Nebraska State Parks for an Inexpensive Vacation

Agate Fossil Beds National Monument is a U.S. National Monument near Harrison and is best known for a large number of well-preserved Miocene fossils found on Carnegie Hill and University Hill. The monument also features a beautiful valley of the Niobrara River and extensive grass-covered plains that are home to an array of fauna and flora. Fossils from the site date back to about 20 million years ago are among some of the best specimens of Miocene mammals, including amphicyon, a bear dog; menoceras, a pony-sized rhinoceros; stenomylus, a gazelle-like camelid; and miohippus, an ancestor of the modern horse. Agate Fossil Beds National Monument features a museum with a collection of more than 500 artifacts from Captain James Cook’s Collection, owner of the original Agate Springs Ranch. The site is also home to the Harold J. Cook Homestead, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

301 River Rd, Harrison, NE 69346, Phone: 69-346-2734

Arbor Lodge State Historical Park and Arboretum is a beautiful estate in Nebraska City that was once the home of J. Sterling Morton, the founder of the tree-planting holiday known as Arbor Day. Built in 1855, the magnificent mansion grew from a humble four-room house to a sprawling 52-room estate surrounded by 65 acres of hilly, wooded landscapes. Today, the villa is open for visitors to explore and features authentic furnishings and historical artifacts that capture the life and times of this exceptional man. The gardens and grounds around the Morton mansion were donated to the State of Nebraska in 1923 and were officially designated as an arboretum in 1976, boasting an exceptional collection of trees and shrubs covering more than 260 species, including many native plants and some that are uncommon in the region. The grounds are open year-round, and the mansion is open weekends during the winter months for self-guided tours.

2600 Arbor Avenue, Nebraska City, NE 68410, Phone: 402-873-7222

Located near the west end of Lake McConaughy five miles south of Lewellen in Garden County, Ash Hollow State Historical Park is a family-friendly park with a variety of attractions and points of interest, including Ash Hollow Cave and Windlass Hill. Once a stop-off point where pioneers could get fresh water, wood, and grazing, Ash Hollow features the remains of scraped wagon ruts in the hillside of Windlass Hill. Ash Hollow Cave is another point of interest that the park features and shows evidence of the use of the area by a prehistoric man dating back 6,000 years. A modern interpretive visitor’s center exhibits the area’s ancient history, geology, and paleontology of the area. The center showcases over 30 million years of geologic history and features fossils of prehistoric mammals, including rhinoceros and mastodons.

US-26, Lewellen, NE 69147, Phone: 308-778-5651

Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park is a unique park that contains the fossil skeletons of animals that died at a watering hole following a massive volcanic eruption that blanketed the Great Plains with a fall of volcanic ash nearly 12 million years ago. These rare fossil sites are known as lagerstätten and the type that captures a moment in time ecological "snapshot" in a range of well-preserved fossilized organisms due to extraordinary local conditions. The fossil bed has been uncovered and left in place for visitors to view when the park is open between Memorial Day Weekend and Labor Day. A visitor center features a Rhino Barn covering a portion of the fossil-bearing ash bed, a working fossil preparation laboratory, and numerous interpretive displays about the history, geology, and paleontology of the area.

86930 517th Ave, Royal, NE 68773, Phone: 402-893-2000

Situated on the West Fork of the Big Blue River, five miles north of Dorchester, the Blue River State Recreation is a haven for those wanting to escape the hustle and bustle of the big city. The state recreation area is a day-use only area and offers excellent fishing on the Blue River with "walk-in" pedestrian river access. Other facilities in the park include picnic tables, charcoal grills, and vault toilets.

NE-76B/Washington Ave, Dorchester, NE 68405, Phone: 402-796-2362

Bluestem State Recreation Area (SRA) is a 742-acre state park and recreation area about 18 miles south of the State Capitol of Lincoln in southeastern Nebraska. Managed by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, the area offers a wide range of recreational activities from pleasure boating and fishing to swimming, picnicking and camping. The reservoir is well stocked with bluegill, largemouth bass, channel catfish, crappies, and walleye, and there are 19 primitive campsites without electricity with lovely lake views.

Bluestem Lake State Recreation Area, Martell, NE 68404, Phone: 402-471-5545

Bowring Ranch State Historical Park is a state park three miles north of Merriman in Cherry County that celebrates and interprets the ranching heritage of the Sand Hills region. The 7,202-acre ranch was once owned by former U.S. Senator Eve Bowring, who managed the ranch until her death in 1985. Today, the farm has been preserved as turn-of-the-20th-century working Hereford cattle ranch and living history museum. The park features a visitor’s center that documents the Bowrings' lives and exhibits artifacts and memorabilia of early ranching days, the ranch house, outbuildings, corrals, barns, bunkhouses, and a sod house, all of which are open to the public.

NE Hwy 61, Merriman, NE 69218, Phone: 308-684-3428

Buffalo Bill Ranch State Park, also known as Scout's Rest Ranch, is a state recreation and camping area located west of North Platte that is a living history state park that celebrates the life and times of Buffalo Bill. Established in 1878, the 4,000-acre ranch was initially known as Scout’s Rest Ranch before it was sold to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission in 1911. Today, the 25-acre historic state park boasts a historic Wild West-era ranch and barn, outbuildings, and a variety of other features, which can be explored on guided tours. Visitors can also enjoy a museum that documents and celebrates Buffalo Bill’s life from a Pony Express rider to his Wild West shows. Other activities include hiking, fishing, and picnicking.

2921 Scouts Rest Ranch Rd, North Platte, NE 69101, Phone: 308-535-8035

Nestled among the rugged buttes and canyons of Nebraska's Pine Ridge, Chadron State Park was founded in 1921 and was Nebraska's first state park. The spectacular beauty of the Pine Ridge forms the backdrop for this fantastic family-friendly state park, which lies at an elevation of nearly 5,000 feet, nine miles south of Chadron in the heart of the Nebraska National Forest. The 972-acre park features a wealth of activities and facilities, including water-based fun on the picturesque lagoon, such as swimming, boating, fishing, paddle-boating, and kayaking, hiking, horseback riding, mountain bike rentals, tennis and sand volleyball courts, and picnicking. The park also has camping sites, overnight cabins, a craft center, and a snack bar, and offers evening programs.

15951 Hwy 385, Chadron, Nebraska 69337-7353, Phone: 308-432-6167

Eugene T. Mahoney State Park is a public recreation area located on the Platte River, about four miles east of Ashland that offers year-round accommodations and recreational use. Nestled on 700 acres along the Platte River, the modern park features a wealth of amenities ranging from the Little Creek and Lakeside campgrounds with traditional campsites and overnight cabins and lodges to a large waterpark with several swimming pools, hiking, and mountain biking trails, and tennis courts. Nearby attractions include the Strategic Air and Space Museum, the Platte River State Park, the Lee G. Simmons Conservation Park, the Quarry Oaks Golf Club, and the Iron Horse Golf Club.

28500 W Park Hwy, Ashland, NE 68003, Phone: 402-944-2523