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The Sutherland Oregon Trail Golf Course

Located on the south shore of the Sutherland Reservoir, the Oregon Trail Golf Course offers nine holes of challenging play. The course is complete with cart rentals and a club house. Phone: (308) 386-4653.

Trap and Sporting Clays

Sutherland is very fortunate to have two trap ranges and one sporting clays range in the vicinity. The Lions Club Clubhouse and Trap Range is located east of town. It features a comfortable club house and well-maintained shooting range. The Cow Pasture Gun Club is located north and west of town in the Sandhills between the north and south Platte rivers. As the name implies, it is in a more rustic setting. However, it features three automatic traps and is very popular with local enthusiasts. Located south of town, Seifer Farms Sporting Clays is a scenic and challenging course. It is complete with a ten-station course, 40-foot tower, and a trap station.

Sutherland Reservoir

Sutherland Reservoir, conceived as part of an irrigation storage and hydroelectric system, was constructed between 1933 and 1935. Its 3,050 acres of water offer many recreational opportunities. These include:

• Beach recreation, swimming, camping, picnicking, skiing, boating, golfing and wildlife observation.
• Fishing, including a handicapped fishing area near the canal inlet. Fish grow to record size in the reservoir.
• Wildlife habitat. Numerous bald eagles use open water caused by power generation as a winter feeding area. Thousands of waterfowl are attracted to the reservoir's open water and surrounding croplands.
• Seasonal hunting in designated wildlife management areas.

Hunting

Sutherland is located in the heart of Nebraska's best hunting country. The area's river and creek bottoms, open pasture land and fertile cropland provide excellent habitat for wildlife. This area offers a unique variety of hunting possibilities, including whitetail deer, pheasant, quail, duck and goose. To the north in the vast Sandhills country, mule deer, antelope, prairie chickens and grouse can be found in abundant numbers.

Sandhills Cranes & Bald Eagles

Ole's Big Game Lounge

Buffalo Bill Cody's Scout's Rest Ranch

Cabela's Corporate Headquarters

Historical Points of Interest

Nearly all westward migration of the United States passed along the Great Platte River Road - from the earliest fur traders, who used the Platte River as their highway, to the Oregon Trail, Mormon Trail, Pony Express riders, Union Pacific Railroad, and, more recently, the Lincoln Highway and Interstate 80.

North of the North Platte River bridge, a National Historic Monument, on the road leading out of Sutherland, in the Sandhills east of the road, one can find remains of the earliest Mormon Trail expeditions, the 1847 caravan which included Brigham Young. A monument will soon be erected on this site, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of that expedition.

Remains of the Oregon Trail are south of the South Platte River. A monument is located at the rest area on the eastbound lanes of Interstate 80. Wagon wheels rest in the ruts of the trail, leading to the south over O'Fallon's Bluff.

Many area farmers have historical sites located on their land, including military outposts, buffalo wallows, original telegraph poles, trail ruts, and pony express stations.

In his recent book The Lincoln Highway: Nebraska, author Gregory M. Franzwa describes the route of the first transcontinental highway through the town of Sutherland.

Across the North Platte River begin the famous Nebraska Sandhills. Originally called the Great American Desert, early settlers avoided the area for fear of becoming lost in the rolling hills of sand. By the late 1870s, cowboys were beginning to discover the lush valleys that were well suited to ranging cattle. After the early years of the cattle barons prospering on free range, smaller ranches began moving in. Today, the sandhills are home to some of the most productive ranches in the nation.

The Birdwood area north of Sutherland was the childhood home of Nebraska author Nellie Snyder Yost. Many of her books, and that of her mother, Grace Snyder, tell of life during the early settlement period of this area.

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