Bessey Recreation Complex

Site 25 was o.k. Was able to hear the train, but was not too close or annoying. Only noticed it a couple times. Was a fairly short walk to the river. Plenty of walking trails in the area. Shower house was nice.

A beautiful place to relax!

Very convenient to find and lovely place to stay for a night when making a long trek to Colorado. Appreciate the amenities.

Think twice about this campground. It is surrounded by dead timber. The campground has tall grass and weeds. We got a mouse infestation during one night stay.

Nice campground, very clean showers.

Campsites were well maintained. Campground was super clean.

Always enjoy Bessey! The crew there does great job of keeping everything looking good, from mowing the grass, to clean shower house and outhouses. We enjoy the peace (except for a Coal Train going by about every 1/2hr, but that is minor thing), the ATV Trails, the River and Dark Skies to see all the stars. The only thing that is tough to experience is the Fire Damage to a very large portion of the Forest as we had been there so many times before the devastation, and remember what it used to be. Unfortunate that those fires occurred, glad that the firefighters and all involved, were able to save Bessey Complex from the devastation as the fire did get very close.

We had a great time on the trails and the camping was good.

I love camping amongst the ponderosa pines, but the amount of ATV’s and disrespectful owners ruins this campground. Every evening there were people riding their loud ATV’s well into the night after quiet time. Even as late as 1am. Couldn’t sleep. The campground host was nowhere to be found. I ended up leaving camp a day early because I didn’t want to deal with the noise from the ATV’s any longer.

There were multiple instances where people riding ATV’s around the campground were driving way too fast. Adults riding with children with no one wearing helmets. As I understand it, the rules and regs state ATV’s can only be ridden from their campsites to the trailhead. But people abuse that and apparently the campground host doesn’t care.

It’s a shame. This used to be one of my favorite places to camp in Nebraska. I doubt I’ll be back.

We enjoyed our stay at this National Forest campground. The sites were spacious, well spread out, and offered plenty of room between neighboring campers, which gave the campground a peaceful and uncrowded feel.The one major thing to be aware of is the nearby railroad. If you're a light sleeper, this may not be the campground for you. We counted at least 10 trains passing through during the night, and they weren't shy about using their horns!Aside from the trains, we really liked the campground itself. The spacious sites and National Forest setting made for a great camping experience.
If you can sleep through the sound of a freight train, or consider train horns your version of a campground lullaby, you'll probably enjoy this spot!