Fort Robinson State Park

Fort Robinson State Park is a great place for horse camping. It’s a big park set out in the Pine Ridge area of northwest Nebraska, with a mix of open country, pine-covered hills, and those unique bluffs that make riding here a little different than most places.

What makes it stand out is how much it offers in one place. You’ve got miles of riding, solid horse facilities, and a lot of history tied into the old cavalry post. It’s the kind of place you can spend several days and still find new areas to explore

Getting into Fort Robinson is easy, and the roads in and around the park are very trailer-friendly. Once you’re there, check in at the front office first, which is located in the main building. They will want to see you paperwork and then provide you with your parking pass. You will want to go and drop off your horses at the barn you reserved. Everything is well marked, and it’s simple to find your way to the campgrounds and barn areas.

We’ve stayed in both Red Cloud Campground and the newer campground closer to the Mare Barn area. The newer campground is closer to the brick barns than Red Cloud, which makes it more convenient. Either way, getting in, set up, and moving around with a trailer is pretty easy.

This place is built for horse campers, and the setup makes day-to-day life pretty easy once you’re settled in.

Horses are kept in designated stalls or outdoor pens near the equestrian campground, not at your campsite. We’ve found that we prefer the brick barns over the Mare Barns. The ventilation is better, and the way they’re set up allows the horses to see each other, which helps them settle in. In our opinion, the mare barn stalls are dark, have very small windows, ventilation is poor, and we didn't like that our horsed couldn't see each other.

One thing we like to do here is grab an extra stall to store tack, hay, and grain. Otherwise, you end up hauling everything back and forth each day, which gets old pretty quick.

The riding is what really makes this place. You’ve got a lot of variety, but the rides up into the bluffs are definitely a highlight. Between the elevation changes, the views, and the different terrain, it keeps things interesting and gives you a little bit of everything. Don't be surprised if you run into the local longhorns and possibly bison. We've also heard there are rattlesnakes. However, we've never seen the the rattlesnakes or bison.

This is a larger state park, and it gets a lot of use, especially during summer and events. It’s spread out enough that it doesn’t feel crowded, but it’s still a good idea to plan ahead.

The setup here is more practical than fancy. Some of the barns and facilities are older, but they’re in fantastic condition and work great.

You’ll need to plan on bringing your own feed and taking care of your stall area while you’re there. Everything is set up to make that manageable, but it’s still part of the routine. Once again, get an extra stall to store everything you need.

One thing we always make time for here are the museums—they are definitely worth checking out and adds a lot to the overall experience. Peek in the various buildings, there is a lot of history to be seen.

We think fall is the best time to visit because it gets very hot in the summer. We've been there in mid September and the temperatures ranged from mid 90's to low 100's.

Grabbing breakfast at the restaurant is also a great way to start the day before heading out to ride.