Family travel in Nebraska

Nebraska's Lake McConaughy state recreation area (courtesy jakesmome on Flickr CC)Every week or so until we run out of states, I’ll be posting about family-friendly vacation ideas, attractions and events in each one of the US states, taking input mostly from Twitter and Facebook.

Yes, I know how to search for travel ideas on a destination or attraction Web site, but a tweet or a Facebook Wall recommendation is a much more engaging and public way to spread the word.

Please don’t email suggestions to me; that’s nice but it is one-to-one communication. Tweet me and/or Facebook me, so that all of our networks can see what’s cool about your state.

We’re going in alphabetical order but started with the end, so our first state for the series was Wyoming, then we investigated Wisconsin, West Virginia,  Washington,  Virginia,  Vermont,  Utah, Texas,  Tennessee,  South Dakota,  South Carolina,  Rhode Island,  Pennsylvania,  Oregon, Oklahoma,  Ohio, North Dakota,  North Carolina, New York, New Mexico, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Nevada and now we’re moving on to….Nebraska!

They are doing a solid job with social media:  @NebraskaTourism represents that state on Twitter, they have a Facebook Fan Page, they share videos on their YouTube channel and they’re perfect for road trips with tons of scenic drive podcasts.

When I asked for Nebraska ideas, here’s what came in….

Twitter Travel Tips for Nebraska

***  From Theresa via @SixSuitcaseTrav on Twitter – Have always loved hiking in Fontenelle Forest in Bellevue, NE. The Omaha Children’s Museum is great place for kids. Good times for all and membership worthy. Check out the Arbor Day farm in Nebraska City, NE home of the Arbor Day Foundation, tour includes a free tree seedling. A must visit is the Henry Doorly Zoo and a stop by Zestos for the best malts in the world!

***  From Anne Szustek via @the59thStBridge on Twitter – Omaha has some great vintage clothing shops [appeals to tweens, teens.]

***  From Kayt Sukel via @TravelSavvyKayt on Twitter – Lincoln NE has a really cute Children’s Museum: https://bit.ly/AIekL.  And I’ve heard good things about the zoo: https://bit.ly/tSl2K

***  From Sarah V. via @Wandering_Off on Twitter – Omaha:  Strategic Air & Space Museum is fun! Joslyn Art Museum also good.

Facebook Travel Tips for Nebraska

***  From Linda Wolfgram Kramer on Facebook – Something I came across that looks interesting: at Fort Robinson State Park, you can sleep in a “cabin” crafted from the fort’s old enlisted or officers’ quarters.

A friend who lives in Nebraska highly recommends Railroad Days, which take place in Omaha and across the river in Council Bluffs, Iowa. She liked it enough to write five blog posts for me about it: https://minnemom.com/2008/08/03/railroad-days-5-great-stops-2-days-10/

***  From Bill Genereux on Facebook – Right now is the best time to see the sandhill cranes along the Platte. Amazing to see! https://www.nebraskatravels.com/sandhill-crane-migration.html

Homestead National Monument, near Beatrice. https://www.nps.gov/home/index.htm

Fort Robinson is where Crazy Horse was when he was killed. Must see Cabelas in Sidney or Kearney. Speaking of Kearney, the Platte River Monument is worth a visit.

Pioneer Village in Minden used to be a cool place but I dunno how well it’s been maintained. It’s been years. I want to take my kids sometime though.

Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo https://bit.ly/taYGU and the Strategic Air & Space Museum, Ashland https://bit.ly/cOA2GP

According to a friend, Omaha also has a children’s museum, railroad museum, Kansas City Royals minor league team, downtown slides, riverwalk, carriage rides. I’ve been wanting to take my family to Omaha for a while, but we haven’t gotten it done.

***  From Jeanne Cole on Facebook – Minden NE has a really awesome museum with so many things to see you can’t do it in a single day! I called Pioneer Village, here is the link https://www.pioneervillage.org/ and, yes I have personally been there for two days! Our classic car group took a road trip to Minden in late 2005. Probably time to go back!

***  From Kay Bell on Facebook – Minor league baseball! Rosenblatt Stadium is home of the College World Series (https://www.cwsomaha.com/);  I got to attend some of the CWS games the summer I spent in Omaha. The rest of the summer Rosenblatt Stadium is home to the Omaha Royals, the Triple-A affiliate (top level of minor league ball) of the Kansas City Royals since the Royals joined the American League in 1969. https://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/index.jsp?sid=t541

Thanks so much for the contributions, everyone!

The BootsnAll Travel Network has an Omaha, Nebraska Travel Guide as well.

The next state in the series is Montana.

Send your Montana highlights to @SheilaS on Twitter or write them on my Facebook Wall (please tell me you’re a 50 state-er if you want to friend me.)

My purpose for this series is not only to highlight worthy kid-friendly vacation destinations in all 50 states, but by using Twitter and Facebook I want to also encourage tourism organizations to learn more about connecting with their visitors using social media and online networks.

Please add your own Nebraska suggestions in the comments below, if we’ve missed anything. Thanks!