Willa Cather Memorial Prairie - Red Cloud, Nebraska - Prairie

Willa Cather Memorial Prairie is Located 5 miles south of Red Cloud on Highway 281 near the Kansas/Nebraska border in Webster County. It is a 609 acre area of grazed mixed-grass prairie that is owned and maintained by the Cather Foundation. Willa Cather was a Pulitzer Prize winning author, who was brought up in Nebraska and liked to write about the Great Plains, writing novels such as O Pioneers! and My Antonia.

Willa Cather was only nine when she first came to Webster County from Virginia in 1883, and discovered the vast open prairies of Nebraska, which made a lasting impression on her. The Cather Foundation was set up in 1955 as a not-for-profit organization and is dedicated to promoting the life and works of Cather, and strives to show the public the things she enjoyed. The foundation has also helped restore properties important to the author including Garber Bank Building, the Cather Childhood Home and the Grace Episcopal Church.

This area is a good example of the native grassland that covered Nebraska many years ago, and gives visitors the chance to explore its beauty. This includes during the summer months the many wildflowers growing among the tall native grasses. There are approximately two miles of walking and hiking trails for members of the public to explore, where they may enjoy the views and plants without getting lost.

Bird watchers are attracted to the prairie as it is home to numerous species of birds such as meadowlarks, upland plovers, wood ducks, blue-winged teals, blue birds, assorted sparrows, grouse, turkeys, orchard orioles amongst others. The site is recognized as a Nebraska Bird Site by the Nebraska Teaming with Wildlife Coalition. Five natural springs are located here and the Foundation has been working to restore these and protect them from the prairie's grazing cattle.

The area is an important site for naturalists with around 250 reliant plant species growing here including the rare Fremont's evening primrose and Fendler's aster, which are considered to be endangered. There are many other plant species here ranging from purple prairie clover and coneflower to Canada wildrye or buffalo grass

Various educational programs and workshops are held at the prairie including the annual Prairie Writers' workshop, which was first held in June 2008. Writers spend a lot of time on the Prairie gathering inspiration for their works of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. The Foundation is working with schools in producing educational brochures explaining prairie ecology and animal life as well as providing tours to high schools and other visiting groups.

Visitors to Red Cloud looking for somewhere to stay overnight or longer will find a number of hotels in nearby Kearney, including the Holiday Inn Express, Motel 6 and Microtel Inn and Suites, which are all within 15 miles of the prairie. There are restaurants in Kearney too such as the steak house Skeeter Barnes. Even closer is the large scale museum in Minden called Harold Warp's Pioneer Village, which features many historical American artifacts.