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8 years ago
I called to verify the hours and spoke with Patty. Very nice lady. We will head over from Valentine and resume the review after a visit. read more
3200 Highway 20
Crawford, NE 69339
(308) 665-2929
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http://trailside.unl.edu/
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Yes, Trailside Museum has free WiFi.
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**June 2025: Sunday Morning Visit**…read more The city of Chadron is very quaint, but this Museum had a lot of really great artifacts and displays. I loved seeing many of the Native American tools, clothes, and ceremonial items as well as learning about gun powder, the different furs and . It was also really eye opening to learn about the fur trade and the way of living back in the day. This is a Small-Mediumish sized museum that's really well arranged. I spent about 90 minutes reading everything, watched the 10 minute video, and checked out the outside fur trade post reproduction as well as the gift shop. For $6 Adult Admission I think it was a great place to check out!
Went Aug 2025 and firstly the closing hour is 5pm in the summer and 4pm in the winter. The museum…read morevolunteer we talked to hadn't heard of Yelp so I don't expect the hours to be adjusted here. My family and I enjoyed the visit but from a historical perspective we would have liked to seen more native history in fur trade from before the settlers. They had a few panels addressing it but we personally would have liked more. They have a AAA discount for entry. The museum mostly covers 1600-1900 but 1800s primarily. As a blacksmith it was really nice to see many iron and blade works up close. It was fun to see they had antique pieces and furs to buy in the gift shop which made it unique to a museum gift shop.
Dolls and Shoes
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Inside a Fur Trading Post
Knowledgeable and welcoming staff! The two-level museum gives a great overview of the history Fort…read moreRobinson. The gift shop is stocked with many different books on Nebraskans history as well as gifts for little ones.
Better call to make sure it is open....... We drove way out of our way to go and they CLOSED LAST…read moreWEEK! Lady at counter was so cold almost made me shiver as we walked out! She could have at least gave us a brochure instead of the stink eye!
Rees's Roots - Crazy Horse Memorial Site at Fort Robinson State Park
Lusk is a pretty small town and we are only staying here for two nights. When we checked into our…read morecampground, they gave us a little brochure about the stagecoach museum and highly encouraged us to stop in if we had some time. A lot of times the small time museums are a little kitschy, but this is not one of those. They actually have some authentic items from the past and it was very impressive. It's actually much larger than it looks with several buildings out behind the facility, including an old store as well as a one room schoolhouse. They even have a sheepherders rebuilt wagon that was really impressive to see. It is free to visit, but they do accept donations. I would definitely take the time to stop in here, perhaps on your way to Rapid City to stretch your legs.
It doesn't really get more mid-Western charm than this museum…read more We pit-stopped in Lusk, the largest little town between Cheyenne and our destination in the Black Hills, for a tank of gas and a leg stretch. We ended up checking out the Stagecoach Museum and I'm glad we did. This is a part of Americana that needs to be seen, a slice of the Oregon Trail not seen on a green-and-black computer screen. The expanse and openness (is that the same thing?) of Wyoming is breathtaking NOW, in the 21st century. Can you imagine when whole families packed up and moved themselves out quite literally into the middle of nowhere for a chance at a better life and embraced life in that wide open? The artifacts in museums like this and those settler's descendants that now occupy towns like Lusk are what remains of that time. I greatly appreciated getting to know the pioneering spirit of that time and what life was like. Glad we went.
Edison Amberola 30, 4 minute play, 1915-1929
U.S. Army Wagon
I got the chance to visit this museum after a business trip and was impressed by the collection of…read moreassorted artifacts they had. Was fun to learn, even for a lifetime resident of the state.
This gem is a must-see. The way it is laid out, the type of engagement opportunities that are…read moreinteractive, and not just for kids. Information was presented in a way that it is easy to absorb and wasn't too much. We read, laughed, gasped and teared up at the history we learned from this fabulous museum. Top favorites: technology changes to the smart phone, dresses from each era, kitchen/home details and access to Staff was personable and helpful, eager to please.
If you want to find out about the history of western Nebraska, stop at this museum! There are…read moreterrific displays about pioneer life, Conestoga wagon, even divining for water. The museum is located near the entrance to the Scottsbluff National Monument national park. They have a display of Japanese that were early pioneers to the area. Very shortly a building built by Japanese pioneers called the Japanese Hall will be moved to the museum! One of my favorite displays was a collection of quilts. There was a newspaper quilt with old newspapers as filler for added warmth and a gorgeous cherry blossom quilt. Set aside at least a couple hours to see everything!
Issei (Japanese first generation) picture
Front of the museum
Japanese Hall plans
What a hidden gem! This museum is so worth a stop! The variety and quantity of items in their…read morewell done exhibits was amazing! Cynthia (volunteer) greeted us and did a wonderful job giving us an overview of this museum. This was Hot Springs K-12 school and each "classroom" has been transformed into collections of different areas of life here. There's something for everyone and even a place for children to dress up in period clothing. They love to answer any questions you may have. You will not regret taking time to explore this fabulous museum.
This is a fabulous museum filled with history and artifacts. The old school is gorgeous. It is four…read morefloors and huge! We spent a couple of hours walking around, reading, and reminiscing. Everyone there was having a good time from young to old.
Old medical equipment
Beautiful attic
"Crazy-ass passion is the staple of life and persistence its nourishing force. Without them, you…read morecannot cross the trail." ― Rinker Buck, The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey **Please Note this visitor center is temporarily close for expansion/renovation at the time of my writing this. No timeline is available for it's re-opening but there is a temporary one setup in the meantime** Visitor center for Scotts Bluff that includes lots of historical displays and info about the area. Here's the highlights: -Free entrance to the park -Clean restrooms -Oregon Trail wagon train displays outside -Get your NPS Passport stamp -Filtered water bottle re-filler (not available during remodel) -Educational displays -Friendly and knowledgeable docents and rangers -Gift shop Must-stop for those visiting Scotts Bluff if for nothing else but a restroom break.
Small but interesting museum. Learned some new info. Gift shop was good also. Nothing out there but…read moreit was worth seeing.
🐂Oregon Trail Museum & Visitors Center🐂
This museum has a bit of everything. It's a place clearly run off of love of local volunteers for…read morethe community. They cover homestead to the first Macintosh. It's a good place to bring a family and let everyone go look at what they think is interesting. Their volunteers are also very kind and happy to help. If a building is locked up they'll unlock it for you. Just gotta ask and maybe you'll accidentally get a private tour of the place . They mentioned in fall they have some events too so if you're interested give them a call for details.
So many things! We just spent a couple of hours and really enjoyed the diversity of the exhibits. A…read morelittle something for everyone. The docent had such interesting information.
Quilts
Main entrance.
We were staying at the little hotel right next door (which is amazing, by the way), but it was an…read moreeasy walk from that parking lot to this one, and so we decided to go here, even though it was not on my itinerary originally. If you don't know me, which I'm almost positive you don't, swaying from my itinerary is not something that I usually do or something that I take lightly...so it kind of has to be awesome for me to do that. I came because a few of the reviews said that this place was even better than they had expected, and I am very happy to report that this is true. This entire place looks and feels like a labor of love. We didn't get to watch the entire movie in the theater, but whatever we did see, shows how much of an effort it was to go through and make this building and exhibition. This is the kind of place that makes you feel like you are a homeschooler, which I love. I loved how educational it was, and how much we learned during the trip here. The QR codes are awesome to go at your own pace and learn at each different station. There were people there that were willing to answer any questions and others that were digging up at the site and it felt like a very interactive experience. Because I had not already planned for this in advance, we were only able to give the site around an hour and a half, but I think to fully enjoy it, you would need to have around 3 hours worth of time available to come here. I'm grateful that we were even able to go for as long as we did. It was well worth the trip. The gift shop was also great. And we got binoculars and cute little magnets to take with us.
Well done! Very informative displays and easy to navigate. QR codes at each site play a narrative…read moreof what you are looking at during the self guided tour. Takes about 1-2 hours to see everything. Gift shop is okay and there is a snack shack out front selling hotdogs/hamburgers/ chicken strips and nachos. I would highly recommend stopping by The Mammoth Site if you are in the area.
The Heritage Center is an amazing hole-in-the-wall Native American fine arts gallery, museum,…read morecultural center and gift shop located in the historic mission building on the campus of Red Cloud Indian School. The Center hosts The Red Cloud Indian Art Show, an annual nationally-recognized fine arts exhibition with a wide variety of pieces from emerging and seasoned Native American artists. The show really falls in line with the other greats like Santa Fe Indian Arts Market, Heard Arts Market, Eiteljorg, and others - you won't be disappointed. It always takes place from early June through early August. The authenticity of the work, art show, and items in the gift shop are outstanding. Being part of the 125+ year old Red Cloud Indian School - named for the famous Oglala Lakota war chief whose grave sits on a hill overlooking the Center - The Heritage Center is part of their nonprofit. This means that the price you pay for gifts goes to support local artist initiatives, art programs for youth, and to support the school system directly - which boasts some amazing statistics for their Lakota students. And with all this, admission is FREE - a huge bonus for me! (but donations are welcome to support the cause). PRO TIP: ask for a free tour and if you're lucky (and you ask) they might show you the back room where they store their massive 10,000 piece historic collection with items from the early 1800's though present day. They told me they recently sent pieces off to The National Museum of the American Indian!! Full disclosure - I do work with people who work there and they've totally won me over - but I'm sure if you visit, they'll win you over too!
Folks at the annual art show - it's all FREE admission. WOOT!
Main gallery space.
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The girls at the stable were very nice and you could tell they work very hard. We did a pony ride…read moreand a stagecoach ride and the kids had a great time. Next time we are going to try the trail and the jeep ride.
Best Burger and fries I have had in a long time. Waitress was very nice and knows her business…read more Recommended highly
The folks running the Stateline Casino are as accommodating and decent as you will ever find…read more Anywhere. A regular stop on the way to / from Sturgis; they've let us hang out, gamble, have cold beer, and don the dreaded helmets for the trek through NE. On the way home they always ask how our trip was and allow some medicinal imbibing to quell the shakes. Their Bloody Mary is a thing to behold. Simply amazing. And if you are lucky enough to have the adorable barmaid make it - her smiling persona helps soothe a hungover soul. As an unexpected bonus; the owner has a FREE helmet check service. Leave it there on your way up, pick it up on your way back. Great folks in an otherwise oppressive state.
Great place for small town golf! Staff is extremely friendly and the course is well kept! The 19th…read moreHole is inviting as well! I'm an out-of-towner (West Coaster) but would play here anytime! Fun course! Unfortunately it's about once a year that I make it back!
My Dad and I played here for the first time this morning since we are in the Chadron area for a few…read moredays. The course itself was beautiful, nicely maintained, and it was a welcome challenge. On hole one I hit my ball into the sand pit. This was my second time playing golf, and I didn't know I was supposed to rake the pit. This group of local guys were coming up the hole behind us after we had headed to hole 2 and started screaming at us from a long ways. My dad went over to talk to them, and the guy was a complete jerk saying it's "rude people like us that ruin the fun" and calling us names. I am a very careful and respectful person and did not know to rake or by all golly I would have! It ruined our day and fun. Those guys about hit us also when we were finishing up putting on hole 1. I respect people who instead of yelling from a mile away actually were adults and drove over to talk to us about it. That being said the course was great, but the people of Chadron were not.
We were able to catch the Sunday matinée after church today. One of my kids watched the Blue Beetle…read moreand me and my other son watched the Meg 2. All the staff were incredible polite. The theater was clean. While we were in our movie the ac was working incredible well, prices were so affordable AND the owner gave both of my kids movie posters! This was the absolute best theater experience we have EVER had and we plan to be back every Sunday.