Seven hundred and fifty miles, that’s how far the drive is from Dallas, TX to Ponca State Park in Nebraska. Thanks to the hard sell from our Iowa camping buddies, we decided to make the drive. They made it sound so enticing that it inspired an entire Summer Southwest road trip that took us from Texas through Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Missouri. On the leg of our trip between Mount Rushmore and Branson, Missouri we spent some time at the beautiful Ponca State Park in Nebraska.
Getting an RV Site at Ponca State Park
I was really stressed about this weekend, because we did not have reservations. Most of the sites are first come, first serve at Ponca State Park. Being over 700 miles from home, the over planner in me had a hard time with this. All of the reservable sites were booked up for our dates. However, the Ponca State Park website allows for creating alerts if something comes open the weekend you will plan to visit. Sure enough, two days before our reservation a spot came open and we grabbed it. This was simply for my peace of mind. Our Iowa friends were meeting us there. They did not have reservations and were not concerned. Turned out they were right not to be!
Ponca State Park has three RV campgrounds; Oak Bluff, Turkey Ridge, and Riverfront. From what I can tell, Oak Bluff sites can not be reserved. They are walk up only. With over 70 RV sites and only 1/2 of those being reservable, not having a reservation doesn’t seem to be much of a problem. We pulled up early in the day and easily grabbed an Oak Bluff site for ourselves and the one across the street for our travel buddies. The park let me transfer my reserved Turkey Ridge site to the walk up Oak Bluff sites so that we could be close to our friends. Easy peasy!
Amenities at Ponca State Park
This is where Ponca State Park shines! We have traveled to several state parks in the U.S., and before this trip Gulf State Park was at the top of my list for amenities. Ponca knocked them out of the top position for me. No, Ponca does not have a beach, but they do have a water park! And in addition to the campground basics of restrooms, fishing pond, and hiking trails, they have a long list of activities in which camping families can participate. Below is a list of some of our favorites:
- Horseback riding
- Shotgun Range
- Organized Crafts
- Sling Shot Ranges
- Archery Range
- Golf
- Canoe/Kayak
- Seasonal Activities and Events
- River Access Boat Ramps
- Wildlife Viewing
- Towers in Time
- Forge for Berries
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[…] do, this adventure started in Texas. Our major destinations have been South Dakota; Branson, MO; and Ponca State Park in Nebraska. However, we passed through Kansas twice on our route. Even though each time was only a […]
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