The Nature Conservancy. Protecting nature. Preserving life.™

Location

Wood River, Nebraska 

Hours

Open year-round, dawn to dusk.

Please:

1. Stay on trail.
2. No littering.
3. No camping.
4. No smoking.
5. No dogs. (There are large numbers of cactus on the trail.)
6. Leave it as you found it. (Cattle may be present along the trails.  Please be sure to close and latch the gate behind you.)

What to See

These prairies have a great diversity of plants, particularly grasses, sedges, and wildflowers.  That plant diversity provides resources and habitat for a host of animal species, from insects to birds.  During summer, common bird species can include grasshopper sparrows, bobolinks, dickcissels, upland sandpipers, bobwhite quail, sedge wrens, eastern and western meadowlarks, and many others.

The west trail passes through restored mesic and wet-mesic prairie.  These lowland grasslands are on alluvial soils - soils formed by historic Platte River flows.  The resulting mixture of sandy and sandy-loam soils distributed across the landscape results in a patchwork of plant communities tied to those soil types.  Plant species such as bluestem, indiangrass, Canada milkvetch, purple praire clover, and wild bergamot are common in these prairies.

The east trail starts in mesic prairie but soon travels uphill into sandhill prairie.  Both the restored and native portions of this prairie are underlaid by sand dunes constructed by historic winds blowing sand from the wide Platte River valley.  The plant communities on these sandhills are dominated by plants such as sand lovegrass, sand dropseed, needle-and-thread, stiff sunflower, blazing star, spiderwort, and many others.

What the Conservancy Has Done/Is Doing

The Nature Conservancy is using a combination of prescribed fire and grazing to maintain the plant diversity in these prairies.  Both fire and grazing are major historic forces that shaped grasslands and they continue to be important tools for grassland management. 

Questions? Email us or call (402) 694-4191.

Things To Do

Plan Your Visit

Please see the trail guide for a more details. The trail guide

Directions

Highway 11 to the Derr house from the Wood River exit is closed starting October 18th.  Alternate routes:

Coming from the east: Take I-80 to the Alda Exit (305); go south approximately 3 miles; go west on Platte River Road; this road follows the river so it's a winding one.  Follow this west.  You will come to a Y in the road, but stay on Platte River Road.  (If you're headed south, you're not on Platte River Road.)  Keep heading west and you will eventually meet Hwy. 11.  Across the highway you will see the shop/crew house - go one mile on the highway to the Derr house.

Coming from the west: Take I-80 to the Shelton Exit (291); go south one mile to Denman Road; head east. Stay on Denman Road until you meet up with Highway 11.  Take a right onto the highway and go approximately one mile to the Derr House. 

Discussion

Have you been to this preserve? Are you thinking of visiting? See what others are saying about their experiences and add your comments below.

Add Your Comments

Time for you to join the discussion. Tell us about your experience at this preserve. What plants and animals did you see? When did you go? You can help others plan their visit when you share your thoughts. And thank you for visiting one of our nature preserves!

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