$15
Bessey Rec Complex
Total sites: 39
Available Today: 25 FF*
Available this Weekend: 16 FF*
Booking Window: 6 months
Available Today: 25 FF*
Available this Weekend: 16 FF*
Booking Window: 6 months
2,714 ft
82°F
66°F
66°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 (87)
4.1 out of 5
| 5 star | 45% | |
| 4 star | 26% | |
| 3 star | 11% | |
| 2 star | 6% | |
| 1 star | 5% |
@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.
@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!
@RobertD9538610 · Camped on Oct 27, 2023
Beautiful quiet location!
@JudyB6641446 · Camped on Sep 27, 2023 at Campsite #23
The sandhills area of NE is interesting to see. Except for this planted forest, there are few trees. The complex has an informative visitor center, sports court, dump station, and large clean private showers. They raise millions of seedlings every year to replant parks and national monuments all over the US. There are some hiking trails. The area experienced a devastating fire last year which is evident near the Scott lookout tower. There is excellent 5G cell coverage from Verizon in the campground. The sites are located in full shade. There is electricity at the sites, but water is from hydrants. I recommend the area for its interesting history. One caution is that it isn't far from the railroad tracks and coal trains rubble by day and night. They aren't noticeable during the day but at night you may want earplugs.
@AnnaM2451476 · Camped on Sep 1, 2023 at Campsite #3
Loved camping there. We had paid for the whole weekend and ended up moving closer to family. It was a lot easier for the last day there.
@JesseC9718566 · Camped on Aug 20, 2023 at Campsite #32
Very clean and beautiful campground. Only stayed one night in a 50 amp site near the river. We loved the site even though we did not have water or sewer connections. Works very well for a short stay in our 37 ft. Jayco fifth wheel.
@WilliamH371990 · Camped on Aug 8, 2023 at Campsite #28
Loud trains all day & night. Very crowded with ATV's. Some sites had 7 tents with 5-6 trucks.Lots of young kids driving the ATV's without supervision through the campground. No camp host.No noise control, ATV's were up & down the roads until 2:30am. Would never go back here.
@MatthewL946768 · Camped on Aug 7, 2023 at Campsite #4
We had so much fun riding 4 wheelers. Its sad how many trees have been lost and the uncertainty of them being replaced.
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