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recreation
area attractions
education
health
Like many Nebraska communities, Ogallala and
the Keith County area provide a wealth of recreational and
quality of life opportunities. Outdoor enthusiasts will enjoy
one of many area attractions and recreational activities.
Families are proud to raise their children in an environment
that promotes high scholastic achievement as well as a healthy
lifestyle. Quality health care is also available throughout
the county.
Keith County and
Lake McConaughy, described as "Nebraska's Western Oasis,"
reign as Nebraska's recreation capital with Lake McConaughy
ranking as Nebraska's # 1 vacation destination!
For more than a hundred years, Ogallala has
ranked among the state's top tourism communities. As far back
as the 1870's, Ogallala was a booming, bustling community.
Today, the dance hall hostesses still kick up their heels
during the nightly show at Ogallala's Front Street, a western
and historical attraction financed by members of the business
community and designed to replicate the Trail Drive era. The
cast of the Crystal Palace Revue - comprised of high school
and college students - present a family show each night during
the summer season at Nebraska's longest running summer theater.
Besides the Crystal Palace Revue, Front Street has a free
western museum, a restaurant serving real buffalo burgers and
steaks, the Haythorn Figure Four Mercantile clothing, ranch
memorabilia and gift shop, and the Kenfield Brothers Petrified
Wood Gallery, one of Keith County's
treasures and one of Nebraska's unsung treasures. Twins Howard
and Harvey Kenfield donated their collection of more than 45
years to the community. The Gallery is a museum of natural
history specializing in ancient woods.
Because of its western heritage, Ogallala
has been designated Nebraska's "Cowboy Capital" by the
Nebraska State Historical Society. Ogallala's first cemetery,
Boot Hill, is now an historic park and is also a tombstone
history of Ogallala.
Ogallala's Mansion on the Hill, built of
brick kilned in Ogallala in 1887, is now operated as a
Victorian period residence. It is owned and maintained by the
Keith County Historical Society.
The gem that draws most visitors to Keith
County is gigantic Lake McConaughy. The lake boasts 100 miles
of shoreline of white sand beaches and 30,000 surface acres of
clear blue waters and some of the best walleye fishing in the
nation. The lake is a mecca for sailboat and sailboarding
enthusiasts as well as fishermen and campers. Concessionaires
around the lake offer restaurants, lodging, boat rentals,
convenience/grocery stores, guide services, jet-ski rentals,
scuba diving, and RV camp grounds.
Keith County has two golf courses - WestWind Golf Course, an
18-hole course in Ogallala and Bayside Golf, a challenging new
18-hole course at Lake McConaughy, which includes a new log
cabin clubhouse. There is an outdoor swimming pool and an
indoor pool in Ogallala, as well as an outdoor pool in Paxton.
In addition to nine parks covering 50 acres
with 10 ball fields (seven lighted), six tennis courts and
four parks with playground equipment, recreational activities
in Keith County include Cornhusker Lanes Bowling Alley, the
Goodall Recreation Center, Lake Mac Arcade, the Prairie
Theater and Goodall Public Library.
- Historic Haythorn Ranch, home of Figure
Four Traditions Event Center, is a 7,200 square foot
facility which is available for rental and catering for
receptions, weddings, reunions, business meetings,
conventions, etc. The ranch also offers group wagon rides
and chuck wagon dinners. The Haythorn Ranch is the largest
breeder of the American Quarter Horse in the United States.
- Ole's Big Game Steakhouse & Lounge -
Nebraska's best-known watering hole features hundreds of
pictures and memorabilia which share the rustic knotty pine
walls with more than 200 trophy heads of North American and
African Big Game. A hunting lodge and corporate retreat
south of Paxton has been added to Ole's complex.
- Kingsley Dam - Impounding the North
Platte River for irrigation and power generation, the dam is
three and one half miles long and 162 feet high. It is 1,100
feet thick at the base.
- Kingsley Hydroplant - Owned by Central
Nebraska Public Power & Irrigation District, the state's
largest irrigation system was financed by Nebraska Public
Power District.
- Clear Creek Waterfowl Management Area -
Located at the west end of Lake McConaughy it attracts large
numbers of Canada geese, which can be hunted on the
controlled shooting area and much of the lake.
- The Eagle-Viewing facility of Central
Nebraska Public Power & Irrigation District is open from
January through early March when bald eagles congregate in
large numbers below Kingsley Dam on Lake Ogallala.
- The little Catholic-Protestant Church at
Keystone - Built in 1908, the church is monument to
religious harmony. It was built in a pioneer town too small
for two churches. It has a Roman Catholic altar at one end,
a Protestant altar at the other end, with reversible pews,
which can face either altar.
- A popular event at Lake McConaughy is the
annual Kites and Castles, which draws visitors and
competitors from several states.
- In addition to area county fairs and
rodeos, annual festivals include Brule Arts in the Park,
Brule Days, the Paxton Labor Day Celebration and the
Ogallala Indian Summer Rendezvous.
- Lake McConaughy and Lake Ogallala rank as
the number three spot for bird watching in the nation. More
than 320 species of birds have been identified on or near
the shores of Lake McConaughy/Lake Ogallala.
- A nearby attraction in neighboring Garden
County is Ash Hollow State Historical Park southeast of
Lewellen. A modern visitor center interprets the geological,
paleontologic, prehistoric, Native American Indian,
military, 19th Century fur trappers, and pioneer history.
The Ash Hollow Cave further interprets the geologic history.
Windlass Hill was described by emigrants on the Oregon,
Mormon, and California Trail as the steepest descent east of
the Rockies. Ruts remain from wagons, which descended the
hill. The annual Ash Hollow Pageant retells the humor and
tragedy of the emigrant trails and area history. Pageant
narrative is based on emigrant and military diaries.
- Opening in 2002 is the new 9,000 square
foot, $2 million Lake McConaughy Visitor/Water Interpretive
Center, Nebraska's first water museum. The Center also
serves as Lake McConaughy headquarters for the Nebraska Game
& Parks Commission and for Central Nebraska Public Power &
Irrigation District. The center includes a 50-seat theater,
the Cabela's Aquarium and the interpretive center focusing on
the cultural, natural and economic importance of the Platte
River system to Nebraska and the region.
The Keith County Public School Districts
have successfully created an academic environment where
excellence in education, student academic progression, ongoing
community support, and individual student development are the
primary focus.
District 1 in Ogallala offers a K-12
curriculum at the
Ogallala High School, the
Ogallala Middle School,
Prairie View Elementary School, Progress Elementary School
and West 5th Elementary School. Several other schools in Keith
County also offer excellent educational opportunities.
Keith County also offers two private
Christian schools, St. Paul's Lutheran School, Pre-8, and St.
Luke's Catholic School, K-5, where the student is offered an
environment in which the school combines an emphasis on the
basics of academics with a commitment to developing the
Christian values of integrity, morality, responsibility, and
respect for the rights of others.
In both the public and private schools,
value has been placed on active participation by both teachers
and parents. This has been paramount in achieving a high
school graduation rate of 98% and an average ACT score of
21.1.
The Special Education Department of the
Keith County Public School District plays a vital role in
offering services to all children and young adults with
disabilities from birth to age 21. The Alternative Learning
Lane is an alternative school for high school students whom,
for various reasons, are not having their individual
educational needs met in the traditional classroom setting. A
summer tutoring program is also available.
Area colleges include:
The Ogallala Community Hospital provides the
residents of Keith County and surrounding areas with total
care - all the services an individual or family might need to
stay healthy, or to recover quickly from an illness or injury.
The array of imaging equipment to diagnose disease includes
high-quality MRI, ultrasound, mammography, fluoroscopy CT
scanner and X-ray equipment. A sleep disorder lab and birthing
services are other amenities available.
The Ogallala Medical Group and the Family
Medical Center support the hospital. These clinics are staffed
by five family practice physicians, one general surgeon and
four physician assistants who together provide round the clock
coverage to meet the community's primary care needs.
Additional health care services available in Keith County
include three dentists, two optometrists, an orthodontist, a
chiropractor, a physical therapist, two massage therapists,
and three pharmacies. If additional care is required during
recovery, Banner Home Care staff can assist in patient
recovery in the comfort of their own homes.
WEL-Life of Ogallala, a 28-unit assisted
living center featuring four apartments styles, offers several
different levels of assistance to residents including homemade
meals, a library, laundromat, whirlpool, beauty shop, fitness
center, and a private dining room.
Indian Hills Manor,
an 82-bed, long-term care facility, offers quality nursing
care 24/7.
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