Photos: National landmarks of Nebraska
Within Nebraska, the National Park Service has designated three national monuments, five national historic trails and two national rivers.
Together, these landmarks chart a broad path across Nebraska history, from prehistoric landscapes through pioneer settlements, many of which continue to be explored and enjoyed today.
Don Parmenter, left, of Gering and Casey Debus of Morrill wait momentarily at Scotts Bluff National Monument while the mochila transfers horses. In 2008, the two riders participated in a Pony Express re-ride that began in Sacramento, California, and concluded in St. Joseph, Missouri.
The Willow Island Pony Express station sits in a city park in Cozad, Neb. First used as a trading post, the station also served as a stage coach stop for the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company. The cabin was originally built on a bank of the Platte River, south of present-day Darr, Neb., and was moved here in 1938.
Markers south of exit 231 on Interstate 80, between Lexington and Cozad, designate the nearby sites of the Willow Island Pony Express station, left, and the Oregon Trail.
Trail riders move down the Oregon Trail at Ash Hollow State Historical Park during the Convergence on Sacred Ground event in 2017. In full, the Oregon Trail spanned over 2,000 miles and crossed six states, in which trail landmarks, settlements, wagon ruts and other traces can still be seen today.
The Oregon Trail Wagon Train passes over a bed of white "plains bee balm" on the first day of a four-day trek. Once a popular tourist attraction, participants were able to experience a little of what the pioneer journey over the prairie near Chimney Rock was like.
For both Native American tribes and pioneers traveling westward, Chimney Rock, now a National Historic Site near Bayard, was the first of two important markers along the Oregon, Mormon, and California trails in the Nebraska Panhandle. The unique geological formation, along with the landmark at Scotts Bluff National Monument, less than thirty miles away, appears mentioned in the writings of many early settlers.
Max Cawiezel operates an antique John Deere sugar beet digger with the help of Belgian horses Bob and Ben at the Farm and Ranch Museum near Gering, Neb. Historical equipment and farming techniques were a part of the museum's eighth annual Harvest Festival in 2004.
The Homestead Act of 1862 offered incentive, in the form of 160 acres of free land, to pioneers moving westward. Homestead National Monument commemorates this historic event, housing an extensive collection of homesteading artifacts and offering interactive exhibits documenting the lives of early settlers. On display here is a 1945 Allis Chalmers Model C tractor, used in Alaska on the nation's last homestead.
The Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail traces the path of early Mormon settlers from Illinois, through Iowa and Nebraska, towards Wyoming and Utah. Two notable encampment areas — Winter Quarters in north Omaha and Kanesville in Council Bluffs — served as vital stops along the way.
Dave McKeag, trail boss and wagonmaster from Council Bluffs, prepares to lead the 150th anniversary Gold Rush Days wagon trail ride to California. The ride started from the Western Historic Trail Center in Council Bluffs, and included a stop overnight in Omaha.
The Missouri River, as seen from the Chief Standing Bear Bridge connecting Nebraska and South Dakota, near Niobrara on the Lewis & Clark trail. Two segments of the river, totaling just over one hundred miles, make up the Missouri National Recreational River.
The Lewis and Clark replica keelboat of The Discovery Expedition of St. Charles, Missouri, pushes up the Missouri River across from downtown Omaha. As part of the 200th anniversary celebration of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, reenactors followed the original route of the expedition up the river, stopping at several cities along the way.
Rapids attract visitors to the Niobrara River's Rocky Ford area. Only a fraction of segments of rivers in the United States are able to be designated under the National Wild & Scenic Rivers System - the 76-mile stretch near Valentine qualifies by being a free-flowing segment with accessible undeveloped shoreline and clean or managed water. Rocky Ford, a popular take-out site for canoes and float trips, is privately owned, but past negotiations have considered turning it over to the federal government to ensure continued public access.
Sunset shadows at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument.
"I've gone full Elon Musk," said Paul Holt, who has owned Lincoln's embattled former Holidome since 2013. "I've literally said, 'OK, everything's just gonna ride or die on this thing.'"
