Cheetahs and Amur tigers give the Lee G. Simmons Wildlife Safari Park a distinctive profile. The park hosts breeding programs for both species. Behind-the-scenes experiences let visitors get closer to the animals. It is located on 440 acres of land outside Ashland, Nebraska, in Saunders County. This brings together a clearly specified regional location and hands-on wildlife experiences.
Lakes and Trails on Different Scales
The Lake Wanahoo NRD Recreation Area encompasses 662-acre Lake Wanahoo within a 1,777-acre recreation area. Hiking and biking trails run around the lake. This makes the trails an important part of the experience: they provide access to the lake on foot or by bike, rather than focusing on just one spot along the shore.
The Czechland Lake Recreation Area highlights a different connection. The area lies one mile north of Prague, Nebraska, along Highway 79. Its 82-surface-acre lake is located on 260 acres of public land. Trails on the north side of the lake connect three day-use areas with the tent and RV camping areas. Comparing the two lakes reveals different points of reference: trails around Lake Wanahoo and a network at Czechland Lake that connects day-use areas and campgrounds.
Memphis State Recreation Area adds another distinct designation to the picture of the lakes. It encompasses 163 acres of land with a 48-acre lake. The lake is designated as a no-wake lake. Together with the area figures, this adds another clearly distinct type of lake to consider, without treating the three areas as the same.
Buildings and Biographies
The Saunders County Historical Society Museum complex includes a train depot, a caboose, a post office, an agricultural building, a church, a schoolhouse and a log cabin. These different types of buildings stand side by side: railroad, postal service, agriculture, religion, education and housing. The museum also features exhibits on Carl Johnson, a survivor of the Titanic, and Darryl Zanuck, a film mogul and co-founder of 20th Century Fox. The two exhibit topics thus range from the personal story of the Titanic to the film industry.
The Hanson House is the restored home of Howard Hanson. In 1944, he received the Pulitzer Prize for outstanding contemporary musical composition. The memorabilia in the house also relate to “Wahoo” Sam Crawford, a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, and George Beadle, a Nobel Prize-winning scientist. The three names offer different biographical connections to music, baseball and science, while the house itself remains rooted in its history as Hanson’s restored home.
The topics offer different points of focus: wildlife experiences and breeding programs at the Wildlife Safari Park, trails and lakeside areas outdoors, and historic buildings and biographical exhibits. The shifts between landscape, wildlife and history are what make Saunders County a destination with several distinct ways to explore.
Discover more destinations: Ceresco, Wahoo, Dawes County, Garfield County, Cherry County, Phelps County, Buffalo County, Dakota County.
For the overall travel guide: Nebraska.
