Siouxland Families

Nebraska City, Nebraska's unique Arbor Lodge State Historical Park is centered around the beautiful Arbor Lodge mansion, making it one of the only state parks in the US where a holiday was invented! This former home of J. Sterling Morton, founder of Arbor Day now serves as a museum and event venue, while the grounds provide relaxing opportunities for walking amidst trees galore, some more than a century old. Here's what families should know about Nebraska's Arbor Lodge State Historical Park.  Disclosure: park admission is free, but there is usually a cost to tour inside the lodge, and I received free admission from the Arbor Day Foundation to facilitate the writing of an article for Living Here Midwest magazine's Spring 2024 issue about the history of Arbor Day. I was not required to also write about it for my blog, but this place is awesome, and I really wanted to share more about it! Where is Arbor Lod...

 I recently went to Nebraska City to write an article for Living Here Midwest magazine  about the history of Arbor Day, and I got to stay in the stunning Lied Lodge. The hotel is part of a group of high-quality attractions run by the Arbor Day Foundation on the former estate of Arbor Day creator J. Sterling Morton, and I was given a hotel stay and admission to the Arbor Day Foundation attractions so that I could write about them. What I discovered is that the Lied Lodge isn't just one of the best hotels in the area or along I-29; I'd argue it's one of the best in the Midwest. Here's the full scoop on why I think the Arbor Day Farm Lied Lodge is one of the best hotels in the Midwest. Where is the Lied Lodge? The Lied Lodge at Arbor Day Farm is in Nebraska City, NE just a few minutes from interstate 29 near the Iowa/Nebraska border (and not too far from the Iowa/Missouri border either!). The address is 2700 Sylvan Road in Nebraska City, NE, and the...

If you've driven into Nebraska, you may have seen signs proclaiming it "the home of Arbor Day" and wondered what that meant. Arbor Day was started in Nebraska in 1872, and since then, millions of trees are planted each year all around the world as part of Arbor Day celebrations! The Arbor Day Foundation plays a huge role in making this happen, and in preserving the history of Arbor Day. So, I was super excited to work with them to write an article for  Living Here Midwest  magazine about the history of Arbor Day, and to find out more about how Arbor Day started and about what the foundation does now to continue their mission into the future. And spoiler alert: they do this largely through tons of fun at their spectacular Arbor Day Farm and attractions including the Tree Adventure, Porter's BBQ and the Apple Market, the Arbor Lodge State Historical Park, and the Lied Lodge Hotel. Thank you to the Arbor Day Foundation for covering my admission to...