Dakota County, Nebraska

Listings in Dakota County Nebraska

Dakota County, Nebraska

County seat: Dakota City · Created: 1855 · Named for: the Dakota (Sioux) people · License plate prefix: 70 · Population: 21,582 (2020 census) · Area: 267 sq mi

About Dakota County

Dakota County is a small, mostly urban county in northeastern Nebraska, on the Missouri River across from Sioux City, Iowa. The First Territorial Legislature created it in March 1855 and named it for the Dakota people; Dakota City has been the county seat since 1856. The population has risen at every census since 1860, to 21,582 in 2020, and about two-thirds of the county lives in South Sioux City.

The first towns were river towns: Dakota City, Covington (now part of South Sioux City) and the Irish Catholic colony of St. John's near today's Jackson. Railroads built from Covington from 1876 started Hubbard and Emerson, which the county shares with Dixon and Thurston counties; Homer grew up near Tonwantonga, the Omaha tribe's Big Village of about 1775 to 1845. The beef plant at Dakota City, opened by Iowa Beef Packers in 1966 and now run by Tyson, is the largest employer. Danish Alps State Recreation Area near Hubbard opened in 2015.

Towns of Dakota County

Travel Corridors

US Highway 20 — east–west across the north of the county from Willis, where NE 12 ends, past Jackson to South Sioux City, then with I-129 over the Sergeant Floyd Memorial Bridge into Iowa. US 20 Corridor →

US Highways 75 and 77 — north–south together from Winnebago past Homer and Dakota City; US 75 joins I-129, while US 77 follows Dakota Avenue through South Sioux City to the Siouxland Veterans Memorial Bridge. US 75 Corridor →

NE 35, NE 110 and NE 12 — NE 35 runs from Emerson through Hubbard to Dakota City; NE 110 links NE 35 with US 20 west of South Sioux City; NE 12, the Outlaw Trail Scenic Byway, begins at US 20 at Willis and heads to Ponca. NE 12 Corridor →

Dakota County Business Directory

Businesses within 20 miles of: South Sioux City · Dakota City · Homer · Jackson · Hubbard · Emerson · All listings →

Adjacent Counties

Dixon County (west) · Thurston County (south) · Woodbury County, Iowa (east, across the Missouri River) · Union County, South Dakota (north, across the Missouri River)

Events

The Dakota-Thurston County Fair is held at the fairgrounds on Stable Drive in South Sioux City in late July or early August.

Outdoors — Camping, RV, Hunting & Fishing

Dakota County holds the newest full-scale state recreation area in Nebraska, and by some distance the most modern camping facility at this end of US-20.

Danish Alps State Recreation Area

1260 200th Street, Hubbard. (402) 632-4109. A 219-acre lake set in 520 acres of parkland, with water reaching 45 feet deep. Built by the Papio-Missouri River NRD to stabilize the Pigeon and Jones Creek watershed, the park opened on August 1, 2015 and is named for the Danish pioneers who settled the county.

Camping is the best on the corridor’s eastern end. The main loops hold 44 electric sites — 34 gravel pads, seven gravel pull-throughs and three accessible cement pads — plus 22 basic sites. A separate equestrian campground adds 29 electric pads with 14 horse corrals with hitching posts and water. There are also six kayak-in campsites reachable only by water or on foot. Amperage is not published — confirm when booking if you need 50 amp.

A dump station is confirmed on site — the only one at a state park in this corner of the state — though its exact location is not published, so ask at the entrance. Modern restrooms, coin-operated showers, water, and a fish-cleaning station added in 2017.

Read this before a late-season trip: Game and Parks states that full-hookup service, showers, modern restrooms and the dump and fill station are closed from mid-October through April, with off-season rates $5 lower. The campground has been listed as open through mid-October. Assume no dump, no showers and no water through the winter.

Half the electric sites are reservable up to 180 days ahead during the peak season, April 15 to October 15, on 1-844-637-2757; the rest are first come, paid at an iron ranger. A park entry permit is required on top of camping fees.

Fishing

Kramper Lake at Danish Alps is the county’s main still water, deep enough at 45 feet to hold fish through a hot summer, with a fish-cleaning station on site. The Missouri River along the eastern boundary gives channel and flathead catfish, and river access is available from the South Sioux City riverfront. A park entry permit is required at Danish Alps in addition to a fishing permit.

Trails and the riverfront

South Sioux City has a developed Missouri riverfront with trails and parks looking across to Sioux City, Iowa — the natural first or last stop on a US-20 journey across Nebraska, and the only place on the corridor with full metropolitan services.

Hunting in the county is largely private ground and river-bottom whitetail; Open Fields and Waters walk-in tracts change annually, so check the current Public Access Atlas.

Dakota County at a Glance

Dakota County, Nebraska — the small, densely settled county in the state’s northeast corner where the Missouri River turns, and the eastern end of US-20 in Nebraska. County seat Dakota City; South Sioux City is much the larger place, facing Sioux City, Iowa across the river. 232 listings across 9 towns.

Getting there: US-20, US-77 and I-129 all meet here; the Missouri River bridges cross into Sioux City, Iowa.

For visitors: the Missouri River frontage at South Sioux City, with riverfront trails and parks looking across to Sioux City. This is the metropolitan end of the corridor — full services, and the natural first or last stop on a US-20 journey across Nebraska.

Dakota County · Northeast Nebraska · County Cameras