Trails West Region, Nebraska
Tour some of the most spectacular terrain within the state as you relive the days of the pioneers along the Oregon and Mormon Trails. The North Platte River yields life-giving irrigation to keep fields green and fertile. The lush cropland contrasts sharply with the rugged buttes and table land that signal the beginning of mountainous terrain to the west.
Explore Trails West Region
The Stone Building
The Stone Building is a two-story structure built in 1893-94 of rough-cut, locally quarried limestone. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Kimball, NE Historic BuildingsHistory of Ash Hollow
Archaeological excavations in Ash Hollow indicate that early man used the area as much as 6,000 years ago. A small rock shelter in the side of the bluff near the park visitor center was used as a campsite by later Plains Indians for about 3,000
Oshkosh, NEScotts Bluff National Monument
Named for fur trapper Hiram Scott, this imposing natural formation was originally called ma-a-pa-te ("hill that is hard to go around") by Indians in the region. Scotts Bluff, rising 800 ft above the surrounding valley floor, and 4649
Gering, NE LandmarksWind Farm
Capturing the Prairie Wind Truly a site to see, the Kimball Wind Farm was operational in August of 2002. The Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska (MEAN) owns and operates the 10.5 megawatt wind farm consisting of seven turbines. Each turbine stands nearly 350
Kimball, NE Structural LandmarksBattle of Blue Water
This historical marker recounts the largest engagement between United States troops and Native Americans ever fought in Nebraska territory, and one of the 12 largest engagements between Native Americans and the white man. On September 5, 1855, the U. S. Army's 600
Oshkosh, NE Historical MarkersBrookside Farm
The Brookside farm (also known as the Gridley-Howe-Faden-Atkins Farmstead), illustrates an historically typical farmstead evolution in Nebraska. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Kimball, NE Historic HomesGarden County Museum
An early 1900s school house and an old opera house/theater located downtown are filled with historic items, Indian artifacts, fossils, and a bird collection of 300 stuffed specimens. A second museum building at the south end of Main at E Avenue is a larger building for larger exhibits.
Oshkosh, NE MuseumsChappell Memorial Art Gallery
One of the most rare and valuable collections of art in western Nebraska, the Chappell collection features works by Rembrandt, Aaron Pyle, and unusual oriental art.
One wall of the gallery displays fascinating work created by local artist, Aaron Gunn Pyle, deceased, a well known
Chappell, NE ArtsRobidoux Pass Trading Post
Following the Oregon Trail can be quite exciting, imagining the pioneers that must have traveled the path, what they were like, what they were thinking and what they went through to conquer such terrain as is found at Gering's Robidoux Pass, listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Gering, NE Pioneer LifeTitan Missile
In 1962, Kimball marked its place in history when construction began on a vast complex of Minuteman Missile silos. Kimball is the center of the largest complex of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles in the world, with about 200 Minuteman III ICBMs in silos in the tri-state area. In 1968
Kimball, NE Monuments