DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge
"Half a million snow geese can’t be wrong. Every autumn, great flocks of migrating snow geese stop at DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge on their way south. Located five miles east of Blair on Highway 30, the 760-acre refuge is centered on an oxbow lake that was once a bend in the Missouri River. In 1865, the Montana-bound steamboat Bertrand sank here and was lost for more than a century. Today the recovered cargo – preserved like new in the Missouri mud – is displayed at the Bertrand Steamboat Museum inside the visitor center. Overlooking the lake, the center is also a great facility for birdwatching when the weather turns chilly.
The refuge has four looped nature trails, no-wake boating and picnicking. DeSoto Lake anglers catch bluegill, buffalo, carp, channel catfish, crappie, largemouth bass and walleye. The lake is open from early January through late February for ice fishing, and from mid-April through late September for open-water fishing. The refuge offers hunting for deer only.
Peak viewing of the snow geese migration is in mid-November. It is also a good time to see the bald eagles that winter at the refuge. Ducks, mostly mallards, also stop here – as many as 125,000. Birdwatchers have identified more than 240 species of birds here; outdoor viewing platforms by the lake will get you closer to the action.
DeSoto is open during daylight hours. The Visitor Center is open daily, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m., closed major holidays. Portions of the refuge are closed to public use October 14-April 15. Admission is $3 per car, $15 for an annual pass. (712) 642-4121.
In Blair itself, Black Elk/Neihardt Park offers a pavilion, sculpture, arboretum, and a broad view of eastern Nebraska’s rolling hills from atop a bluff at College Drive and 32nd St. (Follow the signs to Dana College and keep heading uphill.) The Tower of the Four Winds commemorates the vision of Lakota holy man Black Elk. It is open year-round, dawn to 11 p.m. Group tours by appointment. (402) 533-4455.
River Wilds Golf Course is two miles north of town on Highway 75. (402) 426-2941.
For more information, contact the Blair Area Chamber of Commerce. (402) 533-4455."
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Golden Prairie Bison Ranch
Golden Prairie Bison Ranch is one mile north and 1/2 mile west of town. (402) 893-9928.
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Kreycik Riverview Elk & Buffalo Tours/KSK Elk & Buffalo Hunting
Kreycik Riverview Elk & Buffalo Tours is a working ranch with covered wagon ride through bison, elk and fallow deer herds. Headquartered at the ranch, KSK Elk & Buffalo Hunting offers hunting in an area of densely-covered hills and canyons along the Niobrara River Valley. From town, go west on Highway 12, then south at the Niobrara State Park entrance. Follow signs heading south and west for eight miles, then turn south at River View Cemetery. Open year round. Admission. (402) 857-3850.
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Missouri River Tours
"Missouri River Tours is a private company offering hunting, fishing and birdwatching opportunities April through December. Guides, boat rental and camping are available. From town, go three miles north, two miles east, then one mile north. (402) 985-2216.
For more information, contact the Village of Wynot. (402) 357-2429."
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Olson Nature Preserve
At the easternmost tip of the Sandhills, Olson Nature Preserve is a crossroads of distinct ecosystems. The 140-acre area includes oak woodland, sandhills prairie, wetlands and a stretch of Beaver Creek. It is the site where Logan Fontenelle, a chief of the Omaha people, was killed by a Sioux war party in 1855. To find the preserve, go eight miles north of Albion on Highway 14, then left on a gravel road one mile to the entrance.
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Pelican Point State Recreation Area
"Located along the Missouri River, Pelican Point State Recreation Area offers primitive camping (17 campsites, without electrical hookups) and river access. The area has large cottonwoods and isn’t heavily visited. It has a boat ramp and dock, pit toilets, a pavilion, and an electric well. Wildlife includes quail, rabbit, squirrel and waterfowl. Birdwatchers come to see migratory and breeding birds such as warblers, thrushes, orioles, flycatchers, woodpeckers and vireos.
Pelican Point is open year-round. A state park permit is required. To get there from town, go four miles east, then four miles north, then one mile east. (402) 374-1727."
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Powder Horn Wildlife Management Area
The 284-acre Powder Horn Wildlife Management Area is four miles northwest of town on Highway 275. It is a wooded area along the Elkhorn River. Wildlife includes deer, dove, pheasant, quail, rabbit, squirrel, turkey and waterfowl. Birdwatchers say that it’s a good place for finding woodcocks in April. For more information, contact the Scribner Chamber of Commerce. (402) 664-2788.
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Wood Duck Wildlife Management Area
"Wood Duck Wildlife Management Area has 668 acres along the Elkhorn River. The area is mostly wooded, with several oxbow lakes and a stream. Wildlife includes deer, dove, pheasant, quail, rabbit, squirrel, turkey and waterfowl. Birdwatchers report many eastern songbirds nesting here, and large numbers of geese, ducks, pelicans, cormorants and occasional trumpeter swans on the marshy lakes. Following Highway 24, go 1 1/2 miles west of town, then go two miles south, 1 1/2 miles west, then one mile north on a county road."
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