Branched Oak State Recreation Area — Attraction in Seward

I love Branched Oak! It has so many things to offer: Frisbee golf, hiking, swimming, sand volleyball, and so many great camping spots. I consider myself an avid camper that has evolved from tent camping in my 20's to a travel trailer in my 40's. I have seen a fair share of campgrounds. So the one thing that was so disappointing is their shower facilities at the Middle Oak campground.

I am used to bugs and cobwebs, which is in every campground shower house, but I was not expecting the water odor. My husband thought it smelled like sulfur. I thought it smelled like rust since the whole shower head and line to the shower head was all rusted. All I smelled was rust so I didn't even feel like I was clean.

The set up for the showers is also awkward because there is no place to set your soap and shampoo unless you use the handicap shower. All of the showers have a shower curtain, but the only small ledge to put your towel and clean clothes is outside the curtain. The only advantage to this shower house compared to their newer ones is that it is free. We found the new shower house by area 11 and the marina, but this one costs 75 cents for 3 minutes. I just don't understand how Nebraska can charge for showers.

If you are reading this long review I want to leave you with a few pro tips. Use the All Trails app if you plan to go hiking or biking on their 7 miles of trails. We could not find a good map of the trails, but if you download the map from the app, you won't get turned around on all the side trails. If you are leaving on a Sunday and you don't want to wait in a long line to dump, go around the lake to area 11. There is a dump station on top of the hill, above the marina and next to the shower house. This area does not have trailer camping spots so this dump station is rarely used. Go to Iowa to camp. They have the nicest shower houses and great trails. Be sure to check out their County campsites which are usually nicer, but not reservable. Go out on Thursday and pitch a small tent to hold your spot. It is...

The good: Camp ground was gorgeous and well maintained. It has many activities like archery, playground, trails, swimming,fishing and Frisbee golf. The grass was cut and there were many flat shaded spots to pick from. The people collecting money drove around and made sure everyone had paid, which was nice for us because we had just set up our tent.

Now the bad: The playground is missing rubber sections and its extremely dangerous for small children who can step in them and fall and hit the concrete. The bathrooms were gross but what you can expect from non flushing. We did not attempt the shower because it seems to only have one stall and people were always in it. We had our own shower tent we used. There is no security at night. So no one inforcing any sound rules after 10pm. The first night we had people honking their horns at 11pm and blasting their music. The second night we had drunk men screaming and cussing at eachother on one side till midnight. On the other side of our campground, people were smoking pot and we had to close our tent windows to protect our children from it. It was insanely noisy for camping. If you are In a tent, think about trying to find a primitive site if you don't want to listen to drunk...

One of Nebraskas bigger and better lakes. Also only one of two public lakes around Lincoln that allow boating over 5mph which is great, but being that our options are limited on where we can wakeboard, tube or any other water sport the amount of traffic on the lake is usually high and makes for some rough waters. If your boat isn't at least 16' at the minimum, I would suggest either going at a time when there are few boats on the water or else be sure to stay by the shoreline because out in the middle it can get pretty hairy sometimes. I went from a 17' open bow to a 18.5' bow rider and the difference is very noticeable and now I don't have the wakes tempting to come over the bow or the sides of the boat. The fishing is great for crappie, walleye and bass but once again, its a lot more enjoyable when the traffic is low like during the week or at night. But it is a great lake and has everything you need wether you have a boat or not. People are friendly and I always have a good time there no matter what I end up doing. I highly recommend a stop and stay at the many campsites available and just kick back, have a beer and...