Featuring a jungle, corn maze, tower, tree house, rides, animals, and other fall activities. Open daily, mid-September-October 31
Three miles south of Norfolk, NE on Highway 81, then 2½ miles west.| 402-379-0455
www.poppyspumpkinpatch.com
Offroad ATV and Motocross course
2900 Old Highway 8 | Norfolk, NE | 402-844-5044 | www.offroadranch.net
George Shannon, the youngest and most educated in the Corps of Discovery, was lost for 16 days in the area of present day northeast Nebraska.
The Trail encompasses an area steeped in history, dotted with pioneer cemeteries and ghost towns.
The Nebraska communities involved are Bloomfield, Bow Valley, Center, Creighton, Crofton, Hartington, Lindy, Niobrara, St. Helena, St. James, Santee, Verdel, Verdigre, Wausa, Winnetoon, Wynot, and the Ponca and Santee Sioux Nations.
A National Park Service grant and donations from local banks contributed to the placing of sixteen wayside signs commemorating the life of George Shannon. Following the Lewis and Clark Expedition, he was wounded in a battle with the Arikara in a failed attempt to return the Mandan chief, Shekeke, to his village; his leg was subsequently amputated above the knee. He helped Nicholas Biddle prepare the first narrative account of the Expedition for publication. Shannon then became an attorney and circuit judge, served in the Kentucky and Missouri state legislatures and ran against Thomas Hart Benton in a bid for the U.S. Senate. He died at age 50.
The wild west era where famous outlaws, horse thieves, lynch mobs, and lawmen ruled this area is past. Today along the Outlaw Trail (Nebraska Highway 12), you’ll be greeted only by friendly folks and big smiles as well as plenty of quiet hideaways.
Extending from the metropolitan area of South Sioux City to the “Old West” in Valentine, the Outlaw Trail Byway meanders alongside the Niobrara and Missouri Rivers where steep bluffs and tree-shrouded slopes give way to lush, rolling green hills. Jesse James and his gang reportedly hid out in the rugged wooded terrain known as the Devil’s Nest, where a curious formation of trees and brush on a hillside forms the word, “DEVIL.”
On the western end of the byway, verdant farmland graduates into the wide open spaces of ranching country and the massive Sandhills region of Nebraska.
Following the Outlaw Trail takes you through the Santee Sioux Reservation, which is home to 750 tribal members. This region is known for its friendly people, small towns, and immense landscapes. If you are respectable folks who are craving scenic beauty or wishing to explore this region’s colorful history, then the Outlaw Trail is a route you shouldn’t miss.
Length: 238.0 mi
Time to Allow: 7 hours
Related Links:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nebraskas-Outlaw-Trail-Scenic-Byway-Hwy-12/97986144732
http://www.visitnebraska.com/scenic-byways/outlaw-trail-scenic-byway
Omaha – Sioux City
Lewis and Clark Visitor Center, located atop Calumet Bluff. Crofton, NE | 402-667-2546
Lewis and Clark Lake State Recreation Area, about 10 miles north of Crofton on Highway 121. 402-388-4169. For more information about Lewis and Clark State Recreation Area, call 402-388-4169.
Lewis and Clark Wayside Exhibit, commemorates the historic discovery and provides a breathtaking view of the Missouri River. Located at Cottonwood Cove Park from Highway 77, turn east on Highway 35 into town, continue on Broadway to 14th Street, then south on Hickory | Dakota City, NE | 402-987-3448
At 14th and Monroe Streets in Fort Calhoun, the Washington County Historical Museum displays artifacts from prehistoric times to the recent past. Its collections of state and county history include a Lewis and Clark interactive display. 402-468-5740.
Old Baldy, located seven miles north of Lynch, follow signs up Main Street and on to Missouri River. Used as a landmark by natives and fur traders. Here, Lewis and Clark discovered their first prairie dog town.
Niobrara State Park, at junction of the Niobrara and Missouri Rivers, one mile west of town on Highway 12.
A great way to see the river is by signing up for the park’s Upper Missouri River Float Trip, offered mid-May through September. A guide will take you through the river’s braided channels in an inflatable workboat dubbed “The Little Pearl,” in honor of a ferry that used to operate here. This is part of the Missouri National Recreational River, a portion of the Missouri that has not been dredged and straightened for barge traffic, and which still resembles the wild river that Native Americans and explorers like Lewis and Clark would have known. Niobrara, NE | www.niobrarane.com
Sergeant Floyd Monument, overlooking the Missouri River, this 100-foot tall memorial was the first historic landmark registered by the U.S. Government. It honors Sergeant Charles Floyd, the only casualty of the 1804 Lewis and Clark Expedition. Sioux City, Iowa
http://www.lewisandclarktrail.com/section1/omahasiouxcity.htm
The Cowboy Trail is a rail trail in northern Nebraska. It is a multi-use recreational trail suitable for bicycling, walking and horseback riding. It occupies an abandoned Chicago and North Western Railway corridor. The trailheads are located in Norfolk and Valentine and the surface is either pavement or crushed limestone.
When completed, the Cowboy Trail will be the world’s longest rails-to-trails bike trail. Currently about two-thirds of the route has been surfaced: the 195 mile stretch between Norfolk and Valentine (where you’ll cross a magnificent old 148 foot high railroad bridge). Some surfaces are paved, while most of the trail uses finely crushed gravel.
Ta-Ha-Zouka Park in Norfolk is a trailhead for the Cowboy Trail.
Horseshoe Bend Park in Tilden, is a 22-acre park that links Tilden to the Cowboy Trail.
http://www.bikecowboytrail.com/default.aspx
Interactive map of the cowboy trail http://www.bikecowboytrail.com/trail-maps.aspx
At the easternmost tip of the Sandhills is a crossroads of distinct ecosystems. The 140-acre area includes oak woodland, sandhills prairie, wetlands and a stretch of the 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 | Albion, NE
As the name indicates, the area includes 640 acres of a hardwood bottomland forest through which Battle Creek flows.
Located is 2½ miles south, one mile west of town | Battle Creek, NE
Yellowbanks has 680 acres and is known for its turkey hunting.
Located three miles north of town on Highway 121, then 2½ miles west, ½ mile north and ½ mile west on a county road | Battle Creek, NE
Sits atop a bluff & includes the Tower of the Four Winds. Group tours by appointment.
Located at College Drive and 32nd Street | Blair, NE | (402) 533-4455
www.benpark.org
Produced in part by a grant from the Nebraska Division of Travel and Tourism.
Interested in becoming a member of the Northeast Nebraska Travel Council? View our brochure.
Northeast Nebraska Travel Council
609 West Norfolk Avenue
Norfolk, NE 68701
(402) 371-2932