Lake Manawa State Park Campground

We camped at the RV campground for a week (though I was gone most of that week on a business trip). We entered the park from the east side and followed the signs for the campground once we were inside the park. There is a small office - more of a glorified kiosk - at the entrance to the campground, with signs on how to make a last-second reservation. Because we had reserved ahead of time, we simply needed to consult the reservation email for the gate code, punch in the gate code, and follow the signs to our area of the campground. All of the 40 sites are well-marked with a post with the site number at the entrance to the site.

The campground has a mix of pull-through and back-in sites. The back-in sites are blind-side back-ins, but they're angled well and there are no obstacles to worry about besides the site number post. All of the sites have concrete pads with a large concrete patio and a large bolted-down metal picnic table, with a tall fire ring with a grilling surface just off the patio. Each site also has a wide grass lawn - plenty of space between campers - and is open to the sky. Our back-in site (site 33) was level and just long enough for us to place the RV so all of the jacks and stabilizers were on the concrete and still have room to park the truck in front, and we had nice views of the lake from both the back and passenger sides of our fifth wheel. The hookups were reasonably placed but the sewer connection was not threaded.

The only amenities within the campground itself is a small bathhouse with a single unisex room containing a bathroom and a shower and a pair of dumpsters. But a short walk across the day-use parking lot brings you to large pavilion and an even larger playground. There is also a paved walking path that connects the campground to the beach area, but that beach area is closed off after Labor Day. There are no enclosed dog parks, but there are plenty of grassy areas for walking dogs.

In terms of cell service, the best speed I got on my Verizon Jetpack with MIMO antenna was 47 Mbps down and 12 up, and we had no trouble streaming video except for occasional buffering. The best speed test I ran on my 5G AT&T smartphone showed 47Mbps down and 7 up.  There is no WiFi at the campground.

We were a little concerned that some of the other park gates might be closed late at night, which would have made our midnight trip to the Omaha airport a challenge, but they stayed open.

We would stay here again if we were in the area.

We found this place on Campendium after searching for a last-minute stop on our travels home. We are so glad we found this little gem. It was a steal at $27-ish a night. It was a beautiful and well maintained campground. We enjoyed the views of the lake. It was very beautiful and peaceful. Full hookups, too! If passing through the area again we would definitely stay here.

A couple of additional Pieces of information: use the GPS coordinates in the Campendium description. My husbands Apple map brought us in the long way around, but I think Google map had a better idea of where the campground is. There’s a very nice playground immediately accessible from the campground if you’re here with kids. Also if you go out the back entrance of the campground you have access to a miles long bicycle trail which is very nice. I did not see another campground employee the two days we were here. Unlike most state parks there are pull through sites. All sites are full hook up.

This state park campground is brand new. Opening in May or June of this year (2022). There are no trees planted yet so the A/C ran a lot. Only 40 sites with approximately 80-100 feet between most sites. All concrete sites are level and wide. Back in sites are 58’, pull throughs are 80’ in length. Easy access off of I-80 or I-29. Looks like there were two unisex restrooms with showers. We never use them so don’t know how clean or useable they were.
I would orient the coach to the west. Giving you afternoon shade on the passenger side. We were facing east in site #13 and had sun all day. It was windy so the awnings would not stay out. All the pull throughs are facing west.
Definitely would stay again without question. Full hookups made it handy to do some catch up laundry.
When you reserve a site, you are supplied a passcode in your email confirmation to get through the park gate.

Stopped here on our way home from a 6 week cross country trip.

New concrete roads and site pads with a view of the lake.

Modern shower rooms with sink, toilet, bench, etc.

At this writing it is not on Apple or Google Maps. Satellite views are outdated too.

Reservations on ReserveAmerica. The confirmation email has the gate code, way at the bottom.

No one is at the gate after 4 PM.

$5 extra for non-residents.

Unfortunately thunderstorms with severe lightning set in at sunset so we couldn’t walk the park.