Council Bluff Recreation Area

Great campsite by great MTB trails and fun for the whole family.

Currently No Potable water, but otherwise great sites, hiking and vault toilets.

Horrid! All 50 water spigot broken for years. Even the outhouses were "out of order". Last maintenance was decades ago. All recreation spots were subcontracted to local Yahoo's to control usage and charge money for parking, usage, water, electric, food etc. MIS MANAGED

We enjoyed our time at Council Bluffs. Of note: There is no water at the campsite, but we were able to fill our water jugs at the beach area. Overall a beautiful place to camp with the family.

Everything was great with the exception of no water being available and overflowing toilets.

One of my favorite sites! Very spread out and away from others. BEAUTIFUL!!! Clean, quiet, green and awesome. Tables, grills, bathrooms, and a small covered table- prep area. Love that it is close to the lake. THE ONLY CON IS THAT THE BEACH DOESN'T OPEN UNTIL 11 AM. We were camping in a large group and the kids, and everyone, were so ready to hit the beach WAY BEFORE 11!!! Because of the late opening some decided not to wait and headed home. THE LAKE IS AMAZING!! True beach and swimming area and also kayaking and no wake fishing boats.

Our overall experience was poor because the area is infested with ticks (beyond reason) and the water was turned off. The actual campsite area is peaceful, wooded and private. Neighbors are far apart and one can barely hear vehicles. Plenty of flat space and shade to set tent. The site (#9) is about 75 yards away from parking location. I recommend having a wagon to transport gear back and forth. This location is beyond using Permethrin to kill ticks. It needs to be fumigated routinely to manage population. This might have been the reason why not a single soul was camping at the time, maybe a red flag? (I am new to KS/MO). Unfortunately, I would not return to this specific location for what I perceive as abandonment and/or neglect.

Don’t know what happened. The location from this site was confusing. Even the workers at council bluff didn’t recognise this site (019, L2SG COUNCIL BLUFF RECREATION). I went to site 19 and someone was already using it.

My only complaint was all of the water spigots were not working.

We stayed at group site B. It said it accommodated 50, but it was pretty dang crowded with our 25. The website also said it had water. And they did have several spigots, but none were operational. We didn't bring enough water so we had to do a few runs into town for more.
It was a six minute drive to the lake. The lake was awesome though!
The campsite was pretty and not too crowded. We did run out of toilet paper in the bathrooms though and had to use some we luckily brought from home.
We aren't used to camping in paid campgrounds, so for as much as it didn't offer (mainly water and more space or picnic tables to accommodate big groups) it seemed pretty expensive. But it might be the best place around here! So we might go again anyway. And if you aren't used to camping in the western states the proximity to other campers might not bother you.