Nebraska Lutheran Outdoor Ministries encompasses two properties in the state — Carol Joy Holling Camp, Conference & Retreat Center on the eastern side, and Sullivan Hills Camp on the western side. Of the two, Sullivan Hills Camp is the one less familiar to many. If that’s you, it might be time for a visit . . .
In 1995, Lillian and Lester Sullivan gifted a section of land near Lodgepole, Nebraska to NLOM to be known as Sullivan Hills Camp. It opened in the summer of 1997 with 80 campers, but it is also a place for gatherings and retreats the rest of the year.
Sullivan Hills Camp has a special kind of beauty—surrounded by fields, grasses, and the plains.
Peter Hansen, NLOM Senior Hospitality Specialist, has spent the last few summers at Sullivan Hills Camp as the Site Coordinator for summer camp. He’s grown to love it there.
“I find a lot of beauty in the dichotomy of Sullivan Hills Camp,” Peter shared. “There are days so hot and bright you think the sun might never set; nights so dark that you think you can count every star in the galaxy. Comfortable modern buildings, while just outside awaits untouched prairie teeming with life. And summers where you can hear joyous laughter from all the campers experiencing God’s creation; yet winters so still and quiet, a peaceful silence that is rare anywhere else.”
When you drive through the gates, you see ahead of you the Buckley Retreat Center which was added in 2006. Many friends of Sullivan Hills Camp joined together to make the retreat center possible, and we invite groups to come and convene in this facility.
Church, community, school, and business groups will find this space marked with special hospitality and support services, and families have found this a wonderful place to gather for family reunions.
Brandy Isenbart is a regular retreat coordinator for a scrapbooking group that meets at Sullivan Hills Camp. Brandy said, “Our group LOVES the environment of Sullivan Hills Camp as it allows us to pull our group of scrapbookers together for a close weekend of friends, laughter, and relaxation all in one place. With it being in one main building with a kitchenette, dorm rooms, and table set ups, the simple convenience allows for our group to gather for fun, all while we have a great time! We appreciate all that Sullivan Hills Camp has to offer our group and we have already reserved our retreat for our eighth annual gathering in 2024!”
Another regular attender and Sullivan Hills Camp supporter, Gary Oltmann stated, “We have been having a men’s retreat at Sullivan Hills Camp for several years, and the men attending always say that it is a great place!”
Try something a bit more isolated and peaceful, and come to Sullivan Hills Camp for your next group or family gathering. Call Dana Jahn, Manager of Event Planning, at 308-675-7574 for more information.
