A Week of Remote Byways and Backroads of the Nebraska Sandhills

[bad luck]

I passed through Valentine, on September 14, and it was overcast and cool weather with a stiff breeze from the south. But I stopped at a couple outfitters to see about floating the river. The guy at Little Outlaw said that the Niobrara river was the second fastest flowing river in Nebraska.(the fastest being the Dismal) It only takes 4 hours to float 18 river miles. That is moving! he also told me that the river is mostly fed from springs, and the water is very pure. And only about 18 inches deep. I was going to rent a kayak, but you have to leave your vehicle at the takeout, and since I was in my truck that wouldn't work. So I went and checked with Grahams, but they had a group of 40 people coming in, and they didn't have any other boats to rent. So I plan on going back next summer with my wife and floating it then. Oh, it is rated one of the top 10 river trips in the country. Also there are supposed to be lots of waterfalls along the banks of the river, the largest one being some 70 feet high, I think.

 

[roverrocks]

I passed through Valentine, on September 14, and it was overcast and cool weather with a stiff breeze from the south. But I stopped at a couple outfitters to see about floating the river. The guy at Little Outlaw said that the Niobrara river was the second fastest flowing river in Nebraska.(the fastest being the Dismal) It only takes 4 hours to float 18 river miles. That is moving! he also told me that the river is mostly fed from springs, and the water is very pure. And only about 18 inches deep. I was going to rent a kayak, but you have to leave your vehicle at the takeout, and since I was in my truck that wouldn't work. So I went and checked with Grahams, but they had a group of 40 people coming in, and they didn't have any other boats to rent. So I plan on going back next summer with my wife and floating it then. Oh, it is rated one of the top 10 river trips in the country. Also there are supposed to be lots of waterfalls along the banks of the river, the largest one being some 70 feet high, I think.

I hope you get it done. Sounds like a blast.

 

[roverrocks]

A few more photos of the western Niobrara River S of Merriman, NE and SW of Valentine, NE. The scenic Niobrara River runs eastward along the northern border of Nebraska and roughly defines the northern border of the Sandhills region. The last photo has two young women kayaking in the upper left center if one clicks on the photo to the highest resolution. They just look like two little white dots a 150 yards away in the unresolved photo. They were south of Merriman, NE downstream from the old metal bridge in my photos.

 

[luk4mud]

Beautiful country. The history of the area would be fascinating to study. it looks like it is straight off a movie set.

 

[roverrocks]

Beautiful country. The history of the area would be fascinating to study. it looks like it is straight off a movie set.

Historical signs I took pictures of during my Sandhills travels in June and July. The early ranching days were most probably very wild. I know Buffalo Bill Cody helped found the cattle ranching around Arthur, NE and the Dismal River as early as the late 1870's. Owned a ranch with a couple of partners in those days.

 

[Foy]

Two good books

Beautiful country. The history of the area would be fascinating to study. it looks like it is straight off a movie set.

A pair of fine reads are two nonfiction works by Mari Sandoz: Old Jules and The Cattlemen. Old Jules was Sandoz's father, an immigrant from Switzerland who pioneered farming practices and fruit tree propagation in the high plains just west of the Sandhills and ultimately staked a claim within them. The elder Sandoz is a celebrated figure in Nebraska history due to his success in farming, but he was less than civil to most, including his family. The Cattlemen tells the story of cattle ranching, starting in Mexico and Texas in the 1700s and spreading north, to and beyond the Sandhills, during the mid- to late 1800s. Given that Sandoz grew up in the vicinity of Rushville, NE, she devotes plenty to ranching in the Sandhills.

The northwest NE college town of Chadron includes the Sandoz High Plains Center, a museum and library celebrating the life, times, and works of Mari Sandoz. It's on my list of places to visit whenever I can get out that way again.

Foy

 

[HuskerJeep]

Is there any ATV/UTV riding available in this area that you know of?

If you are close, Lake McConaughy is allowing open riding on the beach for the first time in almost 20 years.



Edit to add to another post.

Lake McConaughy does not allow ATVs/UTVs on any other weekend then what I posted. It is a great place to go though with any 4x4, and you can camp any place regardless of it is in the trees or on the beach.



Beware of the sand though. It gets deep in certain areas.

 

[HuskerJeep]

First off, great thread and thanks for taking the time to share with us.

I have done some camping on private land next to the Dismal River off of Highway 83. It is truly a hidden gem in Nebraska and fortunately something that I get to do again the second week in October.

 

[CLynn85]

Thanks for sharing. Nebraska is the only state in the continental 48 we haven't been to and thinking about trying to check it off our list this summer. This looks like a good area to explore while we're there!

 

[2025 deleted member]

Enjoyed the report. Not what I expected of Nebraska. Thanks

 

[roverrocks]

Enjoyed the report. Not what I expected of Nebraska. Thanks

Half of Nebraska is beautiful and often remote rangeland in the Sand Hills Prairie and farther west high Shortgrass Steppe/Pine Ridge/Wildcat Hills/Scotts Bluff. A number of beautiful canoeable prairie streams and rivers plus hundreds of natural prairie lakes in the Sandhills. The state is not one giant flat cornfield. Some beautiful state parks too such as the southeastern Indian Cave State Park in the beautiful forest bluffs above the Missouri River with 20 miles of hiking trails and river access. Great birdwatching park.

 

[TripLeader]

Thank you for this thread. I didn't even know it was there! Nice photos.

 

[Timothynaustin]

Absolutely Amazing

First off Big Thanks for sharing.
WOW what a Magnificent Region full of beauty and Remarkable History , Subscribed and fallen in love with the pic`s of this amazing Place.

cheers
A Happy New year.