Missouri National Recreational River

Missouri National Recreational River

Parks Directory of the United States / US National Parks / National Wild & Scenic Rivers

Address: PO Box 591
O'Neill, NE 68763
Phone: 402-336-3970;
Fax: 402-667-2552;
Web: www.nps.gov/mnrr/
Size: 34,159 acres.
Established: Authorized on November 10, 1978; expanded on May 24, 1991.
Location: Two stretches of the Missouri River, comprising 98 river miles, are protected in northeast Nebraska and southeast South Dakota. The area includes a 59-mile section from Gavins Point Dam near Yankton, South Dakota, to Ponca, Nebraska, and a 39-mile section from Fort Randall Dam near Pickstown, South Dakota, to Lewis and Clark Lake.
Facilities: The National Park Service operates no campgrounds in the park. Nearby campgrounds are operated by the US Army Corps of Engineers in Nebraska (Cottonwood and Tailwaters), the South Dakota Division of Parks and Recreation, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Niobrara State Park, and Ponca State Park.
Activities: Canoeing, kayaking, boating, fishing.
Special Features: The two reaches of the Missouri River protected here are segments of the nation's Wild and Scenic River System. The reach set aside in 1978 from Gavins Point Dam to the vicinity of Ponca State Park still exhibits the river's dynamic character in its islands, bars, and chutes. The reach set aside in 1991 from Fort Randall Dam to Lewis and Clark Lake represents the natural landscape of the Missouri of pre-settlement days. Included in the upper reach are the lower 20 miles of the Niobrara River and the lower 8 miles of Verdigre Creek.

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See other parks in Nebraska.