Nebraska Tailwaters
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- A night
- $18–$20Across the site types the agency prices
- Sites
- 37All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 3 notices
In the agency’s own words
Nebraska Tailwaters Campground is nestled along the Nebraska bank of the Missouri River, is a fun-filled camping destination just downstream of Gavins Point Dam and Lewis & Clark Lake. The 31,400-acre Lewis & Clark Lake and Gavins Point Dam are nestled in the golden, chalkstone-lined valley of the Missouri River growing into one of the most popular recreation destinations in the Great Plains. For more information, please visit the Gavins Point Project Website . Keep reading
Recreation
Located just below Gavins Point Dam in the dam "Tailwaters" provides exceptional access to the Missouri River. A large 2-lane boat ramp, large parking area is available, along with an accessible fishing pier and many areas for bank fishing. The Lewis and Clark Lake area attracts more than 2 million visitors each year to its shores. Recreation opportunities around the lake include camping, fishing, hunting, hiking, boating, sailing, swimming, bird-watching, and photography. For the biking and hiking enthusiasts, three trails are available in the area. They include a paved trail that runs from Yankton to the Gavins Point area, a multi-use trail in the Gavins Point area and the Calumet Bluff hiking trail located near the visitor center. Wintertime activities include ice fishing, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling and sledding. Developed public parks and recreation areas surround the lake above and below Gavins Point Dam. Camping facilities provided by the Corps and the States of South Dakota and Nebraska include boat ramps, picnic areas, campsites with electricity, modern restrooms, playground equipment and trailer dump stations.
Facilities
Nebraska Tailwaters offers 36 campsites, 34 of these campsites have electric hookups and 2 of the campsites are non-electric and are for tent camping only. Amenities include modern shower facilities with flush toilets, river access with shore fishing, handicap accessible fishing pier, boat ramp, fish cleaning station and RV dump station. There is also a Group Camping Area with electric hookups, picnic shelter, fire pit, grill, and vault toilet.
Natural Features
The campground sits on the south bank of the Missouri River, along the tailwaters of Gavins Point Dam. Surrounding the area is the golden, chalkstone-lined Missouri River Valley. Nebraska Tailwaters is known for its exceptional Bald Eagle viewing year-round, along with many other birds of prey. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (402) 667-2546.
Nearby Attractions
The Lewis and Clark Visitor Center , exhibits on Missouri River and area history including the Lewis and Clark Expedition with stunning views of Lewis and Clark Lake along with the Missouri River. Please contact the Lewis and Clark Visitor Center at (402) 667-2546 for more information. The Gavins Point National Fish Hatchery and Aquarium Visit nearby Yankton, South Dakota - the historic capitol of the Dakota Territory.
Charges & Cancellations
Reservation changes and cancellations can be made on Recreation.gov or by calling 1-877-444-6777. For more information on rules and policies regarding reservation cancellations and changes, please visit: https://www.recreation.gov/rules-reservation-policies .
What the agency tells you
- Check-In Time is 4:00 P.M., Check-Out Time is 2:00 P.M. - All campers must check-in and register with the campground host. - Each campsite is limited to a maximum of: (a) One (1) wheeled camping unit and two (2) sleeping tents OR (b) three (3) sleeping tents. Tent-Only campsites are limited to three (3) sleeping tents. A maximum of (8) people are allowed per campsite and daily occupancy is required. - All vehicles must be parked in designated parking areas or campsite pads. Vehicles parked at campsites must have at least two (2) wheels on the campsite pad, with a maximum of two (2) wheels permitted on grass. - No off road travel permitted. - Quiet hours are 10:00 P.M. to 6:00 A.M. - Fireworks are prohibited. - All pets must be on a leash of 6 feet in length or less. Pet waste must be picked up and properly disposed of promptly. - All fires must be contained in campfire rings or grills. Fires along the river bank or on shore are not permitted.
Firewood Alert! Don't Move Firewood: Due to the spread of invasive insects such as Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), firewood from outside the area is not permitted. Help protect your forests from tree-killing pests by buying your firewood locally and burning it on-site. Visit Dontmovefirewood.org for further information.
Attention Boaters, Paddlers, and Anglers - Protect Your Waters! Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) are present in Lewis & Clark Lake, Lake Yankton and the Missouri River below Gavins Point Dam - including Zebra Mussels and Bighead/Silver Carp. Do your part to help stop the spread of these and other aquatic invasives by remembering to always Clean, Drain, and Dry! For more information, click here. Special laws and regulations are currently in place to help prevent the spread of these and other aquatic invasive species. For more information, click here. For questions or to contact park staff, please call: 402-667-2546 or email: gavinspoint.nwo@usace.army.mil. Reservations can not be made at this number.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 37 · 2 tent-only, 1 group
- Hookups
- 35 electric, 1 water
- Longest rig
- 84 ft
- Paved pads
- 34 of 37
- Accessible sites
- 2
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- 34 of 37 sites
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- VAULT TOILETS on 1 of 37 campsite records
- Showers
- Yes, the record doesn’t say what kind
- Shower/Bath Type states a shower on 36 campsite record(s) that are not a cabin, of this campground's 37
- Drinking water
- Yes
- DRINKING WATER on 1 of 37 campsite records
- Dump station
- Yes
- recreation.gov lists “Dump Station”
- Boat ramp
- Yes
- Playground
- Yes
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, River
- Biking
- Boating
- Fishing
- Picnicking
- Water access
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 14th darkest of 17 in NE
- Bortle 4
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
No availability snapshot inside the last 36 hours, so this page draws nothing rather than ageing a reading into fiction.
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 15
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $18–$20 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
“Reservation changes and cancellations can be made on Recreation.gov or by calling 1-877-444-6777. For more information on rules and policies regarding reservation cancellations and changes, please visit: https://www.recreation.gov/rules-reservation-policies.” · this campground’s own terms
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 6
rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
37 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 37 mapped sitesAll 37 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 36 of the 37 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 36 of the 37 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| NEBRASKA TAILWATERS | Group Camp | group standard area electric | 25 ft | 50 amp | 1221 ft | 1,360 ft | Vault Toilets listed | ||
| NTAI | 01 | standard electric | 20/30/50 amp | 95 ft | 117 ft | 2,993 ft | $20 | ||
| NTAI | 02 | standard electric | 20/30/50 amp | 75 ft | 131 ft | 2,940 ft | $20 | ||
| NTAI | 03 | standard electric | 20/30/50 amp | 75 ft | 152 ft | 2,910 ft | $20 | ||
| NTAI | 04 | standard electric | 68 ft | 50 amp | 44 ft | 132 ft | 2,460 ft | $20 | |
| NTAI | 05 | standard electric | 65 ft | 50 amp | 32 ft | 122 ft | 2,440 ft | $20 | |
| NTAI | 06 | standard electric | 67 ft | 50 amp | 32 ft | 124 ft | 2,435 ft | $20 | |
| NTAI | 07 | standard electric | 70 ft | 50 amp | 33 ft | 118 ft | 2,420 ft | $20 | |
| NTAI | 08 | standard electric | 71 ft | 50 amp | 33 ft | 119 ft | 2,415 ft | $20 | |
| NTAI | 09 | standard electric | 66 ft | 50 amp | 41 ft | 119 ft | 2,399 ft | $20 | |
| NTAI | 10 | standard electric | 74 ft | 50 amp | 38 ft | 126 ft | 2,400 ft | $20 | |
| NTAI | 11 | standard electric | 69 ft | 50 amp | 38 ft | 128 ft | 2,397 ft | $20 | |
| NTAI | 12 | standard electric | 65 ft | 50 amp | 47 ft | 124 ft | 2,386 ft | $20 | |
| NTAI | 13 | standard electric | 67 ft | 50 amp | 47 ft | 131 ft | 2,389 ft | $20 | |
| NTAI | 14 | standard electric | 69 ft | 50 amp | 49 ft | 136 ft | 2,393 ft | $20 | |
| NTAI | 15 | standard electric | 72 ft | 50 amp | yes | 49 ft | 132 ft | 2,376 ft | $20 |
| NTAI | 16 | standard electric | 78 ft | 50 amp | 70 ft | 179 ft | 2,390 ft | $20 | |
| NTAI | 17 | standard electric | 78 ft | 50 amp | yes | 43 ft | 162 ft | 2,359 ft | $20 |
| NTAI | 18 | standard electric | 83 ft | 50 amp | 39 ft | 156 ft | 2,345 ft | $20 | |
| NTAI | 19 | standard electric | 82 ft | 50 amp | 39 ft | 148 ft | 2,330 ft | $20 | |
| NTAI | 20 | standard electric | 79 ft | 50 amp | 33 ft | 136 ft | 2,311 ft | $20 | |
| NTAI | 21 | standard electric | 78 ft | 50 amp | 32 ft | 139 ft | 2,309 ft | $20 | |
| NTAI | 22 | standard electric | 78 ft | 50 amp | 32 ft | 133 ft | 2,299 ft | $20 | |
| NTAI | 23 | standard electric | 80 ft | 50 amp | 40 ft | 130 ft | 2,291 ft | $20 | |
| NTAI | 24 | standard electric | 78 ft | 50 amp | 42 ft | 126 ft | 2,283 ft | $20 | |
| NTAI | 25 | standard electric | 77 ft | 50 amp | 35 ft | 126 ft | 2,279 ft | $20 | |
| NTAI | 26 | standard electric | 79 ft | 50 amp | 33 ft | 132 ft | 2,284 ft | $20 | |
| NTAI | 27 | standard electric | 77 ft | 50 amp | 28 ft | 130 ft | 2,280 ft | $20 | |
| NTAI | 28 | standard electric | 77 ft | 50 amp | 28 ft | 136 ft | 2,285 ft | $20 | |
| NTAI | 29 | standard electric | 61 ft | 50 amp | 53 ft | 136 ft | 2,284 ft | $20 | |
| NTAI | 30 | standard electric | 67 ft | 50 amp | 41 ft | 130 ft | 2,279 ft | $20 | |
| NTAI | 31 | standard electric | 62 ft | 50 amp | 41 ft | 132 ft | 2,282 ft | $20 | |
| NTAI | 32 | standard electric | 84 ft | 50 amp | 45 ft | 131 ft | 2,284 ft | $20 | |
| NTAI | 33 | standard electric | 62 ft | 50 amp | 46 ft | 131 ft | 2,288 ft | $20 | |
| NTAI | 34 | standard electric | 63 ft | 50 amp | 46 ft | 133 ft | 2,294 ft | $20 | |
| NTAI | 35 | tent only nonelectric | 51 ft | 51 ft | 2,305 ft | $18 | |||
| NTAI | 36 | tent only nonelectric | 51 ft | 102 ft | 2,355 ft | $18 |
25 of 37 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Cottonwood (NE)0.9 miGreen Island Primitive CampingMissouri National Recreational River · 3.6 mi
Bow Creek Primitive CampingMissouri National Recreational River · 17 mi
Goat Island Primitive CampingMissouri National Recreational River · 21 miFrom Yankton, South Dakota, go south on U.S. Highway 81 for 2 miles, then west on Nebraska Highway 121 for 4 miles, campground entrance will be on your right.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Aten, NE
Typical weather
Typical October night 39°F, day 63°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 10°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
who answers for it
Who answers for this land
Nebraska Tailwaters is in Nebraska’s 3rd congressional district. Its representative, Adrian Smith (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →