Niobrara River

The Niobrara flows eastward across northern Nebraska, snaking its way through the Sandhills in a steep-sided valley with forested sides and bottom.  It's not out of place in Nebraska, just very different than what someone who had only seen I-80 might expect.  The Wild and Scenic stretch below Valentine gets plenty of rafts, canoes, and kayaks -- although my timing precluded me from spending the day doing the latter.  Maybe next time.

The river is crossed by many bridges - from the long railroad trestle outside of Valentine to a series of small one-lane bridges downstream.

Smith Falls pours out of the aquifer on the south side of the valley, falling 60' feet to make Nebraska's highest waterfall.  The main river tumbles over a few minor rapids in this stretch, but only a couple that require portaging.  Downstream it widens and probably gets tough to navigate through all the sandbars.