I have to admit, I was pleasantly shocked when I saw Cody Park–I did not expect to find such an amazing park in the middle of North Platte, Nebraska. In my defense, our visit to Cody Park came early in our Nebraska trip, so I had not yet become accustomed to being impressed with all that Nebraska had to offer.
As we pulled into the park I saw a few amusement park style rides sized for kids. The rides are permanent residents of the park, and they were running full tilt to the delight of the children there. Nearby, was a concession stand that offers treats, too! We then drove around the corner and I saw a large fenced in area with a group of deer relaxing in the shade under a tree. We drove a bit further, and a couple elk surrounded by Canada geese popped into view. As I was still taking all this in, I saw yet another area with llamas and peacocks (even one albino peacock!).
If you come to Cody Park, be sure to bring quarters so you can buy corn to feed the various animals. All are quite tame and seemed unimpressed by the small crowd of people gathered around to feed them. We had a great time tossing corn through the fence and snapping photos.
We left the animals, headed around the corner and saw a group of people having a picnic by the river. Some members of the party had taken off their shoes and had waded far out into the impressively shallow Platte River to cool off a bit. Sadly, we hadn’t packed a picnic lunch that day, but we will someday.
If you find yourself driving across the country and through Nebraska, or if you live in Nebraska and are looking for something to do, plan an overnight in North Platte, and a stop in Cody Park. This is a great spot and is #9 on our list of Nebraska’s Nicest Nine.
