Escarpment in the western Panhandle with high tableland eroded by wind and water into a region of forested buttes, ridges and canyons that rise 150 to 300 m above the surrounding landscape

How to Get There

From Scottsbluff (12 miles): Take Ave I and Five Rocks Rd to NE-71 S in Gering. Continue straight onto NE-71 S. Continue on Wildcat Hills State Recreations to destination.

Overview

The Wildcat Hills are an escarpment between the North Platte River and Pumpkin Creek in the western Panhandle, in Nebraska. Located in Banner, Morrill, and Scotts Bluff counties, the high tableland between the streams has been eroded by wind and water into a region of forested buttes, ridges and canyons that rise 150 to 300 m (490 to 980 ft) above the surrounding landscape.

DickClarkMises, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted

Chimney Rock, Scotts Bluff, and Courthouse and Jail Rocks are outcrops along the northern and western edges of the Wildcat Hills.

Ecology

The plant and animal life in the Wildcat Hills is atypical for Nebraska; the ecology resembles that of the Laramie Mountains, 60 miles to the west. The dominant tree in the region is the ponderosa pine. Bighorn sheep, pronghorn, elk, mule deer, and wild turkeys live in and around the hills.

History

The Emigrant Trail passed through the northern Wildcat Hills at Robidoux Pass and after 1851, at Mitchell Pass; the rock formations were frequently mentioned in emigrant journals and letters. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission acquired land for the Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area in stages between 1929 and 1980; the Wildcat Hills Nature Center, featuring a half-mile boardwalk trail, opened in 1995. Today, the Wildcat Hills are a popular hiking and wildlife viewing destination.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Wildcat Hills", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0