Download GPX file for this article
42.028333-97.433611Full screen dynamic map

From Wikivoyage
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Norfolk is the largest city in northeastern Nebraska with a 2000 census population of 23,516.

Understand

Norfolk is located in Northeast Nebraska in Madison County in the Elkhorn River Valley.

Norfolk is the economic center for an area encompassing six counties. Basic economic activities of Norfolk are manufacturing, farming (both livestock and grain), education, retailing, and wholesaling. Manufacturing employs over 4,059 persons. Norfolk is the major retail trade center for Northeast Nebraska.

Norfolk has been rated as the 2nd best place for jobs and the 98th best place to live in the United States by CNNMoney.com.

Get in

Norfolk lies 112 miles northwest of Omaha, 121 miles north of Lincoln, and 75 miles southwest of Sioux City, Iowa. U.S. Highways 81 and 275, and Nebraska Highways 24 and 35 intersect in Norfolk.

Get around

See

  • Ashfall Fossil Beds (Located six miles north of US highway 20 between Royal and Orchard), ☏ +1 402 893-2000. An hour from Norfolk, this educational site offers a unique window to the past. Barrel-bodied rhinos, three-toed horses, llama-like camels and saber tooth deer are just a few of the intact skeletal remains that you can view. Visit with the paleontologists under the covered barn and learn about the animals that roamed our land millions of years ago. 
  • Elkhorn Valley Museum & Research Center, 515 Queen City Blvd, ☏ +1 402-371-3886. Whether you're a Johnny Carson fan, interested in history or just want something different to do this is the place to see. Home to the Johnny Carson exhibit, this museum also has more to offer with a working one room school house, restored first home of Norfolk, children’s discovery zone, the Square Turn Tractor, research center and a birding library that will take you by surprise. This museum will amaze you and will welcome you with open arms. 
  • Madison County Museum, 210 W 3rd Street, Madison, NE, ☏ +1 402-454-2827. Located in the heart of Madison, this museum has a working communication display, showcases Richie Ashburn who is in the baseball hall of fame, is home to the Northeast Nebraska Model Railroaders display and for you history buffs has genealogy research on the orphan train riders. Over 3,000 pieces of a lighted Christmas village brings joy to your heart year around! 
  • Norfolk Arts Center, 305 North 5th St., ☏ +1 402 371-7199. Norfolk Arts Center is a non-profit community organization dedicated to cultivating an appreciation of the arts in all forms for the people of northeast Nebraska. To this end we present visual arts exhibits, host musical and theatre performances, and offer arts classes. Thanks to the generosity of the Nebraska Arts Council, Mid-America Arts Alliance, National Endowment for the Arts, and the people of northeast Nebraska, Norfolk Arts Center has been serving the area for over 30 years. 
  • [dead link] Riviera Raceway, 204 Sherwood Rd, ☏ +1 402-371-3936. Street stock racing from April to September, Friday nights are filled with racing at this track just south of Norfolk. 


Do

  • Cowboy Trail, TaHaZouka Park. Once part of the Chicago & North Western railroad's Cowboy Line, the route covers 321 miles across northern Nebraska from Norfolk to Chadron. From east to west, the trail passes through the farmland of the Elkhorn River valley, into Plains ranchland, across the scenic Niobrara River valley, along the northern Sandhills and to the edge of the Pine Ridge. The Cowboy Trail is the longest rail-to-trail conversion in progress in the United States, which includes a 148-foot high bridge over the Niobrara River at Valentine. 
  • DeGroots Orchards, 83210 554th Ave, ☏ +1 402-454-3445. Open in the fall this is the place for all your fresh apple needs. They offer over 10 varieties from Honey Crisp to Jonathans. Don’t forget the cider! 
  • Maskenthine Lake Mountain Bike Trail. For the more adventuresome traveler, this mountain bike trail is for riders of all skills. Easily accessible from Norfolk via Hwy 275, the area features over five miles of single-track trails with a wide variety of terrain. This is a popular destination for cyclists from around the area. 
  • Off Road Ranch, 2900 Old Hwy 8, ☏ +1 402 844-5044. The Off Road Ranch is the best place to get your off road fix. Whether it’s on your motocross bike, ATV, or your quad on the 300-ft drag strip, the Off Road Ranch is the perfect place to test your skills. The 30-acre ranch features a 300-ft sand drag strip, Motocross/Four wheeler course (for experienced and less experienced riders), Off-Road Pickups, Snow Mobiles for the winter months, Camping with electricity (20 camp sites available) and Midwest Quad Championship 
  • Poppy's Pumpkin Patch, 55275 837th Rd, ☏ +1 402 379-0455. Want more than just a pumpkin patch? This place will have the kids smiling from ear to ear and parents running to keep up! Activities include Jared’s jungle, the observation tower, corn maze, petting zoo, craft activities, jail, and dress-up cabin. 
  • Willow Creek Recreation Area, 54876 852 Rd., ☏ +1 402 329-4053. Willow Creek, 1½ miles SW of Pierce, has 1,633 acres with a 700-acre lake. Facilities include: 100 camping pads, 64 with 30 amp electrical hookups, 19 with 50 amp electrical hookups. Picnic tables & shelters, fire grates, H2O, showers, modern restrooms, accessible fishing pier, archery field course, unsupervised swimming, two playgrounds & an 8-mile hiking/horseback trail around the lake. Seven rock jetties provide some fine fishing access. There is a designated swimming beach, but swimming is unsupervised. Since there are no lifeguards, swimmers should use care & swim with a companion. 

Buy

  • Sunset Plaza Norfolk, 1700 Market Ln, Ste 40, ☏ +1 402-371-8668. Herberger's, JCPennys, Radio Shack, Rags to Riches, Renegade. 
  • Downtown Norfolk, Norfolk Ave (from 1st to 8th St). Specialty shops, fine dining and unique gift ideas. 

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Connect

Go next

Routes through Norfolk
Yankton ← Jct W E ←  N  S  → Jct → York
Ends at ← O'Neill ←  W  E  → Fremont → Omaha


This city travel guide to Norfolk is an outline and needs more content. It has a template, but there is not enough information present. Please plunge forward and help it grow!
Retrieved from "https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Norfolk_(Nebraska)&oldid=3988413"