Posted 2006-07-01 3:14 PM (#43871) Subject: Fort Robinson NE
Veteran
Posts: 216 Location: Chillicothe, Ohio
Just returned from 8 days in Nebraska, riding at Fort Robinson State Park, Soldier Creek Wilderness and Pine Ridge National Forest. Trailered from Ohio. Facilities at Fort Robinson are top notch, very senic trails although a fire there back in 1989 destroyed most of the mature pondorosa pine so most of the riding is in the open. Lots of buttes, canyons and grasslands etc. Buffalo herd, longhorn cattle, pronghorn, mule and whitetail deer and Bighorn Sheep in abundance around the park. Advise if anyone wants details.
Posted 2006-07-02 9:36 AM (#43884 - in reply to #43871) Subject: RE: Fort Robinson NE
Member
Posts: 19
Location: Paris, Ohio
Marty,
I'd love to have more details. We're planning to go to Southa Dakota next year and we're considering Ft Rob on the way there or the way back. We're in Ohio too.
Posted 2006-07-13 10:32 PM (#44600 - in reply to #43871) Subject: RE: Fort Robinson NE
Veteran
Posts: 216 Location: Chillicothe, Ohio
Hi, the trip there is about 1200+ miles, the closest small town is Crawford but Chadron is about 25 miles, Walmart and shopping etc. Fort Robinson has a decent web page. The Fort has a lot of history, you keep your horses in some of the original barns built in about 1906. There are a lot of different options for lodging there. Primitive, 30 amp and full hookups are available, plus there are a few different cabins and quarters available for rent on the base. Most of these are original officers or enlisted quarters from the early 1900's. There is a nice indoor pool on the grounds, but the cost is a little steep at 4.50/day. There is a decent restaurant on the gounds. The local town has a nice park with outdoor pool also. FR state park has dude type horse riding both short and long rides, stagecoach rides and wagon rides from the Fort. You can ride your own anywhere on the State Park property except where the buffalo herds are grazing. We ride pretty hard and I would say there is about 4-5 days of good riding within the park boundery which includes a wilderness area of about 6000plus acres at the north end. We rode there all week and only saw other riders on the trails twice. There is abundant wildlife around the area, Bighorn sheep, mule deer, antelope etc. There is a small "Rodeo" on the grounds twice weekly put on by the 4 or 5 full time wranglers and the college/high school kids that work there in the summer, its a lot of fun and they really entertain kids. The riding is not extremely difficult, but there are some pretty steep pulls and rocky areas depending on the trails you ride. The only negative about the entire FR park property is that a major fire pretty much cleared all the Ponderosa pine back in 1989. So most of the riding is out in the direct sun.
Within a 40minute drive you can ride the pine ridge national reqreation area...suggest Roberts trailhead, you can pull a couple big rigs in there, but there is no potable water..but OK for the horses.
The black hills are about 2 hours north of FR. You will drive through some pretty sparse country, badlands scenery and national grasslands in this area. We drove up and checked out the French Creek horsecamp in Custer State Park,,,really nice and they have flush toilets and showers now, but I dont think they have any hookups. But cant say much about the trails because we did not make it up there to ride...Im sure there is some great riding in the Black Hills area. If you want to know our route out there and where we put up for the night let me know. If you are heading to the Black hills to ride, going out through NE and breaking up your trip with a couple days at FR would make a nice trip. The scenery through the western end of NE is pretty nice, especially when you get close to FR.
Fort Robinson NE
