Kearney Attractions

Fort Kearny was founded in 1848. It was the first military post built to protect the Oregon Trail. The grounds include a stockade and a blacksmith shop.

The Great Platte River Road Archway Monument is dedicated to the journey of the pioneers westward along the Great Platte River Road. Visitors can join a wagon train, experience a prairie crossing, a buffalo stampede and a stopover at a frontier fort.

At the Kearney Area Children's Museum children and parents experience hands-on science, technology, culture, and arts exhibits. Displays include a television station, a grocery store, a medical center, a train room, and an old soda fountain.

The Museum of Nebraska Art in Kearney features works from the the first Nebraskans and contemporary artists. The permanent collection has over 5,000 works. An outdoor sculpture garden is on the grounds.

The Trails and Rails Museum is housed in an 1898 Union Pacific depot in Kearney. The depot has a waiting room, depot agent's office, a freight room and a baggage room with exhibits. Other buildings on the grounds include an 1898 Baptist Mission Church, the county's first frame schoolhouse and the 1884 Loup River Freighters Hotel.