Waterfalls in Nebraska

14 waterfalls in Nebraska across 5 counties, from the USGS dataset; 6 with a measured height. The tallest is Smith Falls at 63 ft. All US waterfalls.

State: Nebraska 47

14 waterfalls

Nebraska's waterfalls: springs breaking from the Niobrara's canyon walls

Fourteen named waterfalls turn up in Nebraska, nearly all of them short drops off the canyon walls that line the Niobrara River in the state's north-central Sandhills. Springs seeping from the bluffs above the Niobrara feed dozens of small falls into the valley, most of them unnamed.

Where the waterfalls are

Cherry County holds 10 of the 14, strung along the Niobrara near Valentine — Smith Falls, Fort Falls, Berry Falls, Arrowhead Falls and others, plus Big Falls and Horseshoe Falls on the North Loup River to the south. Brown County adds Norden Falls, also on the Niobrara, near Ainsworth. Away from that valley, Chase County holds Wauneta Falls on Frenchman Creek in the state's southwest corner, Holt County has Rock Falls on North Branch Eagle Creek near Atkinson, and Hooker County has North Branch Dismal River Falls out in the Sandhills.

Waterfalls worth the trip

Smith Falls, 63 feet down a spring-fed side canyon into the Niobrara, is Nebraska's tallest by Wikipedia's account. A footbridge — a relocated 1996 iron truss originally built at Verdigre — carries visitors across the river from Smith Falls State Park's north side to reach it.
Fort Falls, 42 feet, sits on the Fort Falls Hiking Trail inside Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge, reached on foot from the refuge's gravel roads east of Valentine.
Berry Falls, also in Cherry County, is one of more than 200 small waterfalls the National Park Service counts along the Niobrara's bluffs, best seen from the river itself.

When to go and getting in

Niobrara National Scenic River charges no entrance fee, though it doesn't own the land along the river, so private landings and outfitters may charge their own rates for canoe, kayak or tube access. Fort Niobrara refuge is also free, open sunrise to sunset for foot travel only; its visitor center keeps weekday hours, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Safety

Fort Niobrara refuge bans camping, climbing and rappelling and limits visitors to foot travel on designated routes in daylight; stay on marked paths near the canyon falls.