National parks in Nebraska

Aerial view of the Missouri River and surrounding landscape.

100ESSENTIAL NPS Photo

National Recreational River · SD

Missouri National Recreational River

This is one of the most underrated free parks in the NPS system, protecting two genuinely wild, free-flowing stretches of the Missouri River across South Dakota and Nebraska.

A beautiful, if short, waterfall empties into the side of the Niobrara NSR.

100ESSENTIAL NPS Photo

National Scenic River · NE

Niobrara National Scenic River

The Niobrara is Nebraska's best-kept secret and one of the most activity-rich free parks in the country.

83EXCELLENT NPS Photo / Wesley Gant

National Monument · NE

Scotts Bluff National Monument

Scotts Bluff punches well above its modest size.

The visitor center sits in the middle of mixed grass prairie.

78EXCELLENT NPS Photo

National Monument · NE

Agate Fossil Beds National Monument

Agate Fossil Beds punches well above its size.

A historic cabin stands next to a concrete path that leads to a plow shaped visitor center

76EXCELLENT NPS Photo/Hunter Hendricks

National Historical Park · NE

Homestead National Historical Park

Homestead National Historical Park in Beatrice, Nebraska punches well above its size.

Small waterfall with brown rocks and green moss

74EXCELLENT NPS Photo / Alex Wiles

National Historic Trail · IA

Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail

At nearly 4,900 miles across 16 states, this is less a destination than a framework for road-tripping American history.

A white canvas wagon sits in front of a large rock buttress with mountains in the distance.

62WORTH IT NPS Photo

National Historic Trail · CA

California National Historic Trail

This is not a park you visit so much as a history you inhabit across a 5,000-mile corridor.

Red cliffs line a highway as seen from a high point with grass in the foreground.

62WORTH IT NPS photo

National Historic Trail · IL

Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail

This is not a trail you hike end to end on a Tuesday afternoon.

A wagon swale is cut deep into limestone rock with trees in background.

62WORTH IT NPS photo

National Historic Trail · ID

Oregon National Historic Trail

The Oregon National Historic Trail is less a destination than a 2,000-plus-mile framework for understanding westward migration across six states.

A rider in a red vest on a horse in a grassy patch surrounded by sagebrush with clouds in the sky.

61WORTH IT NPS photo

National Historic Trail · CA

Pony Express National Historic Trail

The Pony Express Trail is less a destination than a framework for a road trip across the American interior.