Lake Wanahoo NRD Recreation Area — Attraction in Nebraska

This lake seems to be fairly decent for bass fishing if you know where to find them. They do a great job of maintaining the park and facilities and the boat ramp is three-wide with virtually unlimited room for maneuvering the truck and boat when backing in or pulling out of the water.

Two major downsides for me that caused the reduced rating:

There is a $5.00 daily park entry fee. This is a State Recreation Area and should be covered by the annual State Park Sticker. If I'm wrong and it is, then that should be clearly indicated at the park, but it's not. Based on everything I can find, you have to pay the fee no matter what.

There is a huge campground here that generates money and the cost of fishing licenses continues to climb drastically in our state, especially for residents, that we shouldn't also have to pay a fee, essentially to park for a few hours. If there has to be a fee, make non-residents and residents without the annual park sticker pay it. Residents with the park sticker should get in free since we're already doing our part to support our Game & Parks Commission.

For the love of all things holy, PLEASE put up some wind breaks around this damn lake! It's Nebraska farmland!! By definition, it's as flat as can be for as far as the eyes can see!

Fishing here early morning (first light - 1030ish) is great! Water is usually like glass, just spectacular! Unfortunately, as you approach Noon, the winds pick up. Ignore the weather reports on wind speed, they are ALWAYS wrong.

Winds pick up into double digits here and blow straight across this lake. There is NOTHING to stop it and there is no where on the lake you'll be able to fish that is shielded from the winds.

In the afternoon, it becomes impossible to control your boat with the trolling motor and nearly impossible too fish with baitcasters. Stick to the mornings until they plant some trees around the lake...

This seems to be a campground for locals and fishermen. We did see a few out of state rigs but, during the weekend there seemed to be a lot of campers with large groups of people and many cars. The road is crushed rock and very dusty. A layer of gravel on top would vastly reduce the dust. You fill up your water tanks near site 13 as there is only electric hookups throughout the park. The sites are all level with fine crushed rock as a base. Our site had a huge grassy area next to it on one side and a smaller grassy area on the other. We also had a fire ring and picnic table. The trees are all too small to supply any shade. There is a massive piece of playground equipment down toward the dam and they just put up six cabins on that end as well. We enjoyed a walk and a bike ride across the lake to the other side (highway side). There seems to be some confusion about the dump station. You have to actually leave the campground and go left on hwy 77 to the stoplight and then left again. The dump station is at the other entrance off hwy 109. It's a nice setup and...

This place is pretty nice but with some drawbacks. Here's a summary after two nights of tent camping:

Pros: -Friendly staff who actually look after the park. -Clean campgrounds and bathrooms. -Plenty of designated tent areas separated from RV sites. Tent sites aren't nearly as busy as RV sites. -Fishing can be really good. I caught a huge bluegill and my first northern pike. Huge lake, plenty of fishing if you have a boat.

Cons: -The tent camping area is right next to the highway and there are no trees as a barrier. You'll be hearing a lot of traffic and wind will get pretty gusty. Bring earplugs for sleeping. -Very young trees and not many. Bring a sun shelter so you don't fry. -The lake is huge and the main fishing areas, if you don't have a boat, are the big piers. Even though I enjoyed fishing, these pier areas are pretty overfished.

Overall, kind of a mixed bag, but can be pretty nice if you know...