The Cornhusker State
Nebraska
Sandhills, Niobrara River canyons, and the nation's largest hand-planted forest rising from the prairie.
Nebraska at a Glance
Nebraska National Forest
Nebraska National Forest contains the largest hand-planted forest in the hemisphere, established in 1902 as a government experiment in converting grassland to forest
Niobrara River
The Niobrara National Scenic River through the Sandhills is one of the most biologically diverse rivers in the Great Plains
Pine Ridge
The Pine Ridge escarpment in northwest Nebraska creates dramatic rugged terrain with ponderosa pine forests unlike anything else in the region
Crane Migration
The Platte River hosts 450,000+ sandhill cranes and a handful of endangered whooping cranes each March, the largest crane migration in North America
Sandhills
Nebraska's Sandhills are the largest grass-stabilized dune system in the Western Hemisphere, covering 19,300 square miles
Dark Skies
The Nebraska Sandhills are among the darkest skies in the Great Plains, with Cherry County having one of the lowest population densities in the nation
When to Visit
April through June and September through October. Sandhill crane migration on the Platte River runs late February through April and is one of the great wildlife spectacles in North America. Summer is hot on the plains.
Top Activities
Gateway Cities
Chadron
Northwest Nebraska city adjacent to Nebraska National Forest's Pine Ridge Ranger District, with access to the Fort Robinson area and Oglala National Grassland.
Valentine
Sandhills gateway to the Niobrara National Scenic River, Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge, and the heart of the Nebraska Sandhills.
Did You Know?
The trees in Nebraska National Forest near Halsey were planted by hand in the 1890s and 1900s as a scientific experiment to determine if forests could grow on the plains.
The Niobrara River canyon cuts through unique terrain where eastern and western plant and animal communities overlap, creating a biological transition zone.
Nebraska's Pine Ridge was a critical hunting ground for the Oglala Lakota, and many ridge formations have traditional Lakota names.
Toadstool Geologic Park in the Oglala National Grassland features badlands formations that look like the American Southwest but sit in the Nebraska panhandle.
The Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails all crossed Nebraska, and visible ruts from westward migration can still be seen in the western part of the state.