CP Campground Review – Riverside Campground, Scottsbluff, NE
Link to campground here: Riverside Campground, Scott’s Bluff, NB
Link to map location here: Riverside Campground, Scott’s Bluff, NB
- Site Quality = 2/5
OK, but too tight sites here. All sites are decently flat, long dirt pull-throughs with green/grassy “sitting areas” containing picnic table and fire-pit. Main ding is sites are much closer together than we like, especially for a public campground and some sites are even shared (sites 21-42, two RV’s park side-to-side in opposite directions) which I don’t like at all, but the sites do have a choice of hookups (you can choose to dry-camp or opt for 30/50amp/water or 30/50amp/water/sewer -> not ALL sites have all options, but most have at least 30amp available) plus there are small slices of green/grass and mature trees (great for shade) throughout. The only other bummer? The weird and somewhat grumpy camphost who “assigned” us a site on arrival (he was very insistent) and refused to let us look around or chose anything else despite plenty of open sites in the campground. Very strange!
Note/ Entry to the campground is easy to miss from the main road so slow down once you get close (it’s a brown sign hidden by the entry to the zoo), plus the 1/4 mile road to the camp itself is somewhat rough/bumpy. - Facilities = 1.5/5
There are central flush toilets and showers, which are spacious enough but were NOT clean and there was a dank smell in the showers. Definitely not a place I’d want to go. On-site dump station, but it costs $7 to use it. The main redeeming feature? There is FREE onsite WiFi and it actually worked well while we were here (Note/park was fairly empty while we were here, so the WiFi may be very different when the park is full). - Location = 5/5
This is a good location to explore Scott’s Bluff. The city park itself is a huge, green area containing scenic trails, very nice disc golf course and green fields. It’s by the river (you can bike the river-trail directly from camp), convenient to downtown and only ~5 miles away from Scotts Bluff National Monument. You are also right next to (walking distance) to the zoo for those that enjoy that kind of thing. - Pet Friendliness = 4.5/5
Good place for doggie with just a slight ding. There is limited space around camp, but a very convenient riverside walking trail directly from the campground and plenty of green fields and trails around the rest of the park. Plus you are only 5 miles from Scott’s Bluff for more extensive hiking. The only ding? The grassy area around camp has a lot of stickies so watch those paws when walking doggie on it.
Overall Rating = 3.25
Summary: We chose this as a quick and inexpensive stop-over in Scott’s Bluff and it worked out well enough. This is a city-owned campground which feels somewhat run-down, but it does offer decent pull-through sites with a range of hookups (primitive thro’ 50amp/water/sewer) for very reasonable prices (only $20/night for full hookups, $15/night for water/electric, $10/night for primitive) in a green setting. All sites are basic dirt surrounded by slices of green/grass and mature trees. Main ding is that sites are much closer together than we typically like (sites 21-42 are even shared, which I don’t like at all), but since we came in low season there was plenty of empty space around us and we didn’t feel cramped. In high season with full sites, I’m sure it feels very different. The campground can be tricky to locate (kind of hidden sign off the main road by the entry to the zoo) and the entrance road is somewhat rough/bumpy, but it’s set nicely back from the road so it feels quiet and relaxed. Only other bummer was the toilets/showers which had a dank smell and were NOT clean. Also, the weird and somewhat grumpy camphost who “assigned” us a site on arrival (despite plenty of open sites) and would not let us chose anything else. “Can’t I at least look around to see if there’s another site I prefer?” I asked. “Nope” was the very curt answer. This “take-this-site-or-leave” attitude was very strange and the first time I’ve encountered that at a public campground! The main upside was the free onsite WiFi which worked well while we were there. Also the campground allows you to wash your rig (a big bonus when you get as many bugs as we did on our front windshield coming south) and since it was hot on arrival we were extremely happy for the nearby shade tree and the 50amp hookups. Overall I would say this was an OK campground for a night’s stop, especially if you come off-season, and it was convenient for exploring Scotts Bluff National Monument, but I wouldn’t personally come here in high season and I definitely wouldn’t make it a destination location.
Extra Info: FREE on-site WiFi which worked well in the semi-empty park. We also had good cell signal with 4 bars of Verizon LTE and 4 bars of ATT 4G. 43 total pull-through sites, of which 4 offer 30amp only, wheres the rest offer a mix of 30/50amp/water or 30-50amp/water/sewer. $10/night for dry-camping, $15/night for water/electric and $20/night for full hookups (stay 6 days and get 7th free). Sites can be reserved if you call ahead, otherwise all sites are offered as first-come-first-serve. On-site dump station ($7).
Extra, Extra Info: Other Camping? For those wanting something nicer, nearby Gering city-operated Robioux RV Park looks much nicer (site-wise) and is very highly rated. Plus it’s reasonably priced ($30/night for full hookups, $24/night for water/electric) and right at the base of Scotts Bluff National Monument, so you’ll get some excellent views. If we come back, that’s where we’ll go.
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Yes, next time do stay in Robioux RV Park. It is so worth $10 more a night for the huge concrete site with neighbors out of the way and tons of green grass areas:)
Yup, this was one time when I think we picked wrong. We thought this spot would be better for doggie with the huge, green public park next door, but the stickies and so-so site quality made that a moot point.
Next time we’ll definitely stay where you did!
Nina
It looks like a fairly convenient place to hang out, but the run down condition and grumpy host really killed it. Too bad! Robidoux at $27/night (after 10% Good Sam discount), with full hook-ups and cable, plus looks like it has even easier access to the monument, making it a better value IMHO.
Not to be a tattle, but the state is wrong in the link text at the top. It should be NE as NB is for New Brunswick, Canada. Not sure if it would effect searching efforts.
I love following your adventures!
Jim
Thanks for the catch. I did see it. I had some weird and frustrating technical problems when this post first went out (for some reason it published an early draft without my latest updates) so I’ve just spent the last 30 minutes correcting this and other minor issues. Argh! It should finally be correct now!
Nina
Interesting comparisons between your review of this city park and those posted on RV Park Reviews! Go figure, hey? 😉
http://www.rvparkreviews.com/regions/nebraska/scottsbluff
Yeah I forgot to mention that point in the post, but you are absolutely right. We’d checked RV Park Reviews before we came (as we always do), and the relatively high ratings there were part of the reason we chose this place. Usually RV Park Reviews steers me approx. right, but in this case I just didn’t agree with the reviews at all. I guess I just have higher standards for my public campgrounds?
Nina
I guess sometimes it’s worth giving up privacy for a good overnight campground. Thanks for the review.
Hi Nina, Sorry to hear that the Riverside campground was not up to snuff. We havent stayed in it now for several years so I havent been able to check into how it looks. Too bad about the Host, they used to have a great host there. You hit the sticker weed part of the year also, they can be a nuisance. I used to play with them as a kid as they were all over town. Robidoux is a nice park, the wind can blow thru there tho. they have real nice showers there. Not to many choices for RV parks in Scottsbluff unfortunately.
Have fun with the rest of your trip heading south. It is hot down there right now. 110 in yuma a couple days ago.
Yeah I think we just have ran into some odd hosts. Based on historical reviews they’ve had lovely hosts there in the past, and I know that can alter the whole experience of a place.
It was honestly fine for the night, especially since it wasn’t full but I do think the other park looks nicer. Scotts Bluff NM was well worth the stop either way. Gorgeous spot!
Nina
I live in Albuquerque. Trinidad Lake State Park has been on my my radar for a couple of years. I look forward to reading your review of it. Your reviews have been very helpful to me over the years.
Trinidad was lovely! I’ll have a blog post on the town and the State Park shortly.
Nina
I saw this post (and I follow your blog) this was very informative and would help us a lot when planning. Do you have a section on your blog that has this for all of the camp sites you have stayed at? I see that you have each state listed but not in the same style that this post was done. Or is this a new thing ? I really helps.
All my reviews are done in the same style. There are two ways to access them:
1/ You can either click on the “Campground Reviews” tab at the top of the blog above the Wheelingit banner and choose your state in the drop-down menu (all reviews are catagorized by state).
OR/
2/ You can click on my “Master Camping Map” at the bottom left of the blog to see all the campgrounds in a map form. Here’s a link to the latter if you can’t find it:
https://www.wheelingit.us/wheelingit-master-campground-map/
Nina
WOW great thanks so very much. This is going to help a lot. If we go to any that you have not I will be sure to send you a review. So helpful
We are going to try 3 weeks in florida (we are living in florida now) then 3 months in florida and other parts then full time to homeschool and be on the road. Our plan is one year at a time after that.
This is going to help a lot. We are bringing our cat so your posts on cat camping is great.
Stefani
This was the absolute worst campground I’ve ever had the misfortune to stay at. First of all, the female host was very snobby and uninformative, and was hardly even present on the campground most days. Maintenance was unseen as the bathroom fuse would blow often and be unfixed for days. The grass is very unkempt and people are not enforced to clean up after their pets. The bathrooms seemed to always either be littered with toilet paper, or one or more toilets overflowed. At one point there was what looked like feces and urine inside the shower stall. Absolutely TERRIBLE experience.
I’d sleep on the street before I stay here again.