Parks

LINCOLN, Neb. — Come to Fort Hartsuff State Historical Park on May 15-16 for the 13th Annual Spring Muster. Activities begin at 9 a.m. each day, as guests can interact with reenactors portraying soldiers. There will be cannon firing, drills, skirmishes and blacksmithing. Picnic tables will be available for those who bring a lunch. The park is located 6 miles southeast of Burwell in Valley County. A vehicle park entry permit is required. Contact the park for more information at …

Five sandpits in the North Platte Valley have created countless memories. One does not have to stray far from home to enjoy one of the Panhandle’s premiere getaways with shady campsites and sandy beaches. The 200-acre Bridgeport State Recreation Area is located along the North Platte River at the northwestern edge of the community for which it is named. It has 78 acres of clear water in five sandpit lakes with more than 70 first-come, first-served basic campsites. The lakes …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Learn some history, gain some knowledge on resource management and celebrate state parks on May 8 at Natural History Day at Rock Creek Station State Historical Park. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is hosting the event, which is open to the public and part of the state parks centennial celebration. Landowners and conservationists are encouraged to attend. The event will feature eight 45-minute hikes on natural history, land and game species management, geology and history from …

CHADRON, Neb. — Chadron State Park is closing its campground from April 25-28 for its road improvement project. Gregg Galbraith, park superintendent, said the closure will allow workers to pave the roads without interruption and ensure the asphalt has properly cured before being subject to the weight of traffic. He said the campground will reopen the night of April 29 if the work occurs without delay. Galbraith said most campers seeking sites this time of year have been turkey hunters, …

CHADRON, Neb. — Visitors to Chadron State Park will be greeted with road construction in coming weeks. Beginning April 12 and ending in late May, construction workers will be resurfacing the park’s 5.6 miles of asphalt roads, campsites and other pavement. Gregg Galbraith, park superintendent, said visitors might not be able to access certain areas of the grounds during construction, but that the roads will be much more enjoyable to drive upon when the project is finished. He expects the …

HEMINGFORD, Neb. – Campers planning to visit Box Butte Reservoir State Recreation Area on May 1 and after will be able to reserve a site. Beginning this year, half of the reservoir’s 40 campsites, each of which are located near the shore with a fire ring and picnic table, are being added to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s reservation system. That consists of 13 basic sites with no electricity, six sites with 50-amp electricity and four sites with 20/30-amp …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Nebraska’s state parks are vibrant and diverse. They can be venues of solitude or teeming with activity. After 100 years, they’ve been a little bit of everything to many people. Gov. Pete Ricketts has proclaimed 2021 the year of Nebraska’s State Parks Centennial. It is a year that will see activity in the parks like no other, with events scheduled throughout 2021 across the state. Chadron State Park became Nebraska’s first state park in 1921. The state …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Nebraska state park visitors will get a chance to share their experiences this spring and summer. Crews will be in parks conducting surveys every weekend from April 3 through Aug. 8. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is looking for feedback about visitors’ park experiences at 22 state parks, recreation areas and historical parks. It is contracting with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Bureau of Sociological Research to conduct the surveys. Feedback from the survey will help inform …

Waiting to Be Made It was January 1993. I was in my first month of a dream job as a staff photographer and writer for Nebraskaland Magazine, and I was flustered. Then editor Don Cunningham had placed a large stack of hardbound Nebraskaland volumes on my desk and asked me to become familiar with the material so I could pitch him a few of my own story ideas. Not wanting to fail my first assignment, I pored over roughly two …

Western Eden, Where It All Began Under the headline of “Western Eden,” the front page of the July 8, 1921, Chadron Journal proclaimed that the Nebraska Legislature had “builded better than it knew” by creating its first state park. “For years to come all of Nebraska’s citizendom can point with honest pride to Nature’s play ground near its western boundary. It is an inspiration to view this locality, and to walk its cool shady paths with the knowledge that it …