When I visited this site, there were about 100 elementary school students having a field trip at…read morethe same time. Talk about chaos! Despite this, the rangers were all very cheerful and able to answer our questions. Daniel Freeman was one of the first people to file a claim under the Homestead Act of 1862, and the NPS site is built on his claim site. The visitor's center is expansive, with two floors. The bottom floor has the lion's share of the exhibits, and even has a window into the preservation arm of the museum where relics are stored. There is also a gift shop on the ground floor. The outside has a prairie with trails, and a small example cabin. The NPS did a good job cramming as much as they could into this site, as even the barb wire surrounding the prairie has different variations to showcase the wire used back then. Don't miss the Homestead Education Center, which is a short drive away from the visitor's center. There's a whole room with old farm equipment, and a small path that goes on a small suspension bridge. Across the Education Center is the the Freeman School, which was closed unless we wanted to call a ranger to open it up. I could peek through the windows though!

A good stop to stop by on the way back home, there are quite a few historical buildings such as the…read moreFreeman School along with a visitor's center with exhibits relating to homesteads in the 19th century.

Always a great place for families/couples/kids. Just all the way around a great experience. Clean…read moreand very well maintained play equipment.

Wow what a diamond in the ruff! We were passing through stopping off highway 80 for a break from…read moredriving and we found this gem. To our surprise when we arrived there was a miniature train running around the park. We bought 4 tickets, $1 for kids, $2 for adults. There was even a man dressed as the train conductor, tooting the horn and getting the kids excited for the ride! Once we were done with our train ride we headed over to the playground that was fairly large insize. Lots of bridges, ladders, hideouts and slides. Was a blast for my kid. We finished the stop up with a popsicle from the concession stand. Also worth noting there are indoor bathrooms, although extremely dated and poorly designed. That is about the only negative on this fun stop. Highly recommended detour if you are headed down 80.

I think the pictures of the pilgrim cabin are little misleading when referring to the bunk beds…read more It's a basic cabin the couch was dirty so we placed a sheet over it. The a.c. ran great and the fridge is a good size. All the people we encountered were friendly. They also had Xmas in August so it was fun to see all the lights

Lovewell State Park may be located in North Central Kansas, but you couldn't prove that by looking…read moreat all of the Nebraska license plates running around here. That's OK, we are also from Nebraska because honestly there isn't anywhere nice up here. The State of Kansas does charge $5 for a daily vehicle permit or $25 for an annual permit before you enter the park. Once inside the park, you notice there is a huge lake complete with a beach and shower house, picnic areas, cabins for rent, tons of campsites and the Lovewell Marina & Grill. Lovewell State Park is a very clean park with something for everyone. My family loves it here!

This was a really nice park. There are about 2 miles of trails. The trails are paved (a little…read morehilly) and there is lots of green space around them. There's a playground, frisbee golf, bathrooms (I think) and more. It was a really nice place to run in, I would recommend it The only bad thing is I couldn't easily find parking- Google maps took us to the entrance but there was no where to park so we parked in the church parking lot.

Pretty park located next to Hastings College! This park consists of trees and grassy areas…read moresurrounding a long pond with fountains. The sidewalk runs between the water and a street lined with historical homes. I was told that one circle around the park is approximately one mile. Heartwell park also features a couple bridges, plenty of benches, swings, a playground, a small swimming pool, and pet waste stations. Cute place to walk, bike, or feed ducks!

Pioneer Park is one of the best attractions in Nebraska…read more This park has it all (puts on SNL Stefon voice): -History (the pillars that were part of the original treasury building) -Culture (the statue and story of Red Cloud) -Nature (the beautiful scenery and ponds) -Wildlife (the buffalo/deer/etc) And it is just a few minutes from Lincoln and a short drive from Omaha! I would definitely recommend this place to anyone who is looking for a relaxing, but still adventurous, activity!

I was looking for another fun park to do some exploring. I found this and decided to check it out -…read morethere is so much here to see. I really wish I had known and found the older exploratory part of the park earlier in the day - I spent too much time on the picnic-y parts of the park, but I enjoyed it. The signs were a little bit misleading - there are parts of the exploritory area that are closed to the public but there was no warning of that when you were heading that way. I actually really enjoyed the bird observatory and the bridge. It was such a hot day but I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Love going by, through, and in this historical park in Licoln Nebremaska. It's the original park in…read moreLincoln since 1867. Really beautiful and green when there is a lot of precipitation! A huge place to walk around. Not too far from my brother's current residence. If you are ever in the area, stop by this park for a visit!

Place is a great spot! Small cute little town of Aurora and the camping area is right next to a…read moregreat playground and water park for the kids. This park is great! Partial hookups with dump station right there and free WiFi what a perfect spot for 4 days!

This is an excellent stop. Free water and electric for rv. We are in 40ft 5th wheel. We had to back…read moredown road to get in the back spot but worth the effort. Public swimming pool at end of road (100ft) $4 admission worth it too. Well kept secret. THANK YOU, AURORA FOR YOUR HOSPITALITY. July 1. Plainsman Museum great stop. We spent 3 hours absorbing the information that

Very nice camping spot in southeast Nebraska. Restrooms were clean. Park was well maintained. Would…read morestay again.

Loved this place! I bet it would be even more fun with people around or at least someone to guide…read moreme a little. Being alone wasn't half bad either, but kind of felt lost and overwhelmed because posted material isn't very clear. There was a map of all the things you can see, including Hickok's cabin where he hid out, old Pony Express Station and more. If it wasn't so cold and I had better shoes on and more time, I might have spent a lot more time hiking the area. It's fairly large. There is a lot to see as I made my way around the barely beaten paths. Gravesites for fallen pioneers (you can see the cross in the middle left of the picture), ruts from the wagons and old buildings. It was cold, like I said, so I didn't go all the way through but hope to return when it's in season and people are there to explain some things. I was most excited about the Oregon Trail ruts. They were very deep, some of the deepest in the country I believe. I blame it on my days of playing Oregon Trail on the computer but I love seeing Oregon Trail remnants. It's hard to imagine that this is the same river the wagons crossed over, the rocks that made it hard to pass. Right here! Fairbury, Nebraska is about an hour and a half from Lincoln. Fairbury has been closely connected with railroading for much of its history. It was founded on the projected route of a railway, and grew as a shipping center. For nearly 80 years, it was the location of the Western Division headquarters of the Rock Island Railroad. Fairbury prospered with the Rock Island, and lost business and residents as the railroad declined.