Nebraska Official State Travel Guide - The Official 2020 Not-At-All What You Thought State Travel Guide
FAMILY
2019-12-16 00:01:04
TAKE BETTER FAMILY PHOTOS
Just take them in Nebraska. Going wild at a zoo, playing pioneer, studying fossil beds, splashing through water parks . . . they all make for happy kids. And picture-perfect pictures.
HORSEBACK RIDING WITH DUSTY TRAILS IS A MUST WHEN IN NORTH PLATTE! —@1STMIMSEY, TWITTER
FOR ANIMAL-LOVERS
Zoos, aquariums and animal parks // 4 favorite stops // Oodles of species
Ready to walk on the wild side? Head to Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium, consistently ranked as one of the world’s top zoos. Spy pygmy hippos in America’s largest indoor rain forest. Creep through a 70-foot-long shark tunnel in the Suzanne and Walter Scott Aquarium, the largest aquarium inside a zoo. Depending on the season and your budget, add on unforgettable experiences, from touching stingrays and feeding giraffes to hanging out with a zookeeper. At family-owned Horn T Zoo in Monroe, you might snuggle a hedgehog, pet a camel or watch ring-tailed lemurs put on an acrobatic show. Hit Riverside Discovery Center in Scottsbluff year ’round to view majestic tigers, grizzly bears and bison, then hang out at the petting zoo and meet Bonnie the bobcat. More than 400 animals live at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo, from red pandas and blue death-feigning beetles to endangered species, including snow leopards and the tree kangaroo. Experiences are hands-on and designed with kids in mind, though adults are in for smiles too.
FOR RAILROAD FANS
Trains, museums and a caboose “hotel” // 4 powered-up stops
Satisfy your railfan obsession with a bird’s-eye view of the Bailey Rail Yard in North Platte that manages 10,000 Union Pacific railroad cars per day. Ride the Golden Spike Tower elevator to the seventh-floor, open-air observation deck and gawk at the sights and sounds of the trains below and panoramic views of the world’s largest railroad classification yard. You can almost feel the fire and grit of the pioneering spirit at Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer in Grand Island where history buffs will be pleased, and kids and adults alike will enjoy opportunities to get hands-on. Wander the complex of buildings to discover collections of Native American and Old West memorabilia, teepee replicas, bison that lived and grazed on the land, train cars from the 1800s and more. The Stuhr’s 1897 Railroad Town, open May 1 through Labor Day annually, features costumed interpreters working and living within this community filled with historic businesses and homes. In Omaha, the Durham Museum is housed in the city’s Art Deco-era Union Station, which once served as the Union Pacific Railroad hub. Today, this Smithsonian-affiliate museum is home to locomotives, train cars and a 1930s soda fountain, still serving treats. At the end of your perfect railfan day, retire to one of 10 Union Pacific cabooses that have been refurbished into cabins at Two Rivers State Recreation Area in Waterloo.
Pro Tip: More than a half-dozen children’s museums throughout Nebraska—including attractions in Omaha, Lincoln and North Platte—encourage creativity, play and discovery.
ALL ABOARD
FOR FUTURE PALEONTOLOGISTS
Fossil beds, excavations and natural museums
// 4 sites you’ll “dig” // 1 national monument
Described as a prehistoric Pompeii, Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park in Royal showcases fossilized rhinoceroses, camels and horses that were embedded as they died by inhaling volcanic ash. It’s the world’s only site where entire three-dimensional skeletons of large prehistoric animals are preserved—and remains an active dig. At Agate Fossil Beds National Monument near Harrison, craggy cliffs dominate the empty landscape. Inside those cliffs are bones—in fact, this is one of the most complete Miocene mammal sites on the globe. Hike the trails of this dramatic landscape to spot the fossils. Scientists have yet to solve the primeval puzzle at Hudson-Meng Research and Education Center near Crawford. Containing bones of approximately 600 extinct bison, you can watch ongoing excavation. View two Ice-Age bull mammoths with their tusks locked in combat at the Trailside Museum of Natural History at Fort Robinson State Park; a floor-to-ceiling mural depicts the battle. At Morrill Hall at the University of Nebraska State Museum of Natural History, learn the story of Nebraska from the arrival of the Paleoindians to present-day urban and agricultural land use.
FOR NATIVE AMERICAN, PIONEER AND COWBOY LIFE
A ranch, fort and museums // Buffalo Bill // Ponca tribes and pioneers
Tour the 1886 Second Empire-style mansion and barn of famed showman “Buffalo Bill” Cody at Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park in North Platte. Afterward, giddy up with Dusty Trails and ride horseback along the North Platte River. Experience the Old West and watch a shootout in Ogallala at Front Street Cowboy Museum. Hard to miss, The Archway spans I-80. A self-guided tour transports you into Nebraska’s history, complete with stories of Native Americans and the Lincoln Highway. Discover the culture of the Ponca Indian Tribe at the Ponca Tribal Museum in Niobrara. Chock-full of memorabilia, the Plainsman Museum in Aurora recounts tales of Hamilton County settlers. Visit reconstructed Fort Kearny State Historical Park, built as a haven for pioneering travelers in 1848.
FOR ASPIRING SCIENTISTS
Museums and star-gazing // 4 stellar stops // 100% hands-on
The literal star at Hastings Museum is the planetarium’s projection system displaying cutting-edge shows. Request to view the stars on a particular date in history, or view the sun through a solar telescope. For hands-on learners, Edgerton Explorit Center in Aurora invites kids to pilot a jet simulator and create giant bubbles. Investigate native wildlife at the University of Nebraska State Museum of Natural History and catch star shows at the museum’s Mueller Planetarium. Gaze at star clusters and galaxies at observatories, staffed with knowledgeable volunteers, throughout the state.
Pro Tip: Gretna’s Schramm Education Center recently added 60-plus native aquatic species and a sturgeon touch tank, tripling the number of aquariums visitors can view on-site.
NEW AT OUR ZOOS
Endangered red pandas, sporting white muzzles and ringed tails, perform acrobatics as you journey through Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium’s new Asian Highlands habitat. Thanks to Lincoln Children’s Zoo’s expansion, kids can hand-feed giraffes year ’round and climb alongside spider monkeys.
SPLASHING ENCOURAGED
Cool off at any of these family-friendly water parks! Slip down the 310-foot-long raft slide at Aquaventure Water Park in Norfolk. Then, check out the wave pool and water cannons or simply get drenched under dumping buckets.
The new Ord Aquatic Center and Splash Pad features a zero-depth entry pool, slide, kids’ area and renovated bathhouse.
The Fremont Splash Station features an interactive train slide, hydro-storm water tower and wave pool.
5 FAMILY PHOTO OPS
Photo ops can be spontaneous, but more often, they’re carefully sought out. Nebraska’s intriguing places and exceptional scenery make perfect spots for snapping a picture of your family’s together-time.
- CARHENGE, ALLIANCE
Pose as sunbeams filter through sculptures—39 vintage cars, sprayed gray—circle up to represent England’s Stonehenge.
- SCOTTS BLUFF NATIONAL MONUMENT, GERING
After you’ve navigated the corkscrew roadway to the summit, take an 800-foot-high panorama above the Platte Valley.
- MISSOURI RIVER BASIN LEWIS & CLARK VISITOR CENTER, NEBRASKA CITY
Climb aboard a replica of Lewis & Clark’s keelboat. Because why not?
- WORLD’S LARGEST COVERED PORCH SWING, HEBRON
Sit a spell on this super-sized swing suspended from a center-pivot irrigation frame.
- GO TANKING
Snap your photo while drifting lazily—in a stock tank—down a Nebraska lake or river. Outfitters like Get Tanked in Ericson will equip you.
Pro Tip: Make a game of counting one of Nebraska’s oddest roadside wonders, old cowboy boots slipped over the tops of fence posts. Watch along U.S. Highway 26 between Lewellen and Ogallala.
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