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Box Butte SRA Getting New Campsites

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By: Justin Haag

Box Butte State Reservoir State Recreation Area soon will have capacity to accommodate more campers. Those campers even will have a new facility for cleaning up during their stay.

Workers soon will begin construction of an $840,000 addition at Box Butte that includes 20 new electrical campsites and the installation of a shower house and sewage dump station.

The evening sun shines through the towering cottonwood trees at the Box Butte State Recreation Area campground. (NGPC/Justin Haag)

Mike Morava, regional park superintendent for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, said construction is scheduled to begin in March. He is hopeful the new sites will be ready for use as early as June.

“Camping continues to gain popularity, and this will be a great addition for our region,” Morava said.

The new amenities will be at the west side of the current campground, north and parallel to the existing paved road and sites 7-18. The addition is designed to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

A family enjoys time around the campfire at the Box Butte State Recreation Area. (NGPC/Justin Haag)

Nebraska’s Capital Maintenance Fund, which was established by the Legislature in 2016 to help preserve public outdoor recreation facilities and parklands, is a large contributor to the project. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation also is funding it.

The expansion follows many other improvements at the recreation area in recent years, including a new boat ramp and dock, concrete outhouses and an upgraded fish-cleaning station.

An aerial view, facing southeast, shows the campground at Box Butte Reservoir State Recreation Area in Dawes County. Twenty new campsites are being installed in the open field at the center of the photo. (NGPC/Justin Haag)

Morava has been advocating for needed repairs to the SRA’s asphalt road; the project is on the list of candidates for funding by the Nebraska Department of Transportation’s Recreational Roads Program, and it is anticipated the project will begin in the next few years.

Box Butte Reservoir SRA and Wildlife Management Area, highlighted by the 1,600-acre lake, provide fishing, boating, hunting and picnicking opportunities 9 miles north of Hemingford.