McConaughy Lake — Attraction in Ogallala

I have been going to Lake Mac since I was about 13. I am 30 now, just returned from the lake and I am so disappointed in the entire experience. I paid 150 for four nights on the beach. I'm not sure exactly what it was in previous years but I believe it was around 75/80 for the same amount of time. For no obvious reason, we are now confined to pre-reserved sections instead of just finding a spot that suits you anywhere on the beach. We wanted a spot in the trees to get some protection from the elements. In our section we had three whole trees that were accessible by vehicle. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal because we would just move to another area and find trees that we liked. But we had minimal options. When we unpacked and started setting things up, we noticed trash and charcoal and remains of fireworks ALL OVER the campsite. We've never had issues with this much trash in the past. If I'm paying almost double the money, I expect them to atleast hire someone to clean the camping sites. Or the bathrooms. Or the showers. But no, all of these things were absolutely dirty. And on top of that, we had someone who I assume worked for mcconaughy come over and yell at friends of ours because they were on the wrong side of their beach section sign. I'm not interested in paying a ton more money and receiving absolutely no benefits for that money. Every year it seems like there are more and more rules and frankly, the lake is not fun like it used to be. Save your money and find a better lake closer to where you live. These people are greedy and just want to pocket your money, since i see no improvements to the area with all that extra cash they're charging...

A little like a Hollywood movie in making...or true to life , so beautiful but after one night, a bit creepy, deserted. Looks as big as the ocean, vacant campsites with fresh fruit firewood just abandoned with just cause. No park ranger station to advise tourists re: never ending winds and open fires. I was raised making camp fires/ bon fires, responsibly. I camped here, made a simple small fire, put if out hours before bedtime, just in case it relit. It relit even after spreading it out, covering it with pounds of sand, and our week supply of water in our RV tank, even reserve, (for just three untreated pieces of firewood) we fought this fire with no help/ park rangers around until after daybreak, when we went to a restaurant (nearest civilization) to report the issues. They were lifelong locals, educated us this community is failing due to lack back of campfire knowledge or support, they indeed watched us as all night to know if we would cause them to evacuate like most others of community did, I thought, but you wouldn't even offer to post a sign or tell us in advance or see if we wanted some help/ felt like hills have eyes gone Nebraska! Will visit again maybe daylight only, no fires ever again, beaches are truly huge full of sunflowers, sail boats off on lake look miles away, yet very deceptive place, bet they have Pike large enough...

A word of caution about renting camper trailers for your stay at the lake. The camper trailers being rented out are a potential health hazard. We had a family reunion at the Lake this past July 7-10. Outside of abysmal maintenance in providing enough water and sewage disposal one of the trailers had mildew and leaked when it rained. The family that rented that trailer had two members of its party with serious pre-existing health conditions. All developed a coughs and required medical attention due to the toxic mold. There apparently is no oversight of this business either by the county, State or park service. The trailer we rented ran out of water, the sewage backed up into the shower and the generator did not make it through the night to provide electricity for running our medical devices.

While I realize this situation probably falls under "renter beware and rent at your own risk" there ought to be some standards in place perhaps set by the park. The camp grounds were littered with debris from the 4th.

The lake...it is beautiful and big and the fees...