Nebraska

☆ = Places we have seen

Federal Parks

  • Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Harrison
  • ☆ Chimney Rock National Historic Site, Bayard – Visitors aren’t allowed near Chimney Rock, but you can get a good view from the Ethel and Christopher J. Abbott Visitor Center which is maintained and operated by History Nebraska. Entrance fee.
  • Homestead National Monument, Beatrice – This was the first homestead registered after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act into law.
  • Hudson-Meng Education and Research Center, Crawford – a fossil site located in the Oglala National Grassland of Sioux County, Nebraska 20 miles northwest of Crawford. It contains the 10,000-year-old remains of up to 600 bison.
  • ☆ Scott’s Bluff National Monument – Free admission to the visitor center and trails. Scenic Drive to top of bluff.
  • ☆ Toadstool Geologic Park (USFS) – contains a badlands landscape and a reconstructed sod house. The park is named after its unusual rock formations, many of which resemble toadstools.
  • Niobrara National Scenic River – In 1991, Congress set aside 76 miles for preservation under the management of the National Park Service with assistance from the local Niobrara Council.

State Parks

  • ☆ Chadron State Park, Chadron – Nebraska’s oldest state park
  • ☆ Eugene T. Mahoney State Park, Cass – Multiple recreational and meeting facilities, fronted by the Platte River
  • ☆ Fort Robinson State Park, Harrison – Site of the 1879 Cheyenne Outbreak and the site where famed Sioux chief Crazy Horse met his fate.
    • ☆ Fort Robinson Museum & History Center
    • ☆ Smiley Canyon scenic drive
  • Indian Cave State Park, Nemeha – Petroglyphs; restored village of St. Deroin
  • ☆ Niobrara State Park, Knox –
  • Platte River State Park, Cass –
  • ☆ Ponca State Park, Dixon – On the banks of the Missouri River
  • ☆ Smith Falls State Park – Nebraska’s highest waterfall
  • Rock Creek Station State Historical Park, Fairbury

State Historical Parks

  • Arbor Lodge State Historical Park, Otoe – Estate of J. Sterling Morton, founder of Arbor Day.
  • Ash Hollow State Historical Park, Garden – Major stopover on the Overland Trail
  • Bowring Ranch State Historical Park, Cherry – Hereford demonstration ranch donated by former U.S. Senator Eve Bowring
  • Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park, Lincoln – Home of the famed frontier showman
  • Fort Atkinson State Historical Park, Washington – Reconstruction of the first U.S. military post west of the Missouri River
  • Fort Hartsuff State Historical Park, Valley – Typical infantry outpost of the 19th century Plains
  • Fort Kearny State Historical Park, Buffalo – Partial reconstruction of fort that protected travelers of the Overland Trail
  • Rock Creek Station State Historical Park, Jefferson – Partially reconstructed stagecoach and Pony Express station

Attractions

  • Alliance
    • ☆ Carhenge – Stonehenge is recreated using old cars. Along with Carhenge, there are so many cool car creations! On the east side of Hwy 87, three miles north of town.
    • Dobbie’s Frontier Town – Free. A collection of a dozen buildings, including a funeral home, saloon and bordello. 325 E. 25th St
  • Ainsworth
    • Restored 1920s Conoco Gas Station. 122 E. 4th St.
    • Steel Hamburger Guy – 2-D sign of 3-D burger-and-Pepsi-carrying “Big John,” a failed fast food franchise from the late 1960s. 1110 E. 4th St.
    • Welded Steel Man – Buckley Steel Construction features a large welded steel man, with welder’s mask and atomic mole arm. US Hwy 20 west of downtown.
  • Alda
    • Martin Brothers Historic Memorial – Where Brothers Were Pinned Together By An Arrow. I-80 exit 305, then south three miles on Hwy 26/Alda Rd. On the west side, at the intersection of Platte River Rd.
  • Arapahoe
    • Our Lady of Fatima Shrine – small shrine by St. Germanus Catholic Church.
  • Arthur
    • Pilgrim Holiness Church – Church made of Hay Bales. Built in 1928, the whitewashed church looks normal from the outside. But on the inside there’s a display with a plexiglass-encased hay bale cross-section.
    • Arthur County Museum – it’s a wood shack that served as the Arthur County Court House until 1961.
  • Ashland
  • Bassett
    • Fake Pioneer Town – Attached to the side of a modern building, a fake Main Street of pioneer days fronts a tiny downtown park.
    • Nicely restored 1930s downtown gas station, far from the usual nostalgia-tourist routes. 120 Clark St
  • Bayard
  • Belvidere
    • Thayer County Museum – 10 buildings on 8 acres in a town of only 37 people.
  • Blair
    • Black Elk-Neihardt Park – Tower of the Four Winds.  A memorial to John G. Neihardt and Black Elk, the Lakota Sioux holy man. The tower features a mosaic that depicts Black Elk’s message of peace and unity for all people.
  • Burwell
    • Garfield County Historical Museum – local historical items.  Also includes a taxidermied 2-headed calf that is nearly 100 years old.
  • Chadron
    • ☆ Museum of the Fur Trade – This Great Plains museum pays tribute to both the prosperity and tragedy of the North American fur trade.
    • Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center
    • ☆ Dawes County Historical Museum
  • Columbus
    • Pawnee Park – Memorial features bronze statues three GIs and a Higgins Boat storming ashore in an amphibious landing on sand collected from several actual invasion beaches.
  • Crofton
    • Crofton Courts Arboretum – The Northside Park includes Arbor Walkway and the Memorial Rose Garden. The South Park, along Nebraska Highway 12, contains Flagview Gazebo, Veteran’s Memorial and Avenue of Flags.
    • Lewis & Clark Pulley Museum – displays the tools and equipment used by hay farmers in years past.
  • Elkhorn
    • Brick Lincoln Highway from 1920 – A restored three-mile-long stretch of the 1920 brick Lincoln Highway. 17340 Burt St
  • Fairbury
  • Gothenburg
    • Original Pony Express Station – The station interior has interesting displays, a dummy Pony Express rider, and a gift shop.  549 16th St.
    • Sod House Museum – a sod house, a barn housing photographs and memorabilia, and wooden windmills in an old farmstead setting. Don’t miss the life-size sculpture of a bison and American Indian on horseback made from barbed wire.
  • Grand Island
    • Fred’s Flying Circus – Cartoon Cars on Poles – a number of cartoony pop-culture-inspired cars and airplanes, and mounted them on poles next to his body shop.  E. 4th St.
    • Stuhr Museum – 1890s historic town with over 100 structures.
      • Statue of Brothers Pinned Together by an Arrow – The life-size bronze shows Nat and Bob Martin, ages 15 and 12, atop a galloping horse fleeing the Indians that just pinned them together with an arrow (There are identical statues in Hastings and Kearney).
    • World’s Largest Pair of Overalls – The frame holding them is 7×18 ft.  501 E. Fonner Park Rd.  Enter the Nebraska State Fairgrounds at the corner of E. Fonner Park Rd and Pleasant Valley Drive. The Overalls are in the Nebraska Building, which from the parking lot is the second building on the right.
  • Gretna
    • ☆ Holy Family Shrine
    • ☆ Schramm Park State Recreation Area – site of the state’s first fish hatchery, trout ponds, trails, Schramm Education Center, access point to the Platte River water trail.
    • Lighthouse In Landlocked Nebraska – A lighthouse on a little lake and beach. 26545 US Hwy 6. Linoma Lighthouse (formerly Linoma Beach) is an RV campground owned by locals, where people come out and enjoy the great outdoors for 180 days each year. To clarify, the beach is NOT OPEN to the PUBLIC.
  • Harrison
    • Hudson-Meng Bison Kill – A rancher expanding a natural spring for his cattle came up with bones – lots and lots of them.
  • Harvard
    • Harvard Jail House – The two-cell building in Nebraska was briefly owned by a teenage boy and then a Hollywood dummy.
  • Hastings
    • Bigfoot Crossroads of America Museum – Harriett “Bigfoot Lady” McFeely takes you on a whirlwind tour through her personal Bigfoot collection, amassed over many years of field research. In addition to the expected casts of Bigfoot footprints, the museum has a collection of rare Bigfoot handprints and a unique exhibit about Zana, “the Wild Woman of Russia,” who may have been a surviving Neanderthal or a Bigfoot. There are also some elongated skulls on display. 1205 E. 42nd St. Entrance is a driveway of a private home.
    • Hastings Museum – The museum exhibits include Kool-Aid, natural history dioramas, local history, weapons, life of pioneers on the Plains, rocks, minerals, fossils, antique vehicles, coins, and a planetarium. Outside the entrance to the Hastings Museum of Natural and Cultural History you can find Kool-Aid Man’s footprints.
    • Birthplace of Kool-Aid – Kool-Aid was first manufactured in Hastings, an event that is recorded by a small plaque and sign on a downtown building. The building has large posters in its window. 518 W. 1st St.
  • Hebron
    • World’s Largest Covered Porch Swing – in a Gazebo at Roosevelt Park.  Suspended from a giant crop irrigator pole. Seats 18 to 24
  • Holdrege
    • Nebraska Prairie Museum – Nebraska Prairie Museum is a general history museum that has over 65,000 feet of interior exhibits, authentic buildings and a World War II German POW Interpretive Center. This museum is sponsored by the Phelps County Historical Society.
  • Jackson
  • Kearney
    • Great Platte River Road Archway Monument – (I-80 exit 275) Interactive displays and audio tour about the local Native Americans, fur trappers, pioneers, and railroaders among many others. Note: If you pull off at Exit 272 and follow the signs to the arch, there’s a stretch of road parallel to I-80 where you can get a really good photo of the arch.
  • Lexington
    • The Heartland Museum Of Military Vehicles – The museum has about 100 vehicles including helicopters, tanks, half-tracks, ambulances, and a jeep from every branch of the service plus displays of weapons, uniforms, engines, equipment, and more. A great Fall of Saigon sculpture/display.
  • Lincoln
    • Groundwater Colossus – Ten feet tall, weighing eight tons, big brick head. It’s meant to personify the Ogallala Aquifer that sits beneath it. Loudspeakers embedded in the head sometimes play the sounds of tricking water — and sometimes play the sounds of clanging metal to represent the jarring impact of people on the environment. Outside the Jayne Snyder Trail Center.
    • Giant Paper Airplane – 32 feet long, the realistic-looking paper airplane sculpture is made of white-painted steel. Located near the entrance to Lincoln Airport.
    • National Museum of Roller Skating – located in the back of an office building for a national rollerskating association. Inside is a collection of actual skates, including a wall of wheels over the years (all properly mounted and spin-able), as well as costumes of award-winning skaters and other skating memorabilia, such as advertisements featuring roller skates, photos, and signed posters from skating competitions. Admission is free, though donations are welcome.
  • Lowell
    • Boot Hill Cemetery – On a low-maintenance dirt road.  The marker is a large cement boot atop a gravestone-shaped plaque with a story of the pioneers killed in a crossfire and buried on the hilltop immediately behind the monument. Cowboy boots decorate the fenceposts along the road.
  • ☆ Missouri National Recreational River – The Missouri National Recreational River is a National Recreational River located on the border between Nebraska and South Dakota. The designation was first applied in 1978 to a 59-mile section of the Missouri River between Gavins Point Dam and Ponca State Park. In 1991, an additional 39-mile section between Fort Randall Dam and Niobrara, Nebraska, was added to the designation. These two stretches of the Missouri River are the only parts of the river between Montana and the mouth of the Missouri that remain undammed or unchannelized. The last 20 miles of the Niobrara River and 6 miles of Verdigre Creek were also added in 1991.
  • Minden
    • Harold Warp’s Pioneer Village – More than 50,000 items in 28+ buildings. This replica small town lets visitors take a stroll through the story of progress in the U.S. via thousands of Americana artifacts. Where else can you see a piece of the tin foil used on Edison’s first phonograph and a monkey wrench exhibit.
  • Nebraska City
    • Lewis & Clark Missouri River Visitors Center – Animals, Boats, Birds, Earth Lodge, Fish, Medicine, Plants, Theatre.  Climb Aboard Lewis & Clark’s Boat
    • Kregel Windmill Factory Museum – Old-fashioned windmills were made here until 1989. The factory closed abruptly and remained sealed like a time capsule for 24 years until it opened as a museum in 2013.  Kiosks throughout show the actual machinery working.
    • River Country Nature Center – reproduces Nebraska’s ecosystems with the help of some 500 taxidermy specimens — including more than 100 chickens installed in a retired two-room coop.  114 S. 6th St.
    • Tombstone Shaped like a Desk – Wyuka Cemetery contains a number of unique tombstones. One is in the shape of a life-sized desk with a number of open books containing the names of the deceased. There are also a number of tombstones shaped like various forms of logs.  S. 19th St
    • Whispering Bench – Arbor Lodge State Historical Park has a large, stone, outdoor bench, built in a semi-circle 50 feet across. Sit on one end, whisper into the bench, and whoever’s sitting at the other end will hear you.
  • Neligh
    • Pierson Wildlife Museum – Collection of big game trophies bagged in Africa by the town doctor. Tastefully housed in a converted church with animal scenes in stained glass.
  • Norfolk
    • Elkhorn Valley Museum – The museum is home to over 25,000 artifacts.  The grounds include Verges Park & Cave, the Dederman Cabin, and the District 24 schoolhouse.  There are several rotating exhibit spaces and permanent exhibits include “Johnny Carson, The King Comes Home”, The Nebraska Music Hall of Fame, and the Square Turn Tractor.  Johnny Carson Gallery hails its most famous son which consists of artifacts selected by Johnny before he died in 2005.
  • North Platte
    • ☆ The Golden Spike Tower offers a bird’s-eye view out over the Bailey Yard, officially certified as the world’s largest railroad yard.
    • ☆ America’s Twentieth Century Veteran’s Memorial – The five major conflicts of the 20th century from World War I to the first Iraq War are depicted in a 15-foot tall brick bas-relief mural.  Adjacent to the memorial to our military heroes is the Lincoln County Law Enforcement Memorial.  Get off exit 177, keep right going south and you can see it on your left.
    • Lincoln County Historical Museum – encompasses approximately eight acres that include the main museum building and an entire village made up of primarily historic structures from the Lincoln County area.  
    • ☆ Fort Cody Trading Post – Great tourist trap. Fake stockade fort with sentinel mannequins. Sheltered within are a Muffler Man, a giant gift shop, a two-headed calf, and the world’s largest animated miniature Wild West Show. 
  • Oakland
    • The Black Angel of Oakland Cemetery – At 8 1/2 ft. tall, the broad-winged angelic statue stands out amongst rows of simple gravestones and enjoys very large recognition in the area—not for its finely-crafted sorrowful visage, but for its insistence on appearing eerily black
  • Oconto
    • Oconto Sculpture Park – Scrap Metal Sculpture Garden – Retired farmer Charles Horn sculptures by welding discarded metal of animals and other things he’s interested in.
  • Ogallala
    • Front Street Steakhouse & Crystal Palace Saloon – Behind Front Street’s old west facade, a free museum of pioneer artifacts, including a wagon hearse and coffin. The Crystal Palace revue features singing dance hall girls and gunslingers.  Call for reservations 308-284-6000
    • Kenfield Petrified Wood Gallery – For 50 years the Kenfield brothers made sculptures and pictures out of petrified wood. Now they’re on display in a gallery in a Wild West-themed shopping plaza.
    • Restored 1922 Service Station – Former Standard Oil Co. gas station opened in 1922 and was restored in 2003. Now it’s the town visitor center.  On the southwest corner of W. 3rd and N. Spruce Sts.
    • UFO Water Tower – Painted like a spaceship.  At night it’s illuminated with UFO landing lights. South of I-80 exit 126 about a quarter-mile on Hwy 61/Big Mac Rd.
  • Omaha
    • Bellevue Berry and Pumpkin Ranch – We are not just a pick-your-own farm, we are a country experience where guests will see a variety of farm antiques, livestock, and crops, as well as unique play areas patterned after what life was like for kids 40 to 100 years ago.
    • Bermis Center for Contemporary Art
    • Durham Museum – Found in the stunning 1931 art deco union station, it offers numerous exhibits including an extensive range of refurbished trains, 1940s shops, and an array of artifacts featuring some of the world’s rarest coins and documents. Be sure to visit the soda fountain for an authentic phosphate or perhaps a malt.
    • ☆ First National’s Spirit of Nebraska’s Wilderness and Pioneer Courage Park – Sculptures of wagons, horses, oxen, bison, and settlers occupying six blocks in Omaha.
    • ☆ The Florence Mill – Built in 1846, it is now an architectural relic and community hub and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It houses the non-profit Winter-Quarters Mill Museum, ArtLoft studio & gallery, and a Sunday Farmers Market that runs 10-3 from June through September.
    • Freedom Park Navy Museum – Free outdoor museum located along the Missouri River. It is home to a submarine and a minesweeper, and the only complete collection of USN anti-aircraft guns held entirely in one park. In addition, the park also houses a collection of jets, a helicopter, a Captain’s Gig, many rocket launchers, missiles, and other military vehicles.
    • General George Crook House & Garden – has 110 species of prized plants.
    • Gerald R. Ford Birth site and Gardens in Omaha, Nebraska marks the location of the house at 3202 Woolworth Avenue where U.S. President Gerald R. Ford lived for a couple of weeks after his birth in July 1913. The site includes a portico evoking the north side of the White House and a pagoda resembling a portion of the original home. A gazebo marks the spot where our 38th President was born and displays some Gerald R. Ford mementos, such as his golf clubs.
    • Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium – boasts not only one of the world’s largest indoor deserts but also North America’s largest indoor rainforest. There are also over 7 acres of indoor exhibits, thousands of animals, and underground caves covering a total of 130 acres!
    • Heron Haven Nature Center –  a spring-fed wetland and wildlife sanctuary. A casual stroll through Heron Haven on the 1/4 mile boardwalk trail and boardwalk offer a unique opportunity to experience firsthand the ever-changing panorama of plants and animals that comprise a truly natural place.
    • Jewish Community Art Gallery
    • Joslyn Castle & Gardens – a 1903 mansion available for tours.
    • ☆ Lauritzen Gardens – 100 acres of themed gardens and a cafe.
      • Union Pacific Big Boy – The largest steam train engine built on display.
    • Malcolm X Birthplace – house is demolished, but today there is a small park and a historical marker.
    • ☆ Memorial Park – created as a memorial for all of the men and women from Douglas County who have served in the armed forces.
      • 25-Foot-Tall Giant Kissers – Modeled on a famous photo of a sailor kissing a nurse at the end of WWII.
    • Old Lincoln Highway, Omaha – A brick-paved former section of the historic coast-to-coast highway.
    • ☆ The Old Market stretches across several blocks and is jam packed with charming buildings hosting obscure shops, art galleries, restaurants and flea markets.
    • Riverfront Park – Three parks combined into one riverfront park.
      • ☆ Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge & Omaha Plaza – 3,000-foot long walkway stretches across the Missouri River. On the Nebraska side, enjoy the 3-acre Omaha Plaza with an interactive water jet fountain, and access to the National Park Service Visitors Center. The bridge is connected to more than 150 miles of nature trails.
        • Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Headquarters and Visitor Center –
        • Lewis and Clark Landing Park
        • Omar the Troll
      • ☆ Gene Leahy Mall – Small four-block riverside park with a dog park, canal walk, colorful sculptures, ping pong tables, picnic tables under a pavilion, swings, slides, a water cascade, colorful scenes projected onto a wall, an amphitheater for staging performances, a large lawn for kids to run around, numerous colorful chairs to sit on, paths with attractive landscaping to walk through, colorful structures with netting for kids to climb on, and food trucks.
      • Heartland of America Park – 320 ft fountain and nightly light show. Gondola rides.
    • St. Cecilia’s Cathedral – Guided tours are available through this Spanish Renaissance-style cathedral containing stained-glass windows from the 16th century.
    • ☆ Village of Boys Town – A National Historic Landmark since 1985. The Father Flanagan House Museum is the renovated home of Boys Town’s founder and features a glimpse at early life at Boys Town. Other attractions on the 900-acre site include Father Flanagan’s Tomb, Dowd Memorial Chapel, Chambers Chapel, Garden of the Bible, the “Two Brothers” statue, and the Leon Myers Stamp Center that houses the “World’s Largest Ball of Postage Stamps.” Located inside the Visitors Center are the gift shop and Boys Town Café. An interactive Tour Map can be downloaded.
    • ☆ Winter’s Quarters –  Served as the main settlement of the Mormons on the Missouri River until they moved the fitting-out site to Kanesville in Iowa. Winter Quarters encompassed the area of North Omaha near State and 33rd Streets. Historic sites include the Mormon Pioneer Memorial Bridge, Florence Mill, Florence Park, Mormon Pioneer Cemetery, Cutler’s Park, and the first Mormon pioneer camp after leaving Winter Quarters. The L.D.S. Church Historical Site built a major museum and visitor center at Winter Quarters in 1997.
    • Quirky
      • ☆ Alpine Inn – A fried chicken joint where the leftovers are tossed outside to the wildlife — a couple of dozen raccoons. Try and get a window seat to watch the animals eat.
      • 15-Foot-Tall Fork with Pasta – East edge of the city. On the east side of S. 7th St. a half-block north of Pierce St.
      • O! Dude: 25 Feet Tall – Built in 2010, the awkwardly-named O! Dude is a 25-foot-tall “attitudinal portrait” of a young man with a ball cap, t-shirt, and court shoes. At one time his shirt lit up at night, and his head turned. He sits on top of a parking garage on the west side of downtown, visible from the north side of Farnam St. just west of its intersection with 20th St.
      • Performing Art Sculptures – In front of Qwest Center.
      • ☆ Sapp Brothers Coffee Pot Water Tower – Sapp Bros. Truck Stop. I-80 exit 440 (Hwy 50), northwestern side.
      • Spinning Yellow Giant – a 20-foot-tall man with a big grin, in a rain slicker, slowly rotating on a pipe up his butt. Russell Speeder’s Car Wash. I-680 exit 1.
    • Riverfront Park – Three parks combined into one riverfront park.
      • ☆ Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge & Omaha Plaza – 3,000-foot long walkway stretches across the Missouri River. On the Nebraska side, enjoy the 3-acre Omaha Plaza with an interactive water jet fountain, and access to the National Park Service Visitors Center. The bridge is connected to more than 150 miles of nature trails.
        • Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Headquarters and Visitor Center –
        • Lewis and Clark Landing Park
        • Omar the Troll
      • ☆ Gene Leahy Mall – Small four-block riverside park with a dog park, canal walk, colorful sculptures, ping pong tables, picnic tables under a pavilion, swings, slides, a water cascade, colorful scenes projected onto a wall, an amphitheater for staging performances, a large lawn for kids to run around, numerous colorful chairs to sit on, paths with attractive landscaping to walk through, colorful structures with netting for kids to climb on, and food trucks.
      • Heartland of America Park – 320 ft fountain and nightly light show. Gondola rides.
  • Paxton
    • Ole’s Big Game Steakhouse and Lounge – Ole Herstedt killed animals on five continents, then wedged the stuffed carcasses around the diners in his restaurant.  113 N. Oak S.
  • Peru 
    • The Roland Sherman Memorial Area and the Trace Trail – Before Roland Sherman died in 2007, he spent about 20 years making odd sculptures on a sandstone cliff near his home.  The trailhead and parking area are at the far north end of 5th St. From the trailhead, walk south towards the Missouri River, about 15 minutes, and look for sculptures on the bluffs.
  • Pine Bluffs
    • Panorama Point, elevation 5,424 feet, has been marked as the highest point in Nebraska by an official monument since 1971, but it’s nearly as flat as everywhere else in Nebraska.
  • Plainview:
    • Klown Doll Museum – Over 7,000 clowns: the largest collection in the world.
  • Potter
    • Potter Duckpin Bowling – This old-fashioned three-lane duckpin bowling alley is always open. It is not automatic. You have to walk down the alley and reset your pins. You also have to call to reserve a time so that someone can come over and open the bowling alley.
  • Ponca
    • ☆ Ponca State Park –  Tri-state Overlook, Oldest Oak Tree in Nebraska, a large pool, a golf course, riding stables, a shooting complex, and a large rock fountain called “Towers in Time”
  • Royal
    • ☆ Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park – a 360-acre park that includes a visitor center with interpretive displays and a working fossil preparation laboratory, and a protected ongoing excavation site, the Hubbard Rhino Barn.
  • Scotia
    • Happy Jack Chalk Mine Tour – 6,000 feet of honeycomb tunnels, opened as an attraction in 1997.  The tour is on foot.
  • Scotts Bluff
    • Scotts Bluff National Monument – Towering 800 feet above the North Platte River, Scotts Bluff has served as a landmark for peoples from Native Americans to emigrants on the Oregon, California and Mormon Trails to modern travelers. Drive the 1.6 mile Summit Road to catch a view from the top of Scotts Bluff. Two bicycle trails and a visitor center.
  • Seward
    • House of Davisson Furniture – World’s Largest Time Capsule built by a man from 1975 who vowed not to be forgotten. It contains 5,000 items including an aquamarine leisure suit with stitched yellow flowers and a new Chevy Vega.   The large concrete pyramid is to be opened in 2025.  
  • Superior
    • Nuckolls County Museum – A complex of 10 buildings.  Contains the largest model airplane collection in Nebraska.
  • Syracuse
    • Otoe County Museum of Memories – Exhibits range from a huge collection of taxidermy to Native American artifacts found in local creek beds to small reproductions of old-time stores and businesses.
  • Shubert
    • Indian Cave State Park – Beautiful and intriguing petroglyphs showing nature scenes and wildlife line the walls of the cave at this state park.
  • South Yankton
  • Taylor
    • The Villagers – Since 2003, black-and-white outdoor plywood people has been growing in the little town of Taylor. Scattered throughout the entire small town are over 100+ life-size paintings of “Villagers,” depicting people of the past. Every year six more Taylor “Villagers” are handmade and painted in Taylor by the Sandoz family and added to the growing list.
  • Valentine
  • Wymore
    • Great Plains Welsh Heritage Center – the only museum dedicated to the Welsh immigrants who settled on the Great Plains. In addition to its exhibit rooms, there’s a library, an auditorium, and a gift shop.
  • York
    • Marble Museum: World’s Largest Collection with over 1 million marbles.

Activities:

  • Niobrara National Scenic River, Valentine – Canoeing

References: