8 Unbelievable Weekend Getaways in Nebraska

The Nebraska prairie is an unexpected setting for the international celebration of trees, but indeed it was here that J. Sterling Morton began planting trees, shrubs and bushes in the 1850s that would eventually become the Arbor Day Farm. The state arboretum here has more than 270 kinds of trees, and more than 2800 plantings overall.

Nebraska City makes a romantic getaway – especially in the spring months, when lilac bushes and other blooming trees invite sneaking a kiss and cuddling behind the blossoms.

However, Nebraska City is equally educational and fun for families. Explore the tree adventure trail, climb in the tree house village and take part in all of the activities offered in outdoor classrooms. Come in the fall for hayrides among the apple orchards and to watch apple cider being processed.

Here’s a fun fact that will probably blow your mind: there are more billionaires per capita in Omaha than any other city in the U.S. You may know the name Warren Buffett. He still lives in Omaha and when he started his company, Berkshire Hathaway, many of the first investors were his friends and neighbors.

All of that money allows for well-funded arts organizations, like the Joslyn Art Museum, the Omaha Symphony Orchestra and Lauritzen Botanical Gardens. The Omaha Community Playhouse, which puts on six shows a year, is not only the nation’s largest community theatre, it’s also where Marlon Brando and Henry Fonda made their first stage appearances.

Of course, Omaha is famous for great steakhouses, but you’ll find every type of ethnic cuisine imaginable here, with heavy emphasis on eastern European. The railroads that built Omaha brought immigrants from every corner of the world. Learn more about that history with a visit to the Durham Western Heritage Museum located inside Union Station.

One of my favorite destinations in Omaha is the Old Market District, where brick streets will lead you to some of the Midwest’s most interesting boutiques, art galleries, bookstores and coffee shops.

As the state capitol and the home of the University of Nebraska, there’s always something going on in Lincoln. Many of those activities will be in Haymarket District, where you can spend a full day exploring brewpubs, antique shops, bookstores and all sorts of interesting stores. Find a fabulous souvenir in the From Nebraska shop or check out the crazy flavors at Licorice International, the country’s largest licorice store.

But here are some fun, off-the-beaten path reasons to visit Lincoln: The National Museum of Roller Skating, the historic UNL Dairy Store for ice cream and the International Quilt Study Center.

When I visit Lincoln, I always make time for a visit to the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden on the UNL campus. It’s a place to feed your soul, especially on Tuesdays in June with free jazz concerts in the garden.

Hastings is one of those places where you can have a serious conversation about Bigfoot sightings and no one will look at you like you’re crazy. That’s because Hastings is home to the country’s only Bigfoot Museum and Research Center. You can listen to Bigfoot talk, investigate footprints and learn a bit more about Sasquatch while you’re at it.

Another famous character that calls Hastings home is the Kool-Aid Man – that bright red talking pitcher known for breaking through brick walls. Kool-Aid was invented in Hastings in 1927 and has an entire wing devoted to the sugary drink at the Hastings Museum. Plan a weekend getaway to Hastings the first full weekend in August for Kool-Aid Days and enjoy all the flavors and silliness you can imagine.

The Central Nebraska Children’s Museum offers more fun for kids, as do water parks, disc golf courses and the Hastings Planetarium.

If you are a bird watcher, Nebraska’s Sandhill Crane migration may already be on your radar. Each spring, roughly between Valentine’s Day and Tax Day, more than 600,000 sandhill cranes settle in to the cornfields and nearby sandbars of the Platte River in central Nebraska to fatten up for a few months. It’s one of Mother Nature’s most spectacular events that draws visitors from around the world.

If you can’t make it during the crane migration, Grand Island offers a great weekend of history at the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie and plenty of local art at the Prairie Winds Art Center downtown.

You can’t say you’ve been to Grand Island without a stop at the Coney Island Café, a local favorite since 1933. In addition to hot dogs, the chili is fabulous – or just order a malt and enjoy the local vibe. Plan your weekend getaway to Grand Island the third weekend in June for the Coney Island hot dog eating contest.

An airboat tour is something you might expect to do on a Louisiana swamp, but it’s the unexpected thing about a weekend getaway in Fremont. Pack a lunch for a wild afternoon on the Platte River, or a dinner for a sunset cruise filled with wildlife and fabulous scenery via one of two airboat companies.

Most people come to Fremont for the arts and antiques. A half dozen or more antique shops specializing in books, furniture, toys and the like make for a wonderful day or two of exploring. The community also has two art museums and lovely art galleries. Come for a girls’ weekend getaway and enjoy a luncheon at the Louis May Museum.

If you are a person who loves American history and family genealogy, a weekend getaway to Beatrice will stir your heart strings. From your high school history classes, you may remember the Homestead Act of 1862, which basically gave away more than 270 million acres to anyone willing to work the land for at least five years. Ellis Island in New York Harbor opened to accommodate the nearly 12 million European immigrants who responded to the promise of free land.

It is believed that the very first homestead claim filed was for this acreage in southeast Nebraska, thus the location of the Homestead National Historical Park. Find help researching your family story, listen to oral history recordings and shake your head in awe at the fortitude of these pioneers. The story of Native Americans should not be overlooked.

Walk trails through the tallgrass prairie, explore the cabin where Daniel and Agnes Freeman raised a family and built a life. One in three Americans are descendants of a homesteader, including me.

What started as a fun family tribute to a deceased loved one in 1987 has now become a delightful reason to put Alliance, in the Nebraska Panhandle, in your GPS.

It’s called Carhenge – basically a mimic of England’s famed Stonehenge, but fashinoed out of old cars and pick-up trucks. Spend an afternoon wandering the pathways of this former wheatfield, learning a little about Stonehenge and the engineering feat that makes it and Carhenge possible. The Summer Solstice at Carhenge is a party to remember.

For more outdoor time, visit the Sallows Arboretum and Conservatory, which will inspire the gardener and weekend farmer in understanding the native plant life of western Nebraska. Military history buffs can learn about the military bases that operated in this region during World War II at the adjacent Sallows Military Museum.