Sutherland Reservoir Park Public Camping Area

What a beautiful area. This is exactly the type of glamping we love. Sitting by water watching the American White Pelican’s swim by while and enjoying sunsets. At night there were so many stars, just beautiful.

We missed the road at first, its after the Oregon Golf Course. You turn right onto the road which looks like its part of the golf course. This free glamping site is so worth the drive.

Sitting outside we could just barley hear I80. Inside nothing just peaceful and quite.

I read in other reviews about the mosquitoes and chuckled. But they are no joke thickest I’ve ever seen them. We camped in the first loop next to the water. There are two porta John’s and a dumpster. Big circle can easily accommodate several campers. There was an old abandoned camper there but no one around. About a half mile down the road was another nice area but there was another old delapitated trailer with some sketchy looking people around. The road in was dirt and wash boarded. But wasn’t long and we took it easy pulling a 30ft travel trailer. The circle we were in was mostly sand but seemed firm. We had a storm over night and the area turned to quick sand. I wasn’t sure we would get out. Even the road in turned into a rutted mess.

Anyplace that is free where you can get sunsets like this place deserves a good review. It is close to the highway. Quiet. Isolated. Beautiful.

Other reviewers say it's hard to find. It's easy to find during the day. There are a few campers at the first sites; so, I kept driving and camped in a little pull-out along the dirt road overlooking the water. Sure, there is a power plant across the lake, but they are also your hosts (I think).

I parked and immediately jumped on my bike to tour around. If you drive all the way to the end of the road, there are some picnic tables and fire pits. There are also a few sites down near a "beach." Plenty of places to camp. Of course I was there on a weeknight, but only saw a few people. Everybody smiled and waved.

I had some work to do; so, I sat in a lawn chair by the lake and processed some paperwork and made some calls. Not a bad spot to get some work done.

There was some stormy weather over night. It got very windy for a short time. I could see lightning across the lake. It was beautiful. However, I did not want to stick around for the show and pulled out early (5AM).

Slept well and really enjoyed this place. Great stay.

Stayed here 9/25 – 9/28/20. The campsite we stayed at was near the water and backed up to a golf course. It was dispersed camping. And, during our stay there was a dumpster and porta potty on site. It did seem a little odd being camped on the side of a dirt road next to a golf course. Across the water from us was a power plant. We did find out later that the surrounding area has quite a few options for camping.

Not really a destination spot, but ideal for stopping and getting some sleep (which might be a welcome change of scenery from overnight stays at WalMarts!). I arrived on a Monday about 4 PM in mid-August of 2017. There were 3 others RVs there, but only one was occupied. The other two appeared to be ghost campers.

I'd say any trailer or RV+towed vehicle over 30 - 35' is going to have a hard time as the sites are not officially delineated. It's basically 'dispersed' camping. There is one level 'site' which has plenty of shade at the east end, but don't count on getting that spot. "Sites" nearer the lake will be in the sand.

Take exit 158 one mile south from I-80 and turn east on Tower Road. In a half mile, when the (gravel) road starts to veer southeast just past the cell tower on your left and at the end of the golf course on your right, turn right again. There's no sign on Tower Road directing you to the site, just a sign warning that the utility is not liable for your use of the area. My GPS has the entrance road to the area at 41.127398, -101.128547.

Most areas are not level, so you either have to level your RV or live with an out-of-level RV or tent. It's right on the lake, so any breeze from the south will come right up through the area. High winds may blow sand around as well.

I had 3 bars of cell service with US Cellular.

Two port-a-potties were provided, and to my surprise they were very clean and stocked with paper. No other amenities (water, dump station, electric etc) are available. So be prepared for dry camping. I spent a quiet evening and peaceful night there while traveling through Nebraska on my way to Wyoming.

Nice layout, a little hilly and bumpy to navigate. It is not well lit at all so it is kind of hard to see where the dirt roads are when pulling in at night. There are signs to pay for camping at the clubhouse, but it was closed. I did not see the bathrooms if there were any. There is a small gas station down the street but that's about it.
The location itself was so extremely windy we could hardly set up the tent. Lids flying off of boxes and sand all through the car. It was extremely windy from the reservoir so the tent was constantly flapping. There were also trains running all night and lots of bird noises. Be prepared for sand flying in your eyes. We would NOT tent camp here again, but may return with the rv.