24 NEBRASKAland • JUNE 2016
PHOTO
BY
JUSTIN
HAAG
Yellow Banks Wildlife Management
Area
Northeastern Nebraska
Yellow Banks Wildlife Management Area is notable for its
splashes of color: red sumac, purple phlox and yellow clay
along the banks of the Elkhorn River. "Turkeys often frequent
the area, and the wooded areas are interesting in the spring
– there are all sorts of different plants, flowers and fungi that
grow here," said Nguyen. "It's a good place to catch views of
the Elkhorn River."
Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area
Western Nebraska
The Wildcat Hills region along the North Platte River Valley
"is magnificent," Haag said. The area features canyons, forested
buttes and ridges that in some places rise to nearly 1,000
feet. Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area features a great view
of the valley. Four miles of hiking trails winding through this
landscape around ponderosa pines and hills are sprinkled with
colorful flowers. Bighorn sheep, pronghorn, elk, mule deer and
wild turkeys live in and around the hills. During your trip, you'll
definitely want to make time to see Chimney Rock, Scotts Bluff
National Monument, Courthouse Rock, and Jail Rock, which are
outcroppings along the northern and western edges of Wildcat
Hills.
PHOTO
BY
ERIC
FOWLER
PHOTO
BY
JENNY
NGUYEN
