Homestead National Monument
Homestead preserves 100 acres of restored tallgrass prairie. Although…”a restored prairie will never exactly repeat the original mix of plant and animal life…the species composition of the tallgrass prairie at Homestead successfully resembles that of presettlement times.” Cub Creek Woodland is a “…ribbon of lowland bur oak forest along Cub Creek and on the edge of the Great Plains…” Despite 140 years of cutting, grazing, and lack of fire “…this forest represents the best example of what settlers in Nebraska would have encountered. It is the edge of the world of tree to the east; a last creeping finger of shade.”
Thanks to Tara Burnette of the National Park Service for sending me the link for Accessibility at Homestead. She writes, “Although, it does not go into great detail about the natural prairie trails there, they exist. A great “nature fix” does exist there in the spring, summer and fall from experience. The staff there is very proactive in including people with disabilities.” Wheelchairs are available, call ahead.
Hiking Trails Here is the Monument’s website. Phone 402-223-3514 Brochure
“The hiking trails consist of crushed rock and/or mowed grass, and have moderate inclines in places. There are hard-surfaced sidewalk paths from the Heritage Center to the Palmer-Epard cabin and from the Education Center across the Cub Creek walking bridge.”
Category: Nebraska Federal
Oglala National Grasslands
Oglala National Grassland
The Oglala National Grasslands are in the northwestern corner of Nebraska, north of Crawford. “Find your way to the Hudson-Meng Bone Bed site where you can take a tour and learn about the history of this area, walk through the unique features of the Toadstool Geologic Park, or just spend some quiet time in the wide open spaces of the 94,000 acres of mixed grass prairies. ”
Described in Britannica. The Grassland is in both South Dakota and Nebraska. The headquarters is in Chadron, NE but the visitor center is in Wall, South Dakota. Two trails are mentioned but with no indication of difficulty.
Here is the Grasslands’ website. For questions about trails in the Oglala National Grassland or Nebraska National Forest you could call Mike Watts at 308-432-0390 or the Chadron Office at 308-432-0300.
? The Toadstool Geologic Area in the grassland has a one mile interpretive loop. However, according to NebraskaTravels.com, it might be too difficult to include on this site. Mike Watts of the Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands says that the first 1/3 mile of the trail used to be accessible, but it has suffered a lot of erosion.
Nebraska National Forest and Grasslands
Nebraska National Forests and Grassland
Pine Ridge National Recreation Area
“The Nebraska National Forest encompasses nearly 1.1 million acres of land in central and northwest Nebraska and in central and southwest South Dakota. The administrative units comprising the Nebraska are the Nebraska and Samuel R. McKelvie National Forests and the Buffalo Gap, Oglala, and Fort Pierre National Grasslands.”
Here’s the website for the Nebraska National Forests and Grassland. The Pine Ridge National Recreation Area lies within it. Pine Ridge is described here by SummitPost.org and on Oh Ranger.com.
For questions about trails in the Oglala National Grassland or Nebraska National Forest you can call Mike Watts at 308-432-0390 or the Chadron Office at 308-432-0300.
Here are some suggestions from Mike Watts. Use discretion – remember that one person’s Easy is another’s Challenging.
“……..a few sections of trail and areas to hike that are scenic and relatively easy.
1. Soldier Creek Campground, South Fork Trailhead. The Trooper Trail follows the drainage of the South Fork of Soldier Creek for about 3 miles before it heads up into the hills. This part of the trail is relatively level with rolling terrain. There are a few short steep sections and a few small creek crossings. This section of the trail is in the Soldier Creek Wilderness.
2. Soldier Creek Campground, Middle Fork Trailhead. A two track unmarked trail follows the Middle Fork of Soldier Creek drainage. The two track enters the Wilderness after 1 ½ miles and continues for about another 1 ½ miles before it heads up into the hills. This is level to gently rolling. A variation of this is to take a two track trail that forks in the sidebar up the North Fork of Soldier Creek about ¼ mile from the campground. This 2 track is relatively level for about 1 mile before it intersects the Boots and Saddle Trail.
3. From Chadron State Park take the paved loop road to the top of the loop. Take the gravel road to the Black Hills Overlook. After approximately 2 miles the road dead ends at a parking lot on Forest Service land. From the parking lot take the Black Hills Overlook Trail. The trail follows ridges through an old burn area and is level to gently rolling with a few short steep pitches. After about 1 mile the trail begins to get steeper as it drops in elevation just before the trail forks. The right hand fork will take you down to the Chadron State Park Campground. The other fork will take you to down to the Outrider Trailhead on Forest Service. Both of these forks are approximately 1 mile.
4. Approximately 5 miles south of Chadron on Highway 385 turn east on King Canyon Road. Continue east across a cattle guard onto Forest Service Road 733. After about ½ mile on Road 733 a high clearance or 4WD vehicle is recommended. Approximately 1 ½ miles from the start of Road 733 at the top of a hill you can access a section of the Pine Ridge Trail that follows a ridge through an old burn area. Parking is available next to the road. Follow the trail to the north for about 1 ½ miles. This section of trail is mostly level to gently rolling. There are a couple of short steep pitches. After about a mile when you reach a fork in the trail take the left fork out to an overlook.”