Doggin’ Toadstool Geologic Park: Hike With Your Dog In Nebraska’s Badlands

America’s badlands acquired their ominous title when early settlers discovered it

inconceivable to soundly roll a wagon by means of the cracked lunar panorama within the Upper Midwest. Our most well-known badlands are preserved in nationwide parks within the Dakotas – and off limits to canine hikers.

To give your canine an opportunity to discover these distinctive lands of sculpted rock,

head south from the Dakotas to the lesser-known badlands of the Nebraska

panhandle. Here within the Gala National Grasslands you will see dog-friendly

Toadstool Geologic Park the place the relentless tag-team of water and wind have

carved fanciful rock formations into the stark hills.

The “toadstools” type when underlying mushy clay stone erodes sooner than the

arduous sandstone that caps it. You can hike along with your canine on a marked, mile-long

interpretive loop that leads you on an academic journey by means of these

badlands. Your canine is welcome on the arduous rock path however you may as well discover off

the trail for close-up appears within the gullies at fossil bone fragments that lace the

rocks and 30-million year-old footprints preserved within the stone.

There are some rocks to be scaled alongside the route however this ramble underneath

banded cliffs of clay and ash is appropriate for any degree of canine hiker. There is simply

sporadic shade and seasonal streams on this historic riverbed so convey loads of

water in your canine, particularly in the summertime months. Take a break on the finish of

the hike within the small fenced yard of the reproduced sod home beside the parking

lot.

For prolonged canine hikes, Toadstool Park connects to the world-renowned

Hudson-Meng Bison Boneyard through a three-mile path. This archeological web site seeks to

unravel the thriller of how over 600 bison died almost 10,000 years in the past in an space

concerning the measurement of a soccer stadium. Human predation is the main suspect.

Toadstool Geologic Park is situated 19 miles NW of Crawford, Nebraska on US

Forest Route 904 off State freeway 2/71. The path begins behind the six-

unit campground.