Nebraska & Samuel R. McKelvie National Forests
Nebraska & Samuel R. McKelvie National Forests
Chadron, NE 69337
Phone:308-432-0300
Fax:308-432-0309
Web: www.fs.fed.us/r2/nebraska
Size: 257,628 total acres: 141,549- Nebraska NF, 116,079- Samuel R McKelvie NF.
Location:Tracts in northwest and central Nebraska. Accessible by US 20, 83, and 385; NE 2. Nearby towns are Chadron, Dunning, and Thedford.
Facilities:Visitor centers, 9 campgrounds, picnic areas, trails (100+ miles), swimming pool, lookout tower, softball diamond, archeological sites, picnic sites.
Activities:Camping, hunting, fishing, swimming, hiking, horseback riding, rock hounding, bird watching, OHV riding, wildlife watching.
Special Features:Warbonnet and Yellow Hair monuments, memorializing a 1876 conflict between the U.S. Army's 5th calvary and a band of Cheyenne; Soldier Creek Wilderness, with a 15-mile loop trail; Merritt Reservoir, ranked among the best fishing lakes in Nebraska, and Merritt Reservoir State Recreation Area (see entry in Nebraska state parks section).
See other parks in Nebraska.