Wait, What Storm? An Overnight Stop at Ravenna Lake, Nebraska

We stayed at Ravenna Lake in June 2025, the second stop of our Wild West Loop RV road trip.

Sometimes the most memorable thing about a campground is something the host says when you are checking in. We’d just pulled into Ravenna Lake after a long day on the road when the host looked at our reservation and said, “Oh, site 35. That’s a nice one, tucked away from the storms and a few tornadoes they’re predicting tonight.”

Um… come again… what storm?

Leg two of our summer 2025 road trip was meant to be a quick overnight stop, just a place to sleep before the real adventure began at Badlands National Park the next day. We normally keep a close eye on the weather, but between the long drive and the tire, it had completely slipped our minds this time. It was a good reminder that when you travel through the Great Plains in June, you need to keep one eye on the sky.

Our Longest Day So Far

If you read our last post, you know we had a bulging tire to take care of first. Thanks to the crew at Discount Tire, we were rolling north out of Norman at 8:18 a.m.

This leg was almost 480 miles, and we split the driving. I took the first shift, about 230 miles up through Oklahoma and into Kansas. We swapped at the Love’s off exit 60 in Kansas, and Stefan drove the last 250 miles into Nebraska. All told, we were on the road for 7 hours and 42 minutes and pulled in right around 4 p.m.

The drive itself was easy. Stefan couldn’t stop raving about the F-350, which pulled the fifth wheel like a champ all day. The roads were another story, with some rough patches in both Kansas and Nebraska that gave everything in the RV a good shake.

One thing to know if you’re headed this way: the Kansas Turnpike has no toll booths anymore. It went cashless in 2024. If you don’t have a K-TAG, cameras capture your plate, and you can pay your toll online at DriveKS.com. Take care of it right away so it doesn’t slip your mind.

Ravenna Lake: A Quiet, Park-Like Stop

Ravenna Lake is now the Buffalo County Recreation Area. It was a state recreation area until Buffalo County took it over, and the county has since expanded it into a full campground. It’s a small lake surrounded by lots of trees, with trails and paths that let you walk all the way around the lake and park. For a one-night stop, it was beautiful. The lake was a perfect location to let the dog stretch her legs after the long drive.

The lake also has a fun bit of history. In 1934, a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp was set up at “the state lake site at Ravenna.” About 200 young men lived and worked there, doing soil erosion work on nearby farms and improving the lake itself. Their camp started out in tents and eventually grew to 13 buildings. None of it survives today, but it’s neat to think about the Depression-era crews who helped shape the place.

Our site had water and electric, and it was a pull-through, which is always nice after a long travel day. The roads and pads are gravel, though, and our site was somewhat unlevel, so plan on breaking out the leveling blocks. Sites are nicely spaced, and there weren’t many other visitors, so it was very peaceful… aside from the occasional freight train rolling by every so often.

Amenities are limited. There’s a playground, small trash cans scattered around the park, a small dumpster and, of course, the stocked lake. For an overnight stop we weren’t looking for serious amenities, so it suited us just fine.

The town of Ravenna is very small, but you can find some of the basics, like a gas station and a Dollar General. Bigger stores are 30-plus miles away. We topped off the truck in town that evening (24 more gallons), so we’d be ready to roll first thing in the morning.

Wait… What Storm?

After the host’s comment, we pulled up the forecast. Sure enough, a pretty massive storm system with the potential to spawn tornadoes and some impressive hail was headed our way that night, with only a few hours’ notice before it arrived.

The tricky part was figuring out what to do next. The storm was coming from exactly the direction we were headed, so driving on wasn’t an option. We’d have been driving straight into it. And if we moved somewhere else and stopped, it would just catch up with us there a little later. In the end, we decided to stay put, keep a close eye on the radar, and know where we’d go if things got serious.

Thankfully, the storm only grazed us. Tornadoes touched down about 20 miles away, but at our campsite we only got rain, some nickel- to quarter-sized hail and a bit of thunder. Not too bad at all. Still, 20 miles is closer than we’d like, and it got us talking about how important it is to have a plan before you need one.

Our only overnight visitor: a sphinx moth parked on the RV step.

How We Handle Storm Season in the RV

Severe weather is common on the Plains in early summer, and an RV is one of the least safe places to be in a severe thunderstorm or tornado. Here’s what we keep in mind:

Know the difference between a watch and a warning. A watch means conditions are right for severe weather to develop, so stay alert and have a plan. A warning means severe weather is happening or about to happen in your area, so it’s time to act.

Know what county you’re in. Weather alerts are often issued by county, and when you’re on the road, you may not know which one you’re sleeping in. Ravenna Lake is in Buffalo County.

Have an emergency plan, including the animals. Check the campground map for the nearest tornado shelter (usually a bath house). Think through your options ahead of time: Can you drive away from the storm, or is it coming from where you’re headed? Is there a pet-friendly hotel nearby? What do humans and pets need if you have to leave in a hurry? Those are much easier questions to answer ahead of time than when the storm is heading toward you.

Get your rig storm-ready. Bring in the awning, stow chairs and anything that could blow away, and consider pulling in your slides if high winds are expected.

Have more than one way to get alerts. We like the Storm Radar and The Weather Channel apps for radar and alerts. For big severe-weather days, the weather YouTubers are fantastic. Max Velocity and Ryan Hall, Y’all both do live coverage of weather events, and it’s impressive what these streamers have built. Cell coverage can be spotty in rural areas, so a weather radio, like the Midland WB120 we keep in the RV, is a good backup. You do need to reset its location at every stop for it to work, so we generally just do it when our phones give us a warning ahead of time.

Things to Know if You Go

• Campground: Buffalo County Recreation Area (Ravenna Lake), 5 Buffalo Lake Road, Ravenna, NE. Book online or call (308) 452-3133. Drive-up camping is available, with payment at the iron ranger at the entrance.
• Sites: There’s a mix of primitive, electric-only and water/electric sites, including pull-throughs. The roads and pads are gravel and can be unlevel, so bring leveling blocks. If we come back, we’d book one of the premium sites.
• Nearby supplies: Ravenna has a gas station and a Dollar General. For anything else, stock up before you arrive, because bigger stores are 30+ miles away.
• Things to do: Walk the trails around the lake and park, fish (the lake is stocked with bass, crappie, catfish and bluegill), paddle, or visit the playground.
• Noise: It’s quiet and park-like, but you’ll hear the occasional freight train.
• Kansas tolls: The Kansas Turnpike is cashless. No K-TAG? Pay online at DriveKS.com.
• Weather: June is prime storm season on the Plains. Check the forecast every travel day, ask about storm shelter at check-in, and have a backup plan for your pets.
• Weather resources: For apps, try Storm Radar and The Weather Channel. For live severe-weather coverage on YouTube, try Max Velocity and Ryan Hall, Y’all.

Final Thoughts

Ravenna Lake isn’t a destination, and we didn’t need it to be. It was a beautiful, park-like county campground with well-spaced sites and lots of trees. Despite the gravel and limited resources nearby, we would happily stay here again on our way north.

It was also a good reminder that even the most routine travel day deserves a quick look at the forecast. A plan you never use is a lot better than needing one you don’t have.

The next morning, we hitched up and headed for Badlands National Park, which was the real start of our road trip. Follow the whole Wild West Loop here.

Have you ever been caught off guard by weather on a road trip? How do you keep track of storms when you’re traveling? Share your tips in the comments below!