Lake McConaughy Nebraska 10/16-10/19/24

Lake McConaughy is Nebraska's biggest lake and the largest reservoir in a three state region. At full storage.  Lake Mac is twenty miles long, four miles wide, and 142 feet deep at the dam.

We were there in October so there was no one there with only a few boats on the lake.

It was 82 degrees and warm outside so I took the paddle boards, soccer balls, volleyballs, and lawn chairs.

They allow you to drive right along the sandy beach and park your car.  You can also camp right on the beach.

Even though we were there during the off season, it was wonderful and secluded.  We practically had the whole sandy beach to ourselves.

The lake, formed by Kingsley Dam, is a man-made body of water that is 22 miles (35 km) long, 4 miles (6.4 km) wide at its largest point, and 142 feet deep near the dam (at full capacity) – it was constructed between 1936 and 1941 and is fed by the North Platte River.

Connor made cute little shapes with the sand.

Lake McConaughy has averaged 60 master angler walleye per year in the previous 10 years. A total of 18 striped bass hybrid (wiper) were recorded with the largest being a 11 pound fish. A new state record wiper was recorded in June of 2020 weighing 21 pounds 9 ounces.

Locals call Lake McConaughy "Big Mac" With 100 miles of shoreline, it's an apt nickname.

We really wore the dogs out with all of the activities.

The size of the lake makes it feel like an ocean.

I love running near the water.  It is so clean and refreshing.

I paddle boarded for over an hour.  The dogs were so cute when they saw me get the paddle board ready.

They both jumped right on for a ride.

The pure white sand with no people looked like a dream.  It was so fun to 4WD along the beach.

I bought Arlo the same life jacket as Lola and he finally fit into it.

It is a good thing that he had it because he fell off and I was able to easily get him back on.

We stayed at the Days Inn and they had a cute little pond with sand out back.  It was perfect for the dogs and Connor loved hanging out there as well.

It was about a 3 1/2 hour drive so we stopped at Starbucks.  The dogs enjoyed pup cups.

Carly had the idea to see who could sprint the fastest.

Arlo became quite the little swimmer.

Both dogs loved to dig in the sand.

We spent so much time running on the sand.

Arlo just kept digging.  It was almost as if he was looking for treasure.

Arlo loves to play fetch.

It was so fun for us since Lola has never played with toys.

The kids and I had some great bonding time.  

Arlo is very much a retriever.  He picked up fish, bones, and all kinds of things.

Carly and I went bowling and we were shocked at how inexpensive Nebraska is.

We went to Driftwood and Front Street Steakhouse.  Their food was delicious!  I brought rollerblades for Carly and I.  I unfortunately brought 2 left feet and it was interesting trying to rollerblade but it worked out okay.