Niobrara Valley Preserve

The Niobrara Valley Preserve of the Nature Conservancy is a 50,000 acre area dedicated to preserving a unique biological crossroads of five ecological zones, including both sandhills and riverine ecologies. It has two self-guided hiking trails passing among paper birch-shaded canyons, hardwood forests, tallgrass prairie, river marshes and pine groves.

More than 200 varieties of birds and 70 species of butterflies make the preserve their home. In the meadows, 250 head of bison roam free. Other wildlife include mule and white-tailed deer, antelope, turkeys, and bobcats.

Address: Sixteen miles north of Johnstown on the Norden Road
Phone: 402-722-4440

Miller Hotel - NHR

The Miller Hotel in Long Pine was originally built as a two-story frame house in 1895. It was converted to a hotel in 1914 when a ten-room wing was added. The hotel is historically significant for its association with the

Ainsworth, NE National Register

Johnstown

In 1991, the village of Johnstown was the site of filming for the CBS Hallmark Hall of Fame movie, "O Pioneers!" Viewing the old fashioned main street with board sidewalk is a trip down memory lane with a unique "Old West" appearance.

Johnstown was established in 1882

Ainsworth, NE Historic Towns

Sellers-Barton Museum

The first museum was a log cabin built in 1936, with logs from the Niobrara River. Mrs. Nettie Sellors provided the funds for

Ainsworth, NE Museums

Cowboy Trail

By the late 1800s, the United States saw railroad tracks stretched, like a giant web, across its entirety, carrying cargo and travelers towards settlement in the West. Long silenced, abandoned, and almost forgotten, a hundred years later the rails are beginning to see travelers once again. They'

Ainsworth, NE Recreation

Niobrara Canoeing

Recognized among the 10 top canoeing rivers in the nation by Backpacker magazine, the Niobrara River flows leisurely through steep sandstone canyons. Nebraskans also rank the river, designated a National Scenic River by Congress in 1991, in the top 10 favorite tourists stops in the state.

Ainsworth, NE Recreation

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