Visit Nebraska parks, engage in healthy recreation — and possibly win prizes — by joining the 2022 Great Park Pursuit, an exploration of 20 official parks sites across the state.

The free program encourages participants to visit the designated community, regional, state and federal parks between now and Oct. 31, 2022. Participants must register at negpp.org.

Teams of up to 10 people register to participate online, then follow clues from the website or Great Park Pursuit mobile app to find a program post within the park area. Once found, the team marks its visit in the app or makes a pencil impression of the post to prove its visit.

Teams can win prizes such as a GoPro camera, cabin stays, backyard game packages, Nebraska state park permits, Nebraskaland Magazine subscriptions and more. The grand prize is an outdoor recreation package valued at $1,500. Prizes and entry into drawings are based on the number of post impressions or park visits recorded.

This year’s participating parks are:

Bowling Lake Park, Lincoln; Chalco Hills Recreation Area, Omaha; Chimney Rock, Bayard; Conestoga State Recreation Area, Denton; Ehmen Park, Gothenburg; Fontenelle Park, Omaha; Fort Robinson State Park, Crawford; Hemingford Community Park, Hemingford; Long Pine State Recreation Area, Long Pine; Memphis State Recreation Area, Memphis; Merritt Reservoir State Recreation Area, Valentine; Niobrara State Park, Niobrara; Portal Recreation Area, Papillion; Rock Creek Lake State Recreation Area, Enders; Sherman Reservoir State Recreation Area, Loup City; Summit Lake State Recreation Area, Tekamah; Sutherland Reservoir State Recreation Area, North Platte; Taylor Park, Taylor; Ward Bond Memorial Park, Benkelman; Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area, Gering.

The Great Park Pursuit mobile app is available on Google Play for Android or at the Apple iStore.

The Great Park Pursuit, sponsored by the Nebraska Chiropractic Physicians Association and the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District, is a partnership between the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and the Nebraska Recreation and Park Association. It is designed to promote active lifestyles while increasing awareness of the state’s nature-rich outdoor recreation opportunities. The program, now in its 15th year, sees more than 700 teams participate each year, with more than 100,000 park visits annually.

It’s time to think about taking a Hunter Education course

It may not feel like it, but hunting seasons are less than three months away. Early summer is the time to start thinking about obtaining Hunter Education certification.

In Nebraska, Firearm Hunter Education is required for anyone age 12-29 hunting any species with a firearm, air gun, or muzzleloader. Bowhunter Education is required for anyone age 12-29 hunting deer, antelope, elk or bighorn sheep with archery equipment. Persons must be at least 11 to take any of Nebraska Hunter Education course.

There are two Hunter Education options:

  • Traditional classroom courses: Firearm, Bowhunter and Combination Firearm/Bowhunter courses are available.
  • Online courses: Combination Firearm/Bowhunter and Bowhunter courses are available. Persons age 11-15 must attend a Hunt Safe Session following completion of the online course to receive certificates. Those 16 and older receive certificates following completion of the online course; for them, taking the Hunt Safe Session is optional.

More information can be found at HuntSafeNebraska.org.