Parks

LINCOLN, Neb. – A Teddy Roosevelt impersonator appearing May 13 at the Fort Kearny Outdoor Expo is funded by a grant from Humanities Nebraska (HN) and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment. This impersonator will be just one component of a heritage encampment area at the Expo. The encampment area is an official event of the Nebraska sesquicentennial celebration. Other encampment activities will include outdoor heritage bingo, sample cast-iron Dutch oven food, and watching blacksmithing and hide tanning. The annual Expo, to …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Join the festivities May 13-14 as Ponca State Park (SP) celebrates Mother’s Day and International Migratory Bird Day. May 13’s activities include an introductory archery course, bird mask craft and face painting, interactive bird game, bluebird box building, and scavenger hunt. Fees apply to some activities. The park’s Mother’s Day buffet from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 14 includes roast beef, ham, a salad bar, green beans almondine, cheesy potatoes and Dutch oven cobbler. The …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Residents and visitors of Johnson Lake should be aware of a seining operation this week to remove common carp from the lake. Johnson Lake Development Inc. has hired Jeff Riedemann, a commercial seine operator from Cambridge, Minnesota, to deploy a seine from a boat to capture and remove carp from the south-central Nebraska lake. Any seined game fish must be immediately released unharmed back into the water. The seining operation, which should not last more than a …

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will host an open house in Fort Calhoun on May 18 to take public input on the design charrette for Fort Atkinson State Historical Park. The open house will take place from 5-7 p.m. at the Fort Calhoun Fire Hall, 602 N. 14th St. The design charrette, a planning session where citizens and stakeholders collaborate on the vision of a development project, will take place May 17 and 18. It will …

LINCOLN – Enjoy an outdoor adventure with family or friends and experience Nebraska parks by joining The Great Park Pursuit (GPP) for a chance to win prizes. The goal of GPP, a partnership between the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and the Nebraska Recreation and Park Association, is to promote active lifestyles while increasing awareness of the state’s nature-rich outdoor recreation opportunities. This is done by encouraging participants to visit up to 20 GPP sites located across Nebraska between May …

LINCOLN, Neb. – The dump station at Niobrara State Park will be unavailable from May 8-18, 2017.  During that time, compression concrete testing will take place at the dump station site. This testing is part of a park-wide road renovation project that will add an asphalt overlay to the approximately 7 ¾ miles of roads within the park.  All vehicles entering the park must have a valid Nebraska park entry permit. Permits are available at outdoornebraska.org, as well as at …

“What wild creature is more accessible to our eyes and ears, as close to us and everyone in the world, as universal as a bird?” – David Attenborough Are Everywhere You Are One thing you cannot help in this world is seeing birds. They are virtually everywhere! Look up, look down, look over there, go to the waters, the woods, the wavy field of grass or watch through the window of your home, you’ll see birds. More than 450 species of birds …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Free Fishing and Park Entry Day in Nebraska is May 20. Enjoy a Saturday of fishing or state park activities without the need to purchase a fishing or park entry permit for the day. Free Fishing and Park Entry Day, held annually in Nebraska on the Saturday preceding Memorial Day weekend, means anyone can explore outdoor opportunities at any Nebraska state park, state recreation area or state historical park. Anglers must observe all fishing regulations. Camping, lodging …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Visitors to Calamus State Recreation Area will find a new shower house in the Valley Vue Campground. The amenity was built as part of a deferred maintenance project. Vehicles entering the area must have a park entry permit. Permits are available at OutdoorNebraska.org, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission offices, and at the park office. Calamus, a popular fishing and camping destination, is located 5 miles northwest of Burwell in Loup County. For more information, call the park …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Get closer to nature with fun, interactive activities for all ages at Ponca State Park on April 29. Take an introductory shotgun course from 9-11 a.m. using the park’s equipment. Participants must be at least 12 years of age. During the 11:30 a.m. Feeding Frenzy program, a naturalist will feed the animals in the Resource and Education Center, including snakes and frogs. Be prepared to touch worms and crickets in this program. Paint Ponca’s woodland wildflowers during …