The Nebraska Outback is the north-central region of the U.S. state of Nebraska. It comprises Boyd, Holt, Rock, Blaine, Brown, Keya Paha and Cherry counties.
Calling this region the "Nebraska Outback" is part of a tourism campaign led by a nonprofit organization called the North Central Nebraska RC & D Council. It is sponsored by six counties, five Natural Resource Districts, 29 local communities and three local Chambers of Commerce.[1]
The North Central Nebraska RC&D Council partners with communities, organizations and agencies to assist the local people in the development of their communities, counties and region. The Outback is bordered by South Dakota on the north, and a small section of the Missouri River runs at the region’s eastern edge. The area has a population of 26,984 people on 12,627 square miles (32,700 km2) of land, or 2.1 people per square mile.
The outback is connected with the rest of Nebraska by way of four Nebraska byways: Bridges to Buttes Byway (Highway 20), the Outlaw Trail (Highway 12) and small sections of the Loup Rivers Scenic Byway (Highways 91/11), and the Sandhills Journey (Highway 2) in Blaine County. The Cowboy Trail is a bicycling, walking and equestrian trail that will eventually cross 321 miles (517 km) east-west from NorfolktoChadron.[2]
Particular attractions in the area have been identified in order to promote tourism throughout the Outback.[3]
| Visitor attractions in the Nebraska Outback | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Location | Notes | |||
| Arthur Bowring Sandhills Ranch State Historical Park | Merriman | ||||
| Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest | Nenzel | ||||
| Spade Ranch | Ellsworth | Listed on the National Register of Historic Places | |||
| Merritt Reservoir | Valentine | ||||
| Snake Falls | Valentine | ||||
| Smith Falls State Park | Valentine | ||||
| Downtown Valentine | Valentine | ||||
| Valentine Fish Hatchery | Valentine | ||||
| Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge | Valentine | ||||
| Lovejoy Ranch Bed and Breakfast | Valentine | ||||
| Turtle Butte Lodge | Springview | ||||
| Uncle Buck’s Lodge | Brewster | ||||
| Sandhills Guest Ranch Bed & Breakfast | Brewster | ||||
| Norden Dance Hall | Ord | ||||
| Keya Paha County Fairgrounds | Springview | ||||
| Brown County Fairgrounds | Ainsworth | ||||
| Niobrara River Road | Norden | ||||
| Meadville | Ghost town | ||||
| Winnetoon | Replicas of early storefronts, schoolhouse, trading post, prairie grass gardens, log cabin and historic city jail. The town "mall" includes a working 1890s post office, antiques, carvings and natural foods store. | ||||
| Sunshine Bottom | Lynch | Settled by German emigrants from the Russian Empire, Sunshine Bottom features settlement patterns and homes similar to those the emigrants left behind in Ukraine.[4] | |||
| Sturdevant-McKee House Museum | Atkinson | ||||
| Something Special by Marilyn | Atkinson | ||||
| White Horse Museum | Stuart | ||||
| Rock County Oil Company Phillips 66 | Bassett | Constructed in 1927 in the Spanish Revival style | |||
| Cowboy Trail | NorfolktoChadron | ||||
| Happy Hollow Cabins | |||||
| Outlaw Trail Scenic Byway | South Sioux City to Valentine | ||||
| Old Baldy | Lynch | Listed on the National Register of Historic Places | |||
| Butte Historical Center | Butte | ||||
| Spencer Museum Village | Spencer | ||||
| Strawbale Saloon | Spencer | ||||
| Brown County Historical Society & Coleman House Museum | Ainsworth | ||||
| Holt County Historical Society Museum | O'Neill | ||||
| Long Pine Heritage Society & Heritage House Museum | Long Pine | link | |||
| Sellor's Log Cabin | Ainsworth | ||||
| White Horse Ranch Museum | Stuart | link | |||
| Rock County Historical Museum | |||||
42°30′N 99°30′W / 42.500°N 99.500°W / 42.500; -99.500 (Nebraska Outback)
