Sioux County

Sioux County, lying in the extreme northwestern corner of Nebraska, contains over 2,000 square miles, twice the size of the state of Rhode Island. The topography is characteristic of the High Plains region with rolling prairie tablelands and deeply dissected escarpments and buttes. Major watersheds of northern Sioux County include Hat Creek and the White River. The Niobrara River flows through the central portion of the county.

Harrison is the county seat and the only incorporated village in Sioux County and the highest elevation of any Nebraska town at 4,876 feet as it rests on a grassy plain atop the Pine Ridge. A few miles north of town, Sowbelly, Monroe, and Hat Creek Canyon offer deeply wooded trails and cool, clear streams.

Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, located 23 miles south of Harrison on Highway 29 features one of the world’s outstanding deposits of mammal fossils. Two short, self-guiding trails lead to 20 million year old fossil deposits exposed in place.

Fort Robinson is located 23 miles east of Harrison on U.S. 20. The University of Nebraska Trailside Museum and the Nebraska State Historical Society Museum provide many fascinating exhibits depicting the area’s prehistoric past to life at the frontier Army post.

Toadstool Park and Hudson-Meng Bison Bone Bed site are located in the northeastern corner of Sioux County. Thousands of unusual rock formations formed when cemented soils of different hardness weathered and eroded. The Hudson-Meng Bison Bone Bed site reveals the remains of over 600 extinct Plains bison.

Sioux County offers three circle tours: Monuments, Canyons, and Agate. Routes are indicated on maps available at various Harrison businesses.