Toadstool (NE) Nebraska NF
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- A night
- $15From, per site
- Sites
- 1613 on recreation.gov
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 1 notices
In the agency’s own words
Located on the beautiful Oglala National Grassland in northwestern Nebraska, Toadstool Geologic Park is a stark, other-worldly landscape unlike any place in Nebraska. Its name was inspired by the narrow clay pedestals topped with slabs of sandstone that resemble toadstool mushrooms. It is one of the most memorable places in the grassland with its unique layers, formations, and scientifically valuable fossil deposits. Toadstool is a key link in understanding the earth's history from 38 to 24 million years ago. Keep reading
Formed by mostly volcanic ash and alluvial river deposits, geologists consider it the "type section for the White River Geologic Group", meaning that all other similar-aged deposits in North America are compared to the geological standard designated at Toadstool. The campground consists of twelve campsites with picnic tables, fire rings, upright grills, and two accessible vault toilets. There is no water. Special features: In 1984 the Forest Service constructed a sod house in the campground near the site of a sod house built in 1929. The new "soddie" provides a look into the past when homesteaders on the grasslands used the only abundant material available. The original sod house was lived in briefly before being abandoned and signs of the original structure no longer exist.
Recreation
The trailhead at the campground provides access to three hiking trails each with varying degrees of difficulty. A one mile interpretive loop highlights many examples of eroded clay/sandstone formations. While on the trail, follow our brochure to learn the fascinating geology of the area. The Bison Trail leaves the interpretive loop at the half way point and continues up the canyon to the Hudson-Meng Education and Research Center. Toadstool Campground to Hudson Meng is 3 miles one way. A five mile loop begins at the campground and proceeds on the graveled section of the interpretive trail for a short distance before heading north through the badlands and grasslands on the Great Plains Trail. After 1.5 miles the Great Plains Trail intersects with the 918 Road. Follow the signs to return to the Bison Trail and Toadstool Campground. The loop can be done in reverse going the other direction on the interpretive trail as you leave the campground. The Great Plains Trail, developed by the Great Plains Trail Alliance, is a cross country network of public land trails and roads beginning in Guadalupe National Park and ending at the Canadian border. The Bison Trail, 918 Road, and part of the 5 mile loop are part of this network. Information on the Great Plains Trail can be found at www.greatplainstrail.org Facilities Two vault toilets.
Nearby Attractions
Hudson Meng Education and Research Center Located on the beautiful Oglala National Grassland in northwestern Nebraska, the Hudson-Meng Education and Research Center houses one of the most important paleo-archeological discoveries in North America. Visitors can tour the bonebed enclosure and discover the mysterious past of the Bison antiquus (extinct bison) that died here. A rancher first brought attention to the bonebed in 1954. This started an ongoing quest to discover what caused the death of so many bison. Archeologists continue to research the exact nature of past events and the role ancient Paleo-Indian people may have played in them. While theories are plentiful, there is still no clear answer to the mystery. The Hudson-Meng Education and Research Center’s Bison Bonebed Tour encourages visitors to develop their own ideas based on the evidence presented. The Bison Trail connects the Hudson-Meng visitor center to Toadstool Geologic Park. This is an unforgettable three-mile (one way) hike across the Oglala Grassland. Toadstool Geologic Park is well-known for its unusual rock formations and fossils. The natural history dates as far back as 30 million years ago. The site is located in the shadow of Nebraska's picturesque Pine Ridge, overlooking the Oglala and Buffalo Gap National Grasslands and north to the Black Hills of South Dakota. If you make a discovery on a national grassland or national forest, make sure of its location and report it right away to the nearest Forest Service office. https://youtu.be/wM7gKaUP2dw
What the agency tells you
Water is NOT available on site. Please bring your own drinking water. Nearby trails contain rugged terrain with minimal shade. Please wear proper attire and footwear. Please note that Toadstool Road is an unpaved, gravel road and conditions vary. Use extreme caution during muddy conditions. Two vault toilets available. Mobile phone service may be unavailable. Camping fees are non-refundable and non-transferrable between operators. Recreation.gov does not accept payment from foreign bank accounts or travelers' checks.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 16
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…upright grills, and two accessible vault toilets. There is no water. Special features: In 1984 the…”
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “…and two accessible vault toilets. There is no water. Special features: In 1984 the Forest Service…”
Nothing on the booking system for the next 30 nightsread 14:29 UTC
recreation.gov lists 13 of the 16 campsites the agency files here. The rest aren’t on its booking system, so a reservation won’t get you one.
Every one of the next thirty nights is in recreation.gov’s record and not one site is being offered on any of them. That’s a campground closed or not yet released for booking, not a sold-out one.
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.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 14
What you actually pay
“$7.50/extra vehicle Interagency Senior/Access Recreation Passes provide a 50% discount to single campsites ONLY. *The discount applies only to the fee for the campsite physically occupied by the pass holder, no to any…” · the U.S. Forest Service’s own fee record
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $15 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.
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
recreation.gov availability, read 14:29 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
16 sites · the site map
All 16 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 1 of the 16 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. 13 of the 16 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| Scan and Pay | ScanPay 2 | type not stated | |||
| Scan and Pay | ScanPay 3 | type not stated | |||
| Scan and Pay | ScanPay 4 | type not stated | |||
| Scan and Pay | Standard | standard nonelectric | 4,392 ft | 139 ft | $15 |
| Toadstool | 1 | standard nonelectric | $15 | ||
| Toadstool | 10 | standard nonelectric | $15 | ||
| Toadstool | 11 | standard nonelectric | $15 | ||
| Toadstool | 12 | standard nonelectric | $15 | ||
| Toadstool | 2 | standard nonelectric | $15 | ||
| Toadstool | 3 | standard nonelectric | $15 | ||
| Toadstool | 4 | standard nonelectric | $15 | ||
| Toadstool | 5 | standard nonelectric | $15 | ||
| Toadstool | 6 | standard nonelectric | $15 | ||
| Toadstool | 7 | standard nonelectric | $15 | ||
| Toadstool | 8 | standard nonelectric | $15 | ||
| Toadstool | 9 | standard nonelectric | $15 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Toadstool Geological Park and CampgroundOglala National Grassland · 0.0 miSoldier Creek (NE) Nebraska NFNebraska National Forest · 11 miRoberts Tract (NE) Nebraska NFNebraska National Forest · 25 miRed Cloud CampgroundNebraska National Forest · 32 miRed Cloud (NE) Nebraska NFNebraska National Forest · 32 mi
Cottonwood Springs Campground40 miFrom Hot Springs, SD take Highway 71 south 37 miles to the intersection of Toadstool Road. Follow Toadstool Road for 11.4 miles to FS Road #902 and continue on road #902 for 1.4 miles to Toadstool Campground.
From Crawford, NE proceed to intersection of Highway 20 and Highway 2. Take Highway 2 north for 4.2 miles to Toadstool Road. Follow Toadstool Road for 11.4 miles to FS Road 902 and continue on Road 902 for 1.4 miles to Toadstool Campground.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Ardmore, SD
Typical weather
Typical October night 34°F, day 62°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical December night 15°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
Toadstool (NE) Nebraska NF 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 →