Antelope County at a Glance

Antelope County, Nebraska — the Elkhorn valley and northeast Nebraska farm country. County seat Neligh. 465 listings across 8 towns. Central Time.

Getting there: US 275 along the Elkhorn through Clearwater, Neligh, Oakdale and Tilden; US 20 across the north through Orchard, Royal and Brunswick; NE 14 north–south through Elgin and Neligh.

For visitors: the Neligh Mill, White Buffalo Girl’s grave, Ashfall Fossil Beds, Grove Lake trout fishing and the Cowboy Trail. Hospital: Antelope Memorial in Neligh, with clinics in Clearwater, Elgin, Orchard and Tilden.

Boone County at a Glance

Boone County, Nebraska — 687 square miles of east-central farm country along Beaver Creek and the Cedar River. County seat Albion. 131 listings across 8 towns. Central Time.

Getting there: NE 14 north–south through Albion and Petersburg; NE 91 east–west through Albion; NE 39 to St. Edward; NE 52 and NE 56 through Cedar Rapids.

For visitors: St. Bonaventure Church at Raeville, the county museum and Highway 14 Brewing in Albion, the Logan Fontenelle markers and the August plowing bee at Petersburg, and camping on the Cedar River. Hospital: Boone County Health Center in Albion.

Burt County at a Glance

Burt County, Nebraska — one of the eight original counties of Nebraska Territory, created November 23, 1854, on the Missouri River north of Omaha. County seat Tekamah.

Getting there: US 75 serves Tekamah and Decatur; US 77 serves Oakland and Lyons; NE 32 links Oakland, Craig and Tekamah; NE 51 crosses the Missouri at Decatur to Onawa, Iowa.

For visitors: the Swedish Heritage Center in Oakland, the Burt County Museum in Tekamah, camping and boating at Summit Lake and Pelican Point, and the Burt County Fair in Oakland each July. The nearest hospitals are in Blair, West Point, Pender and Onawa, Iowa.

Cedar County at a Glance

Cedar County, Nebraska — about 740 square miles of northeast farmland running up to the Missouri River bluffs, settled by German and Luxembourger Catholic families whose parish churches still mark every village. County seat Hartington. 300 listings across 17 towns.

Getting there: NE-12, the Outlaw Trail Scenic Byway, crosses the north through Wynot; US-20 runs along the south through Randolph and Laurel; NE-15 and NE-57 cross north to south.

For visitors: the Corps of Engineers campgrounds below Gavins Point Dam — Cottonwood and Nebraska Tailwaters, both in Cedar County despite Yankton addresses — with the Missouri tailwater fishery below them. The Saints Peter and Paul Church Complex at Bow Valley, on the National Register. Chalkrock Lake for quiet fishing.

Cedar County · Northeast Nebraska · County Cameras

Cuming County at a Glance

Cuming County, Nebraska — about 571 square miles of Elkhorn valley and Logan Creek farmland in northeastern Nebraska, settled largely by German families from the late 1850s. County seat West Point.

Getting there: US 275 links Scribner, West Point, Beemer, Wisner and Norfolk; NE 32 crosses east–west through West Point; NE 9 and NE 51 serve the north and Bancroft.

For visitors: the John G. Neihardt State Historic Site in Bancroft, the Nebraskan Theatre and county museum complex in West Point, camping at Neligh Park and Wisner River Park, and the Cuming County Fair each August. Franciscan Healthcare in West Point is the county's hospital.

Dixon County at a Glance

Dixon County, Nebraska — about 476 square miles in the extreme northeast corner, where high wooded bluffs stand above the Missouri River. County seat Ponca, platted in 1856 and named for the Ponca people. 156 listings across 11 towns.

Getting there: NE-12, the eastern end of the Outlaw Trail Scenic Byway, begins at Ponca; US-20 crosses the south of the county; NE-9 and NE-15 run north to south.

For visitors: Ponca State Park — 2,100 acres of bluff country with twenty-two miles of trail, twenty-seven cabins, ninety-odd electric campsites and a Three State Overlook taking in Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota. Two NRD lakes near Newcastle for fishing, and Elk Point Bend for pheasants.

Dixon County · Northeast Nebraska · County Cameras

Knox County at a Glance

Knox County, Nebraska — about 1,140 square miles along the Missouri River in the far northeast, where the Niobrara joins one of the last free-flowing reaches of the Missouri. County seat Center, so named because it was built near the middle of the county in 1901. 541 listings across 15 towns.

Getting there: NE-12, the Outlaw Trail Scenic Byway, runs the length of the county through Niobrara and Crofton; NE-13 and NE-14 cross north to south; US-20 lies just south.

For visitors: Lewis and Clark State Recreation Area, Nebraska’s second-largest reservoir, with over 250 campsites and ten cabins; Niobrara State Park above the confluence, with nineteen cabins and fourteen miles of trail; Verdigre’s Czech heritage; and the Santee Sioux Reservation along the Missouri.

Knox County · Northeast Nebraska · County Cameras

Madison County at a Glance

Madison County, Nebraska — created in 1856, organized in 1867 and named for Madison, Wisconsin. County seat Madison; largest city Norfolk. Population 35,585 at the 2020 census, the highest yet, and about 36,100 in 2025; Nebraska’s seventh-most-populous county. 593 listings across 6 towns.

Norfolk, Johnny Carson’s boyhood home, is the eastern trailhead of the Cowboy Trail and a regional center for health care, education and shopping in northeast Nebraska.

Getting there: US 81 and US 275 cross at Norfolk; NE 32 serves Madison and Newman Grove, and NE 121 Battle Creek. Norfolk Regional Airport serves general aviation; the nearest airline service is outside the county. Central Time.

Born here: Thurl Ravenscroft and Joyce Ballantyne (Norfolk); author Armitage Trail (Madison). Johnny Carson grew up in Norfolk.

Pierce County at a Glance

Pierce County, Nebraska — created in 1859, organized in 1870 and named for President Franklin Pierce. County seat Pierce. Population 7,317 at the 2020 census. 219 listings across 8 towns.

Getting there: US 20 crosses the north through Plainview and Osmond; US 81 runs along the east side; NE 13 links Hadar, Pierce, Foster and Plainview. Norfolk is about 13 miles south of Pierce. Central Time.

For visitors: Willow Creek State Recreation Area near Pierce, the Klown Doll Museum in Plainview (summer), and the Pierce County Fair in late July.

Stanton County at a Glance

Stanton County, Nebraska — renamed in 1862 for Lincoln’s Secretary of War and organized in 1867. County seat Stanton. Population 5,842 at the 2020 census. 86 listings across 3 towns.

Getting there: US 275 and NE 15 meet at Pilger; NE 57 and NE 24 serve Stanton; Norfolk is about 12 miles west-northwest of Stanton. Central Time.

For visitors: camping, fishing and trails at Maskenthine Lake north of Stanton, and Pilger, rebuilt after the 2014 tornadoes.

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. 231 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

Colfax County at a Glance

Colfax County, Nebraska — on the north bank of the Platte between Columbus and Fremont, created from Platte County in 1869. County seat Schuyler.

Getting there: US 30 along the Platte from Columbus and Fremont, NE 15 from David City, NE 91 across the north.

For visitors: the Oak Ballroom and courthouse in Schuyler, Clarkson Czech Days and the Z.C.B.J. Opera House, the rural Czech churches at Heun and Olean, Maple Creek Recreation Area and the county fair at Leigh. CHI Health Schuyler is the county's hospital.

Nance County at a Glance

Nance County, Nebraska — the Loup River valley and the former Pawnee Reservation. County seat Fullerton. 88 listings across 5 towns. Central Time.

Getting there: NE 14 north–south through Fullerton; NE 22 along the Loup from Fullerton to Genoa; NE 39 through Genoa; NE 52 through Belgrade.

For visitors: the Genoa Indian School Interpretive Center, Genoa’s museums and markers, Broken Arrow Wilderness, Headworks Park camping and the WMAs around Genoa. Hospital: Genoa Community Hospital.

Platte County at a Glance

Platte County, Nebraska — created in 1856 and named for the Platte River. County seat Columbus, where the Loup meets the Platte. Population 34,296 at the 2020 census. 387 listings across 15 towns.

Getting there: US 30 and US 81 cross in Columbus; NE 91 crosses the north of the county and NE 22 the southwest. Omaha is about 75 miles east of Columbus and Lincoln about 55 miles southeast. Central Time.

For visitors: the Higgins memorial and Glur’s Tavern in Columbus, free camping at the Loup Power District lakes (no dump stations), St. Michael’s Church in Tarnov, and the Platte County Fair in July.

Thurston County at a Glance

Thurston County, Nebraska — one of very few U.S. counties lying entirely within reservation land: the Omaha Reservation, governed from Macy, and the Winnebago Reservation, governed from Winnebago. County seat Pender.

Getting there: US 77 runs north–south past Walthill and Winnebago; US 75 serves Macy and Winnebago; NE 9 and NE 16 serve Pender; NE 94 crosses from Pender to Walthill and US 75.

For visitors: the Winnebago Homecoming Celebration each July and the Omaha Tribe's He'dewachi celebration each August are public powwows; follow the posted etiquette. The Picotte Center in Walthill, in the hospital Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte opened in 1913, is a National Historic Landmark.

Wayne County at a Glance

Wayne County, Nebraska — organized in 1870 and named for Gen. “Mad” Anthony Wayne. County seat Wayne, home of Wayne State College. Population 9,697 at the 2020 census. 167 listings across 7 towns.

Getting there: NE 15 and NE 35 cross at Wayne; NE 98 and NE 57 serve Carroll; US 20 runs just north of the county and US 275 just south. Norfolk is about 25 miles southwest. Central Time.

For visitors: the Wayne Chicken Show on the second weekend of July, the Wayne County Historical Museum on summer Sundays, and camping at Victor Park and Lions RV Park in Wayne.