Niobrara National Scenic River Visitor Center — Attraction in Valentine

I have been to MANY Scenic River VIsitor Centers, so I thought Niobrara would be just another run-of-the-mill SRVC: couple of picnic tables, a few infographic signs, geese that hiss at you with murder in their eyes- you know, the usual. But this little gem in Valentine, Nebraska exceeded even my wildest expectations. It was almost like someone had gotten ahold of that notebook that I use to write down all of those incredible waterside highway attraction tourism ideas and turned them into the happiest, most welcoming place of joy a boy could imagine. I knew that there was no lack of exciting places in visit in Nebraska, but even that legendary Nebraskan reputation for titillation doesn't do this place justice!

In all my travels I have never seen water that is so wet! It was like floating on a raincloud but without the inconvenience of the cloud. While wading near the shore, I found a broken Colt .45 malt liquor bottle that the sunlight reflected off of in poetic fashion. It was like watching Picasso vomit glitter onto a moist canvas. As the sun went down over Niobrara, I was reminded of all of the beauty that there is in this world and also that part in Pay It Forward when that kid dies and was reduced to a puddle of emotion. I cried the type of tears one cries when simultaneously overwhelmed by breathtaking beauty and the thought of a child actor being stabbed.

This would be a great place to take someone...

We didn’t actually make it to the river, just the visiting center. We’d been driving all day and still had a long drive ahead of us so we opted for a quick lunch at a park close by. We were not disappointed! We found an old (Gen X) park with all the equipment of our childhood. Our teen daughter got a kick out of it and our excitement, while playing along with us. I hope age and weather is the only thing to take...

We drove along the river for an hour without realizing it was part of the river valley and were amazed with the views, Stopped at the overlook outside Valentine and a group of rangers were there doing training. It was very nice meeting them and learning a bit about the area. The actual visitors center is quite small with very little parking but overall a very...