I've only been to the Wildcat Hills on a couple of occasions, all but most recently back during my high school or college years in the late '60s. I know I camped there on at least one of those occasions, but mostly we just made quick visits to view the scenery. I always remember it as a forested, green, rugged area with an interesting landscape.

4:31 p.m.
We left Utah this morning and drove across Wyoming. We had reservations at a motel in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. South of Scottsbluff we made a quick stop at the Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area. It cost us $2.00 per person for our visit. Though we probably could have gotten away without paying, we always feel better when we can help out these small parks and recreation areas. They are usually the ones that suffer when there are budget cuts.

There is a Nature Center, but it looked to be closed for the day or the season. The area is mostly rolling hills covered with pinyon and other taller pines. There are some canyons with steep cliffs and a few trails seem to run through the area. There are picnic areas, a couple of rock shelters with great views of the bluffs to the north and the farm land in between. It’s a small area, but interesting for Nebraska.

There is supposed to be a campground, but the only signs we saw seemed to indicate an open, flat area with a few picnic tables, grills, and trash cans. If this was the campground it's right near the road through the area, and is very exposed to the sun and weather.

We drove up a couple of the roads in the hills and took a few photos. It would be a nice day area. There are some short trails, but not many. But there are some nice picnic areas and stone shelters.

5:28 p.m.
From Wildcat Hills we continued north into Gering and Scottsbluff National Monument.