Nebraska City
Founded in 1854 on the Missouri River in the state’s southeast, Nebraska City quickly became a jumping-off spot for the Oregon Trail. Central Avenue’s business district, the former trail route, invites shoppers to browse its boutiques for unique finds. History buffs can learn about the city’s early days at the Old Freighters Museum and the Kreigel Windmill Factory Museum. And visitors to the Lewis and Clark Missouri River Basin Visitors Center experience the sights and sounds of this famous expedition.
“Nebraska City’s 11 museums focus on history, and most offer group tours and will accommodate off-hours requests,” said Amy Allgood, executive director for Nebraska City Tourism. “Autumn is an especially beautiful time to visit, with our colorful foliage.”
September’s annual AppleJack Festival kicks off with a downtown parade, the AppleJack Craft Fair and the River City Classic Car Show. Orchards offer hayrack rides and you-pick apples. The Arbor Lodge State Historical Park honors the legacy of J. Sterling Morton, whose stately, 52-room mansion was surrounded by more than 260 species of trees. Costumed docents lead house tours, and living-history weekends in the fall feature vintage baseball and Victorian crafts. Adding to your group’s experience, the Adirondack-style Lied Lodge and Conference Center, originally designed and built by the Arbor Day Foundation, attracts guests with an Olympic-size indoor pool and newly remodeled rooms.
Kearney
Arriving in waves from late February to early April, with their numbers peaking in March, more than 600,000 sandhill cranes converge on the Platte River Valley near Kearney. It’s the world’s largest gathering of these birds, which stop to rest and feed before flying to their summer breeding grounds in the far north. Optimum viewing begins 30 minutes before sunrise and sunset. The Rowe Sanctuary provides blinds overlooking the river; reservations open January 2. The Audubon Nebraska Crane Festival features birding experts and guided field trips, March 22-25.
“The migration is unique because groups can take both morning and late-afternoon birding tours with different experiences each time,” said Roger Jasnoch, director of the Kearney Visitors Bureau. “With about six hours in between, groups can explore other attractions.”
Additional attractions include the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument, which spans Interstate 80 and commemorates the California, Oregon and Mormon trails. The Classic Car Collection, on the campus of the local Cabela’s outdoor store, displays 200 vintage cars from the early 1900s to the 1970s. Fort Kearney can host a lunch or an evening around a campfire while docents recount its role in westward expansion. Affectionately called the MONA, the Museum of Nebraska Art celebrates artists who were born, trained or worked in Nebraska. The museum’s gift shop sells original art and Nebraska-related books.
Red Cloud
The National Willa Cather Center, located in south-central Red Cloud, honors its hometown Pulitzer Prize-winning author. Although Cather’s 20th-century novels reflect her Midwestern roots, she also wrote stories about Canada, the Southwest and Virginia. Red Cloud claims the nation’s largest collection of historic sites dedicated to one author.
Dedicated in June, the center hosts workshops and film screenings, and groups can schedule lectures during their visits. A monthly production takes place at the Red Cloud Opera House, site of Cather’s 1890 high school graduation speech. Town excursions include Cather’s childhood home and six other sites. Cather’s love of the prairie extends to the unplowed, 612-acre Willa Cather Memorial Prairie, which features three hiking loops.
“The country tour covers 10 to 15 sites, including the family’s homestead between Red Cloud and Bladen,” said Jarrod McCartney, heritage tourism director for Red Cloud. “The actual farmhouse from ‘My Antonia’ is on the itinerary, and people can relive the end of the novel there.”
For more information go to www.visitnebraska.com.
