Fort Kearny
We have always kept our eyes out for state parks that might be gems. We found one in Nebraska along the Platte River very close to I-80. It is Fort Kearny State Park and Recreation Area. The recreation area has a great campground in the midst of 7 sand lakes. There is lots of shade and the space between campsites is great. We found a site that backed right up to one of the lakes. It was still hot but the shade trees made it bearable.
In the photo above Ann & I were getting ready to go for a evening bike ride. There are great paved bike trails that start in the park and cross then follow the Platte River. The photo below was taken from an old railroad bridge that crosses the south channel of the Platte (not to be confused with the South Fork or the South Platte).
The river here is said to be "a mile wide and a foot deep". Early explorers were hoping it might be a route to the Northwest but found it to be so shallow and shifting that they pronounced it useless for navigation.
Instead, settlers heading west along the Oregon Trail came through here in wagon trains and one of their stops was Fort Kearny established in 1848. The original fort was decommissioned in the 1870s and demolished but the farmer who bought the land decided not to plow and plant that area so in the 1960s, when he donated the land to the state, much was able to be done to research the site and rebuild portions of the fort.
This area is one of the prime viewing spots for the annual Sand Hill Crane migration in late February through early April. I would love to come back here for that. Below is one of the viewing areas and a shelter used by the viewers.
In the photo above Ann & I were getting ready to go for a evening bike ride. There are great paved bike trails that start in the park and cross then follow the Platte River. The photo below was taken from an old railroad bridge that crosses the south channel of the Platte (not to be confused with the South Fork or the South Platte).
The river here is said to be "a mile wide and a foot deep". Early explorers were hoping it might be a route to the Northwest but found it to be so shallow and shifting that they pronounced it useless for navigation.
Instead, settlers heading west along the Oregon Trail came through here in wagon trains and one of their stops was Fort Kearny established in 1848. The original fort was decommissioned in the 1870s and demolished but the farmer who bought the land decided not to plow and plant that area so in the 1960s, when he donated the land to the state, much was able to be done to research the site and rebuild portions of the fort.
This area is one of the prime viewing spots for the annual Sand Hill Crane migration in late February through early April. I would love to come back here for that. Below is one of the viewing areas and a shelter used by the viewers.
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