Nebraska has a 63-foot waterfall fed by Ice Age springs and most locals have no idea

It’s 19 miles from Valentine

You don’t expect a 63-foot waterfall in north-central Nebraska. But Smith Falls State Park, about 19 miles east of the small town of Valentine, has exactly that.

The water drops from a canyon wall on the south side of the Niobrara River, fed year-round by underground springs connected to the Ogallala Aquifer.

You can walk right up to the base and feel cold mist on your skin in the middle of July. The falls are just the start, though.

The river valley around them holds ice age trees, more than 200 waterfalls, and one of the quietest trails in North America.

From a homestead claim to a state park

Early settlers called it Arikaree Falls, named for the Native American tribes who lived along the Niobrara River Valley. In 1896, Frederic Smith filed the first homestead patent on the land, and his name stuck.

Fred Krzyzanowski bought the property in 1941 and added a picnic area and campground.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission leased 250 acres from the Krzyzanowski family in 1992, making it the state’s newest park. The family renewed that lease for another 25 years in 2018.

A brand-new boardwalk leads to the falls

A 500-foot boardwalk opened in May 2023 after eight months of work. The whole thing sits on a steel frame with composite decking and aluminum handrails.

It’s fully ADA-compliant, with a wheelchair-accessible ramp and a separate set of steps. Benches line the route, and a viewing platform partway up gives you a lookout over the stream below.

From the end of the boardwalk, you can take the steps down and stand at the base of the 63-foot falls.

Cross the 160-foot bridge with two lives

To reach the falls, you walk across the Verdigre Bridge, a pin-connected iron truss span over the Niobrara River.

Workers originally built it in 1910 near the town of Niobrara, where it carried highway traffic for decades.

When crews retired it from road use in the early 1990s, they saved it from the scrap heap and moved it nearly 155 miles. Three giant cranes reassembled the 30-ton, 160-foot bridge at the park in 1996.

Now it’s a footbridge, and a good spot for watching kayakers and tubers float below.

Six ecosystems collide in one river valley

The Niobrara River Valley sits at the biological crossroads of the Great Plains.

Six distinct ecosystems meet here, including eastern deciduous forest, western pine forest, and northern boreal forest species. Ponderosa pines grow near paper birch trees.

Tallgrass prairie borders mixed-grass and Sandhills prairie. The valley’s terrain drives this mix.

North-facing slopes stay cool and shaded while south-facing slopes bake in the sun. More than 500 plant species grow along the Niobrara, many at the very edge of their natural range.

Ice age trees still grow in the canyon

The canyon around Smith Falls stays much cooler than the land above it. It’s narrow, and direct sunlight barely reaches in.

That microclimate has kept ice age plant species alive here for roughly 10,000 years, since the last glaciers pulled back.

You’ll find the Smith Aspen, a one-of-a-kind hybrid of quaking aspen and bigtooth aspen that grows nowhere else on Earth. Paper birch trees also survive here, far south of their usual range in Canada.

But those birch trees aren’t reproducing, and scientists worry they may die out as temperatures warm.

Float a gentle 76-mile stretch of the Niobrara

Congress protected the Niobrara National Scenic River in 1991, covering a 76-mile stretch. Tens of thousands of people float it every year, making it one of the most popular river trips on the Great Plains.

The current runs three to seven miles per hour, so even beginners can handle it. You pick your craft: canoes, kayaks, or inner tubes.

Float times range from a couple of hours to a full day.

Smith Falls State Park works as a common landing spot, so you can hop off and see the waterfall mid-trip.

More than 200 waterfalls line the river

Smith Falls gets the attention, but it’s just the tallest of more than 200 waterfalls along the western third of the Niobrara National Scenic River.

They pour from canyon walls and spring-fed streams, dropping straight into the water below. Fort Falls and Berry Falls are two popular ones you can spot right from your canoe or tube.

Groundwater from the Ogallala Aquifer feeds them all, keeping the river flowing even in dry spells. Rushing water stays with you the whole float.

Watch 350 bison roam at Fort Niobrara Refuge

A short drive west of the park, the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge covers 19,131 acres along the river. About 350 American bison roam the rolling Sandhills prairie there.

Elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer, coyotes, and prairie dogs share the land.

More than 230 bird species have turned up, including bald eagles, prairie chickens, and sharp-tailed grouse.

A 3.5-mile scenic drive from the visitor center takes you through bison country, and the Fort Falls hiking trail leads to yet another waterfall.

Hike the Jim MacAllister Nature Trail loop

The 1.5-mile Jim MacAllister Nature Trail loops through the Niobrara River Valley near the falls.

Signs along the way point out the unusual overlap of ecosystems, and you can see the shift from prairie grasses to woodland canopy in a matter of steps.

The trail climbs about 190 feet, with some sections following the canyon rim. It reopened alongside the new boardwalk in 2023 after crews closed it during construction.

Give yourself about an hour for the full loop.

Camp right along the Niobrara River

Smith Falls State Park keeps camping simple. Tent sites sit on the north side of the river, right along the water.

You’ll find picnic tables, restrooms, pay showers, and reservable picnic pavilions. There are no RV hookups or electric sites.

You can make reservations online up to a year in advance.

The visitor center opens daily from May through September with maps, park history, a fossil display, and restrooms. If you want to unplug for a night or two, this is the place.

North America’s first quiet trail designation

In 2023, Quiet Parks International gave the Niobrara River its Quiet Trail designation, the first in North America.

The park sits in the Nebraska Sandhills, a stretch of grass-covered sand dunes that covers about a quarter of the state. The Sandhills earned their National Natural Landmark status in 1984.

Valentine, the nearest town, calls itself the Heart City and serves as the gateway to the valley.

The Cowboy Recreation and Nature Trail, a 195-mile path from Valentine to Norfolk, passes nearby and crosses the Niobrara on a former railroad trestle that stands 148 feet tall.

Visit Smith Falls State Park in Nebraska

You’ll find Smith Falls State Park about 19 miles east of Valentine in Cherry County. The park stays open year-round, but the visitor center runs daily only from May through September.

Every vehicle needs a Nebraska State Park Entry Permit, which you can buy at the park, at Game and Parks offices across the state, or online before you go.

Once inside, you cross the Verdigre Bridge footbridge and follow the ADA-compliant boardwalk straight to the falls. Tent camping, picnic areas, fishing, and hiking are all on-site.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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