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visitors and other lodging ensures that
animals will be nearby.
Also adding to the park's Wild West
appeal are weekly rodeos to entertain
visitors during the summer. There are
also horse-drawn wagon tours, rides on
a vintage stagecoach, hayrack breakfast
rides and chuck wagon dinners.
Getting Around
the Park
If horses are not your preferred mode
of travel, there are plenty of other ways
to take in the park's sights. A guided
jeep tour, for instance, takes visitors to
the top of the Cheyenne Buttes for an
amazing view of the park below.
With more than 100 miles of trails,
Fort Robinson is popular among hikers,
mountain bikers and cross country
skiers. Mountain bike rentals are
available at the park's activities center
for those wanting to explore the area.
Well-maintained paved and gravel
roads course through the acreage.
A favorite drive within the park is
Smiley Canyon, which once served as
the main highway between Harrison
and Crawford. Once the site of
many accidents, the road was greatly
improved in the 1950s.
A Wild Park
At more than 34 square miles, Fort
Robinson features plenty of room for
the animals to roam, regardless of
their size. No other Nebraska park
features such diversity in big animals
exemplifying the spirit of the wild.
High in the buttes reside Rocky
Mountain bighorn sheep while herds
of pronghorn, American bison and
longhorn cattle graze among the
grasslands below. Even elk occasionally
enter the park, which is also home to
both mule deer and whitetails.
The park also features many smaller
wild mammals and offers outstanding
birdwatching opportunities. Even
casual observers have strong chances
of spotting golden eagles, wild turkeys,
prairie falcons and sharp-tailed grouse.
Of course, the park also is home to
many smaller avian species, such as
rock wrens in the upper elevations and
Bullock's orioles and lazuli buntings
near the creeks. Woodpeckers and
other cavity nesters have taken a liking
to the areas burned by wildfire.
Hunting and
Angling
Records from the cavalry days
indicate that Fort Robinson has long
An adult bison grazes with a calf along Smiley Canyon Drive.
