Indian Cave State Park

In September of 2023 we had a small family gathering at Indian Cave State Park. I had never camped there before so I thought it could be fun. I generally don’t visit Nebraska State Parks because of the amount of fees you must pay (even more for out of state residents) to make it happen. This year, I decided to take the plunge after I was invited to join a family gathering.

The campground is amazingly shaded and down at the bottom of a steep hill. There are about 135 campsites too. There are some 30 AMP and some 50 AMP sites but only 1 dump station to serve them all. We were lucky to have water at our site (for all to use) so I was able to top my tank off after I was parked safely in my spot.

The mobile reception down at the bottom of the hill was sketchy at best but it was good enough for me to stream a few football games on Saturday. We had several family members present which made this an amazing weekend gathering. The weather couldn’t of been any nicer than it was either. We only needed casual AC usage due to the shade.

The park has a little abandoned town at the bottom of the hill which has a broom maker, black smith, some candle making and soap too I think. There are also horses to rent for trail rides but they were closed down for the year. Apparently, the blacksmith didn’t survive Covid so that town was all closed up with the exception of the broom maker. I bought two brooms for my camper.

The cave isn’t much to look at IMHO but there is a nice deck to go up and see it. We took some photos for you to enjoy. We also had a professional drone pilot handy so we got some nice photos from above.

The weekend went fast and this park is worth visiting again sometime. I was very impressed with the campground staff and our camp host. I didn’t bring any firewood in due to me being an out of state resident so we spent a bundle to get one.

All in all we had a fantastic time as shown by all the evidence below. Let me also just add the kids are not in any way camera shy.

Here's a shot of our site from down the road.

We were the only ones around the first night except for the camp host.

The campground there was very shady.

I heard something behind me so I used my phone to see what it was.

This tiny little windy road leads to a dead town.

We proudly display the flag.

Still empty but we were expecting company soon here.

This guy was floating rocks over to Missouri so we watched for a while.

A view from the cave.

Another angle of our campsite.

Waiting for future arrivals.

My view for much of the week. It never gets old.

Texting me to see if I needed the pepper.

Here we are set up to serve many.

This campground is kind of shady.

This town got flooded out but there's still a sign.

As I was leaving the office I heard psssst. So I took his photo.

This is the closest I got to riding this weekend.

At the stables not getting to ride.

This guy came up to the fence to see me.

This deck had a nice view of the river below.

This never gets old. I already told you that.

Tug boat hauling rocks.

Prior to setting up all the tents.

River view of the cave.

The only time Molly will sit for a photo.

Here's another view of our camp.

Here is the walkway up to the cave.

Here's the barge being pushed away after being unloaded.

The local Ford Dealer was closed. Rats.

Here's yet another view of the camp.

We had a pretty nice and spacious camp site. There was room for many people.

We had three tents set up for dining.

Molly looking ambitious as ever!

There were at least 5 trees in this park.

Cooking like always!

Here's another view of camp.

Here's a shot from across the street.

Some of the work they were doing on the river.

The deck up to the cave.

Here's a shot looking out to the road.

Marks Drone Footage of the river work.

Marks Drone Footage showing a photo bomber.

Marks Drone Footage showing river work.

Marks Drone Footage showing tug boat hauling barges of rocks.

Marks Drone Footage showing a barge being unloaded.

Marks Drone Footage closeup of the cave.

Marks Drone Footage cave from the air.

Below are a series of 360 photos I took during the trip. Be sure to watch for links in each photo to navigate between them. Have fun! We sure did creating them. For best results, maximize the photo.