The Wildcat Hills are an escarpment between the North Platte River and Pumpkin Creek in the western Panhandle, in the state of Nebraska in the Great Plains region of the United States. 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.
Chimney Rock, Scotts Bluff, and Courthouse and Jail Rocks are outcrops along the northern and western edges of the Wildcat Hills.
The plant and animal life in the Wildcat Hills is atypical for Nebraska; the ecology more 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.
Cougars (mountain lions), which had been extirpated from the region around 1900, returned to the area in the early 1990s. The Wildcat Hills (along with the Pine Ridge), are the only areas in Nebraska with a permanent breeding cougar population. [1]
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 41°42′08″N103°40′02″W / 41.70222°N 103.66722°W 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.
The geography of Alabama describes a state in the Southeastern United States in North America. It extends from high mountains to low valleys and sandy beaches. Alabama is 30th in size and borders four U.S. states: Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. It also borders the Gulf of Mexico.
Scotts Bluff County is a county on the western border of the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 36,084. Its county seat is Gering, and its largest city is Scottsbluff.
The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is the longest linear park in the U.S., runs for 469 miles (755 km) through 29 counties in Virginia and North Carolina, linking Shenandoah National Park to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It runs mostly along the spine of the Blue Ridge, a major mountain chain that is part of the Appalachian Mountains. Its southern terminus is at U.S. Route 441 (US 441) on the boundary between Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Qualla Boundary of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina, from which it travels north to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. The roadway continues through Shenandoah as Skyline Drive, a similar scenic road which is managed by a different National Park Service unit. Both Skyline Drive and the Virginia portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway are part of Virginia State Route 48 (SR 48), though this designation is not signed.
Scotts Bluff National Monument is located west of the City of Gering in western Nebraska, United States. This National Park Service site protects over 3,000 acres of historic overland trail remnants, mixed-grass prairie, rugged badlands, towering bluffs and riparian area along the North Platte River. The park boasts over 100,000 annual visitors.
The Mormon Trail is the 1,300-mile (2,100 km) long route from Illinois to Utah on which Mormon pioneers traveled from 1846–47. Today, the Mormon Trail is a part of the United States National Trails System, known as the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail.
The American Discovery Trail is a system of recreational trails and roads that collectively form a coast-to-coast hiking and biking trail across the mid-tier of the United States. Horses can also be ridden on most of this trail. The coastal trailheads are the Delmarva Peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean and the northern California coast on the Pacific Ocean. The trail has northern and southern alternates for part of its distance, passing through Chicago and St. Louis respectively. The total length of the trail, including both the north and south routes, is 6,800 miles (10,900 km). The northern route covers 4,834 miles (7,780 km) with the southern route covering 5,057 miles (8,138 km). It is the only non-motorized coast-to-coast trail.
The City of Rocks National Reserve, also known as the Silent City of Rocks, is a United States National Reserve and state park in south-central Idaho, approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) north of the border with Utah. It is widely known for its enormous granite rock formations and excellent rock climbing.
The Nebraska panhandle is an area in the western part of the state of Nebraska and one of several U.S. state panhandles, or elongated geographical regions that extend from their main political entity.
The Pine Ridge is an escarpment between the Niobrara River and the White River in far northwestern Nebraska. The high tableland between the rivers has been eroded into a region of forested buttes, ridges and canyons.
Wildcat Mountain State Park is a state park of Wisconsin, United States, on the Kickapoo River in the Driftless Area. Sandstone bluffs topped with limestone, two of which are Wildcat Mountain and Mount Pisgah, provide views over the narrow valley of the river and its tributaries. The Kickapoo Valley Reserve is immediately adjacent and forms a continuous protected area. Wildcat Mountain State Park is open for year-round recreation including hiking, canoeing, fishing, and cross-country skiing. The 3,643-acre (1,474 ha) park is located in Vernon County near the town of Ontario, Wisconsin.
The 3,848 acres (6.013 sq mi) Landels-Hill Big Creek Reserve located in the southern region of Big Sur, California is owned by the University of California Natural Reserve System. It is located off State Route 1 in 50 miles (80 km) south of Monterey and adjacent to the Big Creek State Marine Reserve and Big Creek State Marine Conservation Area. It is open only for approved research or educational purposes.
Bradley Mountain, 700 feet (210 m), is a traprock mountain located 3 miles (5 km) west of New Britain, Connecticut, United States, in the towns of Southington and Plainville. It is part of the narrow, linear Metacomet Ridge that extends from Long Island Sound near New Haven, Connecticut, north through the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts to the Vermont border. Bradley Mountain, popular as an outdoor recreation destination in the metropolitan Hartford/ New Britain area, is known for its clifftop scenic vistas overlooking Plainville Reservoir, unique microclimate ecosystems, and rare plant communities. Bradley Mountain is traversed by the 62.7-mile (101 km) Metacomet Trail.
Laramie Peak Is the highest and most prominent peak in the Laramie Range of Wyoming. With a peak elevation of 10,275 feet (3,132 m), it is the only peak in the Laramie Range to exceed an elevation of 10,000 feet (3,000 m). It can be seen from great distances from both sides of the Laramie Range including from around 100 miles (160 km) away at the top of the Scotts Bluff National Monument in Nebraska and in the Wyoming towns of Wheatland, Douglas, Rock River, and immediately outside the cities of Laramie and Cheyenne.
The Emigrant Trail in Wyoming, which is the path followed by Western pioneers using the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails, spans 400 miles (640 km) through the U.S. state of Wyoming. The trail entered from Nebraska on the eastern border of the state near the present day town of Torrington and exited on the western border near the towns of Cokeville and Afton. An estimated 350,000 to 400,000 settlers traveled on the trail through Wyoming between 1841 and 1868. All three trails follow the same path through most of the state. The Mormon Trail splits at Fort Bridger and enters Utah, while the Oregon and California Trails continue to Idaho.
The Great Platte River Road was a major overland travel corridor approximately following the course of the Platte River in present-day Nebraska and Wyoming that was shared by several popular emigrant trails during the 19th century, including the Trapper's Trail, the Oregon Trail, the Mormon Trail, the California Trail, the Pony Express route, and the military road connecting Fort Leavenworth and Fort Laramie. The road, which extended nearly 370 miles (600 km) from the Second Fort Kearny to Fort Laramie, was utilized primarily from 1841 to 1866. In modern times it is often regarded as a sort of superhighway of its era, and has been referred to as "the grand corridor of America's westward expansion".
Robidoux Pass, also known as Roubadeau Pass, Roubedeau Pass, Roubideau Pass, Roubidoux Pass and Roubadeau Pass Gap, is a gap passing through the Wildcat Hills near Scottsbluff, Nebraska about 9 miles (14 km) west of Gering, Nebraska. The gap was on the Great Platte River Road section of the historic Oregon or Emigrant Trail. It is at an elevation of 4,554 feet (1,388 m). Used by thousands of emigrants to the west from 1843-1851, the pass is a National Historic Landmark.
The Tunxis Trail is a 79-mile (127 km) Blue-Blazed hiking trail "system" that traverses the western ridge of the central Connecticut Valley. The mainline trail is not completely contiguous, notably there are two gaps of several miles.
Mitchell Pass is a gap through the bluffs near Scottsbluff and Gering, Nebraska. Beginning in 1851, two of the Westward Expansion Trails passed through the gap, as did the Pony Express in the early 1860s. Today the area is protected as part of Scotts Bluff National Monument.
Grays Peak National Recreation Trail or Grays Peak Trail lies along the Continental Divide of the Americas, part of the Rocky Mountains in the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the White River National Forest, Summit County. Grays Peak Trail is south of Interstate 70, east of Keystone Resort and near Montezuma. Grays Peak is adjacent to Torreys Peak.