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Merritt Reservoir SRA
Overview
Merritt Reservoir SRA is a hidden gem in the heart of the Nebraska Sandhills, offering some of the best fishing and boating opportunities in the state. Known for its deep, clear waters and rugged shoreline, this state recreation area provides a peaceful escape for RV travelers seeking a connection with nature. It is particularly famous for its status as an International Dark Sky Park, making it a bucket-list destination for stargazers and photographers.
Location & Surroundings
Situated approximately 26 miles southwest of Valentine, NE, the park is surrounded by the unique Sandhills ecosystem. The reservoir itself covers nearly 3,000 surface acres and is fed by the Snake River. The landscape consists of rolling grass-covered dunes and dramatic valley views. This remote location ensures a quiet atmosphere where the primary sounds are the wind through the prairie and the water lapping against the shore.
Amenities & Park Features
The park features several campgrounds, including Cedar Bay and Beed’s Landing, which offer electric hookups for RVs. Travelers will find essential facilities to support their stay, such as:
- A convenient RV dump station
- Modern restrooms and seasonal showers
- Multiple well-maintained boat ramps
- Dedicated fish cleaning stations
The park also hosts the annual Nebraska Star Party, utilizing its dedicated observatory area to take full advantage of the incredible lack of light pollution.
Nearby Attractions & Things to Do
Beyond the reservoir, visitors can explore the stunning Snake River Falls, Nebraska’s largest waterfall by volume, located just a short drive away. The Niobrara National Scenic River is also nearby, offering world-class canoeing and tubing. For those interested in terrestrial exploration, the Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest provides miles of hiking trails and a chance to see native wildlife in a vast prairie setting.
Who This Park Is Best For
This park is ideal for outdoor enthusiasts who prioritize activities like trophy fishing and water sports over luxury resort amenities. It is a sanctuary for astronomy buffs who want to witness the Milky Way in total clarity. If you enjoy a rustic, quiet camping experience where the natural landscape is the main attraction, Merritt Reservoir SRA is the perfect fit for your RV journey.
Amenities
- Recreational Facilities
- Policies
- Other Amenities & Services
- Facility
- On-Site Rentals
- Sites
- Recreation Nearby (within 10 miles)
- Hunting Nearby (within 20 miles)
User Reviews
Tammy Stuhr
We stayed at Cedar Bay campground, site #35. It is in the water and felt like a private beach most of the week. Great bathrooms, and electrical hook ups. Great star watching from the beach. We also went to the point on West side of dam during a 0% moon illumination night. Which I recommend day and night to see the lake.
J.R. Copple
One of the most amazing and beautiful places I've ever been the stars out here at night are otherworldly the Milky Way rips across the sky and you are truly in God's country
Jacque Letts
Great place for tent campers on the water, or very close to water. There are a couple of sites with electricity that are near the water. We stayed in the cedar Bay loop of the campground. Also, a great place to see wildlife; deer, turkey, and eagle flying over and also on the beach area. We did not have a problem with raccoons, which was nice.😁
Heidi Nicholas
I'm only giving it a four star because the campground roads are sand. Makes it pretty slushy to drive through when it's rained. Otherwise, one of the prettiest camp spots we have found across the US. Very, very nice! Do not drive the Merritt Dam road with an RV. It's not gravel, but it's not been repaved for many, many years.
Ford PUnk
Stayed at Cedar Bay campground for 2 nights and the weather was great. We don’t fish so pretty much stayed in the campground. Restroom was very clean and so were the showers ($1.75 for 5 minutes; change machine takes $1 and $5 bills). The lake is down a lot since we were here in 2018 but there were still a lot of boats around. Camping spots (electric) vary from level to pretty difficult to park. Some spots are somewhat isolated but most seem to be kind of close to one another. For parking there seems to be no limit to the amount of vehicles in a spot (our neighbor has a 30-foot pontoon boat and a 40-foot 5th wheel) and parking on the grass is widespread. Only one dump station for all of the campsites (at park entrance) and water is at a spigot for the campground. Our only complaint is the prevalence of sand burrs, they are EVERYWHERE! Would it hurt to put down some pre emergent around the common areas?
Laura Lutz
Nice lake to camp at! Love that the RV electric sites are by the water, unlike a lot of places. Decent fishing. Great place to see the stars at night, as it's pretty dark out there, except for the campground host's overabundance of decorative lighting at their site... Wish they wouldn't have had so many outdoor lights at their site...
Orion Maier
There are many campsites to choose from here. We stayed at the Cedar Bay campground and had an amazing overlook of the lake with a sandy beach. The water had a ton of algae in it when we were there so we couldn't go swimming. There were two groups of extremely rude campers while we were there as well. There was a trailer full of drunk early 20s kids blasting music until 4:00AM. I woke up at 2AM to ask them to respect the quiet hours, but they were too wasted/oblivious to even understand it seems. If you're one of these people, please go camp and get wasted in your mom's backyard next time.
Elaine Korwek
This is a huge park and we actually did not visit all the areas, so my review is only for the campgrounds of Beed’s Landing, Boardman Creek and Cedar Bay. We stayed in Beed’s West. Our site was #K. We were very disappointed with this particular site. The trash dumpster and electrical transformers were right in our site. I’ve posted pictures. There also is no picnic table at this site. The rest of the sites in this area are nice and well spaced, but some had tables and others did not. Our area at Beeds West has a lovely lake view spot where we saw a fantastic Nebraska sunset. There are only vault toilets in the Beeds and Boardman campgrounds. The toilets were clean and all had toilet paper. No hand sanitizer was available in any of them. We saw only 1 water spigot in each campground area. There is a bathhouse with flush toilets and showers at Cedar Bay, however they were disgustingly filthy. The showers are pay showers. Cedar Bay is an easy mile walk from Beed’s, while Boardman was about 1 3/4 miles, mostly on 97 with a fair amount of traffic. We did not make it to the main campground as it is about 3.5 miles up 97. The dump station is near the main campground. All campground roads are dirt/gravel and so are the camp site pads. There is no WiFi, but phone service is excellent. We could get 4 TV channels with our antenna. All were PBS and very clear. We never saw a camp host or park ranger, so I have no comment on them.