campsite #14
Nice clean small park. Not big rig friendly. There are many trees whose branches will scratch the sides of your rig as you move through the park. I would recommend a rig with a maximum length of 25 feet and height of 11 feet.
@DustinL9823734 · Camped on Sep 6, 2024 at Campsite #3
Beautiful campground. Relatively quiet considering the atv's. Will definitely stay again.
@PaulR7699704 · Camped on Aug 16, 2024 at Campsite #28
Great place to camp and ride ATVs. Staff has always been fantastic! Campground is well maintained and mowed. Middle Loup River runs right by campground. You can tube the river, its short trip, about hour or so but you can always go again. You can also fish from river or the fishing pond with a real nice fishing peer. Hiking, bike riding, ATVing, River tubing, fishing, star gazing, take a drive to just enjoy the sand hills are all things you can do. Horse riding (bring your own horse) is also available, there are 2 separate primitive campgrounds that are setup for horses. We have been going to Bessey Campground for years. I would recommend it. We are heartbroken that the 2 fires have really changed the forest, many, many trees destroyed. So please always be careful with campfires, have spark arresters on exhausts and carry a fire extinguisher on your ATVs, just be mindful of anything that would lead to an out of control fire. Especially when dry conditions exist.
@RebeccaT34EF87 · Camped on Jul 3, 2024 at Campsite #4
Beautiful park!! Stopped here on way to South Dakota. Would definitely come here and stay again!
@Christoph38781 · Camped on Jun 30, 2024 at Campsite #15
Nice walking trails. We were car camping and the bathrooms were a little bit far. But I liked that the bathrooms were very clean.
@BethL9916430 · Camped on Jun 30, 2024 at Campsite #GRP01
Absolutely a beautiful, clean and quiet park. Shower houses are nice. Trails offer beautiful sites!! Family voted this needs to be an annual event!!
@sandrae2740691 · Camped on Jun 27, 2024 at Campsite #12
Workers were very rude. One heavy set blonde gal in particular. Instead of trying to have a conversation with us, she straight up yelled at us. You never know what someone may be going through so ALWAYS be kind. We couldn't go on the trails for 2 days because of down trees from a storm. All 10 plus workers were in the camp ground cutting down 1 downed tree in a campsite that had no occupants or any occupants coming in that day. The employees drove through camp well over the 10 mph speed limit. We've been going there for years, Bessy & whitetail have ALWAYS been packed with campers. We were there 8 days, 4 of those days were weekend days. There was hardly a soul ANYWHERE. There's very little for trails to ride the way it is. We won't be coming back until you decide to reopen some trails. Bubba/Ranger Bob didn't have 9 other workers helping him. He did it all and still made sure he rode the trails. 100 percent disappointed...
@SteveB4787856 · Camped on Jun 9, 2024 at Campsite #32
Beautiful, quiet (except for our nephew and his wife, the place was nearly empty while we were there), floating the river in tubes was fun (dang, no feed tanks like in the Visit NE commercials!). Nephew took us all over the place in his UTV. A lot of the area had burned, but there's still a lot of forest.
@BillieB6BB3402 · Camped on Oct 28, 2023 at Campsite #GRP01
The weather was not as nice as we hoped, but that is all on mother nature. The trails and campground were great and we hope to go back again in the spring!
Other Campgrounds Nearby
We track all the sites so you don't have to.
Reservation Systems
Campsites Tracking
Campsite Reviews
Available Tonight
Available this Weekend
Cancellations Today
PRO $2.50/month
You're in Control. We never save credit card information or auto-renew subscriptions.
- Availability Map Search
- 3000+ Interactive Campground Maps
- Campground Virtual Tours
- Save Your Favorite Campsites
- Favorite Campsites Availability
- Campground Mobile Speed Test Maps
- National Parks, Forests & Ranger District Layers
- Wildfires & Air Quality Map Layer
- Satellite View Map Layer
- Campsite SMS Cancellation Alerts
- Rent your Property & Cabins
- Love's & Super Walmart Map Layers
- Cracker Barrel & Bass Pro Shop Map Layers
- Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUM) Layer
- Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Map Layer
- RV Propane, Parking, Dump, Water Map Layer
Pro is FREE for 7 days. (No credit card information required!)
Thanks to all our Supporting Members
@ChazInSoCal - CA
I just used PerfectCamp.com to book six consecutive August nights at the most popular campsite in one of the most popular campgrounds in Humboldt Redwoods State Park in California. That is not anything I could have accomplished anywhere else with the ease I did here! Thank you, PerfectCamp! I LOVE this site! You will find me on several other camping sites but the design, format, functionality, and personality of this the best. It’s fresh and clean.
@Wondering - Oregon
Wow! Woke up this morning to a notification that a favorite had opened at Paulina, and when I went to check, it was there. This membership just paid for itself in the first 24 hours I owned it. Couldn't take the site it conflicted with a trip already set, but it truly was there. Thanks Tons.
map icon in the lower right corner.
Map Settings
Reset
 Satellite |
 Wildfires |
 National Forests |
 National Parks |
 Air Quality |
 BLM |
 OHV MVUM |
 Love's |
|
Dump Stations
|
Water
|
Propane
|
RV Parking
|
 Super Walmart |
 Cracker Barrel |
 Bass Pro Shops |
| Price*: |
| Length: |
| Amps: |
| Elev: | feet |
| Temp: | °F |
| Down: |
| Up: |
*Earn our Leave No Trace badge to see our free camping sites.
🎉 Earn +5 marshmallows for adding your first favorite.
Use your earned marshmallows to enter our monthly giveaways or to get a Pro Subscription.
Show your commitment in keeping our forests healthy and protecting our public lands by earning the Leave No Trace badge.