Fort Robinson State Park - Crawford, Nebraska - State Park

Fort Robinson State Park is located three miles west of Crawford in Nebraska on Highway 20. This former military camp is 22,000 acres of wonderful scenery, historic attractions, camping and activities for visitors. It was initially named Camp Robinson in honor of Lt. Levi H. Robinson, who had been killed by Indians in 1874 and served as a military base from the days of the Indian Wars until the end of World War II.

Here the death of famed Sioux Chief Crazy Horse occurred in 1877 and was also the site of the Cheyenne Outbreak in 1879. A portion of the fort was acquired in 1955 by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and it became Fort Robinson State Park. The following year the Fort Robinson Museum was opened and the park became a National Historic Landmark in 1960.

Visitors to the Fort Robinson Museum will learn about the history of the fort and its role up until the end of the Second World War. There are several buildings here including the 1904 blacksmith shop, the 1908 veterinary hospital, the 1887 officers' quarters, the 1875 guardhouse and adjutant's office, and the post cemetery. A library containing materials about the fort and military history is also established here.

The Trailside Museum of Natural History is open between April and October from 10am to 5pm Monday to Friday, although between Memorial Day and Labor Day it opens daily from 9am to 6pm. Many geological finds from the area are on display at the museum including invertebrate fossils, ammonites and other typical forms between 60 and 130 million years old, as well as artifacts from the ice age and the skulls of bighorn sheep and bison. One of the exhibits is that of two fighting bull mammoths preserved for 10,000 years with their tusks still locked together.

The fort has many activities for visitors to participate in including a horse drawn tour of the park or horse riding with boarding for the animals available at the Fort Robinson barn. There are also trips offered on an open-air Jeep among the buttes and nature tours aboard the Fort Robinson Express. The park also features and indoor pool and an outdoor wading pool with sun deck.

There are several camp sites available at the park with modern restrooms, showers, water and a dump station. Alternatively visitors can stay in lodge cabins between mid April and mid November, with rooms sleeping up to 20 including the former officers' quarters dating from 1874 to 1909. All cabins have kitchens, baths, living rooms and bedrooms as well as stoves, refrigerators, silverware and cooking utensils.

Visitors to the park can dine at Fort Robinson Restaurant, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner daily during the summer season. Group functions from mid April to mid November can also be catered for at the park. Snacks can be purchased at the Sutler's Store in the Activities Center, whilst there are over 150 picnic tables and three shelters for people to use as well.