Bessey Recreation Complex

Bessey Recreation Complex and campground is located in central Nebraska, adjacent to the Middle Loup River, offering visitors opportunities to enjoy the scenery, relax and recreate. Waterfront activities are popular and plentiful at this facility. Adjacent to the campground, the Middle Loup River is shallow and steady flowing, providing good conditions for tubing and canoeing. A seven-acre pond stocked with largemouth bass, blue gill, trout and catfish offers great fishing for the whole family, and there is also an accessible fishing pier. Bessey Recreation Complex has camping sites able to accommodate tents, trailers and RVs, including one group site and several tent-only sites. The campground is equipped with picnic tables, campfire rings, seasonal flush toilets and drinking water. Electric hookups are available at the group site and several of the standard sites, and a group picnic area is also available for use. Restaurants, gas stations and a grocery store are available in Thedford, Nebraska, 16 miles to the west; Halsey also has a restaurant, and Dunning, 10 miles east, has a gas station with groceries. The campground sits next to the Charles E. Bessey Nursery, the oldest tree nursery in the Forest Service, in the Bessey Ranger District of the Nebraska National Forest. Wildlife in the area abounds: prairie chicken, sharp-tailed grouse, mule deer, white-tailed deer, pronghorn antelope, prairie dogs, turkeys, coyotes, bobwhite quail, eagles, hawks and falcons all find habitat in surrounding ecosystems. Drive or hike to the Scott Lookout Tower for a fantastic panoramic view of Nebraska's sand hills and prairies.