Water hookups only available at above freezing temperatures.

Gray water dump station

Trash can, Recycling bin & Compost

Firepit, Outdoor Grill & Game processing area

Picnic Table, Trash Cans, Firepit, Propane Allowed, Grill, Beautiful View, Firewood

The secluded Maple Creek Canyon wilderness is isolated from county roads by fields of corn and soybeans, where wildlife can feed at daybreak and before osunset, returning to cover for bedding down. For natural forage, there are two completely different ecosystems: 1. one on top of the canyon rim, and 2. another down in the canyon. Of course the woodlands, the wetland, and the creek itself, each offer unique food sources as well. The balance of nature is evident also among all creatures at Maple Creek Canyon: insects, reptiles, fish, small animals, and birds. Hawks, Eagles, and other predatory birds soar the sky scouting the ground below. Every night we hear packs of coyotes boasting their victory chorus when they make a kill, creating a vacancy for new families of the same species to move in.

Most of Colfax County’s springs and creeks converge, and flow through Maple Creek Canyon. So the wildlife at Maple Creek Canyon never runs out of fresh water. There is also a soggy bottom marsh near Beaver Bend at Maple Creek Canyon. Even the massive lawn at Maple Creek Canyon Headquarters is extensively watered and manicured throughout the long hot summers, attracting aerial acrobatic shows by hundreds of barn swallows and other bird species, swooping across the landscape, controlling the mosquito population.

Except for access trails and foot trails, the entirety of Maple Creek Canyon is a jungle of overgrown cover for wildlife. Deer beds and deer trails line miles of the upper rim above the canyon walls. The dense secluded woodland beckons wild turkeys to bed down in the branches of ancient trees. And piles of deadwood offer shelter, food, and protection for smaller animals. Maple Creek Canyon is covered with millions of trees and meadows of native Nebraska prairie grasses. Milkweed Pods proliferate the grasslands which attract Monarch and various species of Butterflies, creating a scent that protects them from predators.