Toadstool (ne) Nebraska NF

Located on the beautiful Oglala National Grassland in northwestern Nebraska, Toadstool Geologic Park is a stark, other-worldly landscape unlike any place in Nebraska. Its name was inspired by the narrow clay pedestals topped with slabs of sandstone that resemble toadstool mushrooms. It is one of the most memorable places in the grassland with its unique layers, formations, and scientifically valuable fossil deposits. Toadstool is a key link in understanding the earth's history from 38 to 24 million years ago. Formed by mostly volcanic ash and alluvial river deposits, geologists consider it the "type section for the White River Geologic Group", meaning that all other similar-aged deposits in North America are compared to the geological standard designated at Toadstool. The campground consists of twelve campsites with picnic tables, fire rings, upright grills, and two accessible vault toilets. There is no water. In 1984 the Forest Service constructed a sod house in the campground near the site of a sod house built in 1929; the new "soddie" provides a look into the past when homesteaders on the grasslands used the only abundant material available. The original sod house was lived in briefly before being abandoned and signs of the original structure no longer exist. The trailhead at the campground provides access to three hiking trails, each with varying degrees of difficulty. A one mile interpretive loop highlights many examples of eroded clay/sandstone formations, and a brochure explains the geology of the area. The Bison Trail leaves the interpretive loop at the half way point and continues up the canyon to the Hudson-Meng Education and Research Center, 3 miles one way from the campground. A five mile loop begins at the campground and proceeds on the graveled section of the interpretive trail for a short distance before heading north through the badlands and grasslands on the Great Plains Trail; after 1.5 miles it intersects the 918 Road, and signs lead back to the Bison Trail and Toadstool Campground. The loop can be done in reverse. The Bison Trail, 918 Road, and part of the 5 mile loop are all part of the Great Plains Trail, a cross country network of public land trails and roads beginning in Guadalupe National Park and ending at the Canadian border. The Hudson-Meng Education and Research Center houses one of the most important paleo-archeological discoveries in North America. Visitors can tour the bonebed enclosure and discover the mysterious past of the Bison antiquus (extinct bison) that died here. A rancher first brought attention to the bonebed in 1954, and archeologists continue to research the exact nature of past events and the role ancient Paleo-Indian people may have played in them. Toadstool sits in the shadow of Nebraska's picturesque Pine Ridge, overlooking the Oglala and Buffalo Gap National Grasslands and north to the Black Hills of South Dakota.