Parks Guide

Pawnee Lake, NE is a State Recreation Area located about 12 miles west of downtown Lincoln, Nebraska and three miles northwest of Emerald, Nebraska just off I-80 at Exit 388. This area features 207 primitive campsites – 68 with electrical hookups. Recreation opportunities include fishing, swimming, picnicking, and wildlife watching. Facilities at Pawnee include a [...]

Merritt Dam, a feature of the Ainsworth Unit, Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, is on the Snake River 14 miles upstream from the confluence of the Snake and Niobrara Rivers. Recreation is managed by Nebraska Game and Parks. Reservoir open 24 hours. Good access roads. Available species include walleye, muskie, largemouth bass, crappie, and yellow perch. [...]

Virginia Smith Dam (formerly called Calamus Dam) and Calamus Reservoir, North Loup Division, P-SMBP, are on the Calamus River in Nebraska. Recreation at the site is managed for the Bureau of Reclamation by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Reservoir open 24 hours. Good access roads. Fishing season is year round. Available species include walleye, [...]

Recreation at Hugh Butler Lake, Frenchman Cambridge Division, in southwestern Nebraska, is managed for the Bureau of Reclamation by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. The Frenchman Cambridge DIvision extends from Palisade southeast along Frenchman River and from Trenton east along the Republican River. Water storage facilities consist of the Enders Reservoir and Swanson, Red [...]

SST’s area available year round at the fish pond. Campground has a 33 x 90 foot swimming pool with depth varying from 4 to 10 feet. Pool was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1936. The Historic Scott Lookout Tower is three miles from the campground. Tours of the Tower are available from Memorial [...]

The building that houses the Durham Western Heritage Museum used to be known as Union Station. It was built by Union Pacific Railroad as a showpiece in the city of their headquarters. The station was designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood in the classic art deco style. Underwood had free reign in designing the building, so [...]