Parks

If the hills and bluffs at Ash Hollow State Historical Park could talk they would have been buzzing about the Convergence on Sacred Ground event last weekend. Perhaps they were pleased to have the Lakota’s with their teepees, dances and sacred dialog being echoed about. Wagons once again rolled along the Oregon/California trail. The sounds of horses and cattle filled the air as cowboys roped and branded cattle on the meadows of the park. And the aromas from Dutch ovens …

With Chadron’s Fur Trade Days celebration nearing, a photo on the shelf caught my eye last week. It was a black and white image from my first entry in the Fur Trade Regatta, an annual canoe race at Chadron State Park. That year, I teamed up with Bart Hughes, a coworker at the Chadron Record. It blew my mind to think that photo was taken 20 years ago. The Fur Trade Days Regatta at Chadron State Park might not be …

CHADRON, Neb. – A series of ranger programs is ramping up at Fort Robinson State Park and Chadron State Park this week. The educational programs, which address a wide variety of nature and history topics, are produced as a collaboration between the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Agate Fossil Beds National Monument and the U.S. Forest Service’s Hudson-Meng Education and Research Center. The events at Chadron State Park will be at the Trading Post. Those at Fort Robinson will convene …

GERING, Neb. – Participants of the Wildcat Hills Bioblitz at Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area near Gering observed 141 species of plants, animals and insects Friday night and Saturday morning, July 7-8. About 70 volunteers became “citizen scientists” in taking a survey of the area from 1 p.m. Friday to noon Saturday. Amber Schiltz of the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies said good fortune came to the event from the start as a wild six-lined racerunner, a small lizard species, …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Standard and tent campsites at Niobrara State Park will close for road construction July 11 and reopen July 13 at 3 p.m. Contractors will mill the road cracks on the bottom of the 3-mile loop and mill the top half for paving. The RV campground will be fog-coated during this same period, and the road from the park entrance booth to the RV campground will be milled and resurfaced. Contact the park for more information at 402-857-3373.

LINCOLN, Neb. – Learn all aspects of bow fishing at a clinic July 29-30 at Eugene T. Mahoney State Park. Participants will learn basic bow fishing skills, including knowledge of archery equipment and fish identification. The free event will take place from 9 a.m. to noon at CenturyLink Lake. A park entry permit is required.

CHADRON, Neb. – The public is invited to learn about and search for “Creatures of the Night” at Chadron State Park. On Saturday, July 8, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission outdoor education specialist Amanda Filipi will lead attendees on a journey to explore the park’s nocturnal animals, such as bats and owls. The group will meet at the lagoon deck near the park’s office at 8:30 p.m. The activity is open to the public free of charge, but a park …

CHADRON, Neb. – Amateur disc golfers and canoeists are being invited to participate in fun competitions at Chadron State Park on Sunday, July 9. As part of Chadron’s annual Fur Trade Days celebration, the park will be the site of the inaugural Disc Golf Challenge at 1 p.m., followed by the Kiwanis Fur Trade Regatta, the yearly canoe race, at 3 p.m. Each event will begin with registration at the shelter near the park’s lagoon 30 minutes prior to start. …

Update: This version changes the date of a Family Fishing Event in Broken Bow to July 21 and adds a Fishing is Fun Event at Victoria Springs SRA on July 22. LINCOLN, Neb. – The following is a listing of Nebraska Game and Parks Commission events and important dates in July. Get more event details at Calendar.OutdoorNebraska.gov. Visit OutdoorNebraska.org for a list of hunter education classes and boating safety classes. July 1 – Archery fishing of game fish is allowed …

LINCOLN, Neb. – A health alert is in effect for Rockford Lake in Gage County, while Pawnee Lake in Lancaster County remains on health alert for a second week. During water testing earlier this week, the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality detected elevated toxin levels produced by blue-green algal blooms in Rockford Lake. Visitors to Rockford State Recreation Area should avoid full body contact activities such as swimming, wading, skiing, jet skiing, etc. Non-contact activities such as boating, fishing and …