Why Niobrara River:
The Niobrara River flows along the extreme northern edge of Nebraska. The section near Valentine, Nebraska is a National Park Service site known as the Niobrara National Scenic River. The site, in north central Nebraska, is notoriously remote. However, it is only 2 hours from Pierre, South Dakota where I visited on a road trip from Sioux Falls. So, I decided to seize the opportunity and visit. The most popular way to see the river is by a float trip, so I pre-booked with an outfitter.
June 15, 2024: God’s Cow Country
After exploring Pierre, I drove two hours south through the empty plains. After passing through the Rosebud Reservation, I crossed into Nebraska. A sign proudly welcomed me to “God’s Cow Country”, the moniker for Cherry County. Cherry County, for some reason is like 6 times larger than any of the surrounding counties. Cherry County is larger than the state of Connecticut.
30 minutes later, I reached the town of Valentine.
Valentine is a beautiful with a recently restored downtown. There is clearly money here. It is the county seat of Cherry County, is probably a beef industry hub and receives tourists floating on the Niobrara.
For dinner, I went to the Peppermill Restaurant, the oldest steakhouse in town. How could I not given my location?! Based on the waitress’s recommendation, I ordered the prime rib which came from local beef. It came topped with an American flag toothpick. It was delicious and about ½ the price of a prime rib in LA.
I then visited a grocery store to buy supplies for tomorrow’s float.
Finally, I visited a local brewery. As the only brewery for at least a 90-minute drive in any direction, it was THE spot for local ranchers to gossip.
I camped outside the floating outfitter’s office, as arranged. The office was about 20 minutes out of town. I set up my tent in an empty field, watched the sunset and went to bed.
June 16, 2024: The Solo Float
I woke up at 6:00 to my tent shaking. The wind picked up rapidly with 30 mph gusts. After artfully taking down the tent without it blowing away, I headed off to do some exploration.
My first stop is Smith Falls State Park. This park contains Nebraska’s highest waterfall. The falls are part of the standard float in the park, but since I did not plan to bring the phone on the float, I decided to stop here first to take photos.
I then drove briefly into town to get the stamp from the National Park Service visitor center. There, I learned how this obscure park came to be. The Niobrara River is one of just 3 free flowing rivers in the Great Plains and looks markedly different from the surrounding Sandhills region. In the 1970’s and 1980’s, the river became popular for floating, adding a new source of income to a region almost exclusively built on ranching. However, in the late 1980’s, a dam was proposed that would turn much of the river into a lake. In 1991, the park was formed to further boost tourism and protect the river. The National Park Service governs the water itself, while nearly all the land on either side is privately owned. Many locals were worried about the federal government being a stakeholder in the region, but so far, people regard the Park Service as a good steward.
Back at the outfitter, it was time to go. I drove my car to the end of the float at Brewer Bridge and then loaded into a shuttle to the start of the float at Berry Bridge. Besides me, there was a family of four who lives in South Dakota but used to live near me in Los Angeles!
At Berry Bridge, we got out of the van, and loaded onto our inner tubes. It was technically not a tube, but more like a floating platform. I floated solo while the family all floated together.
The river was surprisingly shallow- just a foot or two in most spots. It was also flowing fast! There were only Class I rapids.
The terrain surrounding the river was forests and cliffs.
With no phone or distractions, I was left with nothing but my thoughts as I floated down the river. For most of the time, I was completely on my own without anybody else in sight.
After three hours of floating (one less hour than expected), I reached Brewer Bridge and my waiting car. Per the instructions of the outfitter, I ditched the tube there.
After eating a snack, I set off east back towards Sioux Falls, stopping briefly at the confluence of the Niobrara and Missouri rivers at the town of Niobrara.
After three hours of lonely driving across the plains, I reached Yankton, South Dakota’s 7th most populous city and home of the visitor center for the National Park Service’s Missouri National Recreational River. I ate dinner at Charlie’s Pizza House, the most iconic restaurant in the city. With its Scottish tartan carpet floors and walls and in-house arcade, this was as classic a Midwest restaurant as you can get. I sat at the bar.
I ordered a small pizza, cheesy bread and water to drink. However, I noticed that the bartender kept putting olives into the beers. The bartender called this a Midwest Martini. Gross!
I then got a drink at The Ice House, Yankton’s most iconic bar. Due to an unusual liquor license dating to its founding in 1928, liquor is allowed to be consumed anywhere on the premises including…in your car. The car can even be turned on! However, once you take a single step onto the sidewalk, you are fair game for an open container ticket.
After parking in the tiny lot, the owner of the bar, 3rd generation of the family who founded the bar, took my order through the car window drive-in style. I ordered a Leinenkugel Summer Shandy, an upper Midwest classic. Per tradition, I smashed the empty can against a wall in the parking lot.
I enjoyed the atmosphere so much that I had a second beer. This time, I drank it inside the bar (yes they have a gigantic indoor area) and chatted with the owner and his friends. Given this was a Sunday evening, there weren’t many people around, but I was told that on Friday and Saturday evenings, the bar and parking lot are packed.
Finally, I visited the Meridian Bridge over the Missouri River.
The time was now 20:30 and the sun was getting low. My original plan was to camp on the Nebraska side of the river. However, I checked the weather and noticed a scary storm warning. Before deciding my course of action, I drove over to the National Park Service visitor center and noticed that the stamp was available outside in a box. With the stamp in hand, I had no need to spend the night and was able to drive back to Sioux Falls and stay with Tim and Vonna.
Final Thoughts:
The Niobrara River is a hidden gem. While remote and surrounded by little of interest, floating down the river through beautiful scenery on a warm summer day is hard to beat. Valentine, Nebraska is within weekend-trip driving distance from Omaha, Sioux Falls and (surprisingly) Denver. Logistics are easy with multiple outfitters in town who all offer camping.
While nice, Yankton offers little to the average tourist. It most likely has a regional (within 1-2 hours) draw for boating. The town also has a shocking number of bars in the downtown so if you end up there, you are bound to have a good time.
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