38 Nebraskaland • October 2023
ithout knowing better, the
name might lead some to
assume Sowbelly Creek is
a stream of manure oozing
from a pig farm. Far from it.
The clear, babbling brook between
rugged sandstone buttes in Sioux
County represents the best attributes of
northwestern Nebraska's Pine Ridge. If
it were not located in one of the state's
most sparsely populated regions, visitors
would surely overrun it. As it is, though,
the locals and few others who venture to
this spot 3½ miles northeast of Harrison
bask in the quiet serenity of a site rich
with aesthetics and history.
Sowbelly creek, canyon and road were
named for a supposed incident involving
Fort Robinson back when it was an
important base for the U.S. cavalry and
not the bustling state park of today.
Legend has it that Fort Robinson
W
LEFT: A bumblebee visits a great blue
lobelia fl ower at Coff ee Park.
