Nebraska Highway 12

State Highway 12
Outlaw Trail Scenic Byway
Nebraska Highway 12 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NDOT
Length	231.26 mi[1] (372.18 km)
Existed	1926–present
Major junctions
West end	US 83 in Valentine
Major intersections	US 183 in Springview N-137 west of Naper US 281 in Spencer N-14 in Niobrara US 81 east of Crofton N-15 west of Obert
East end	US 20 west of Jackson
Location
Country	United States
State	Nebraska
Counties	Cherry, Keya Paha, Boyd, Knox, Cedar, Dixon, Dakota
Highway system
Nebraska State Highway System Interstate US State Link Spur State Spurs Recreation
← N-11 → N-13

Nebraska Highway 12 is a highway in northern and northeastern Nebraska. It has a western terminus at U.S. Highway 83 in Valentine and an eastern terminus at U.S. Highway 20 west of Jackson. The highway largely lies within 10 miles (16 km) of the South Dakota border its entire length. The highway has been designated the Outlaw Trail Scenic Byway.

Nebraska Highway 12 begins at an intersection with US 83 in Valentine, Nebraska. It goes northeast out of Valentine through the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge before turning east. It also provides the easiest link to Smith Falls State Park. It passes through Sparks, then turns southeasterly towards Springview, where it meets U.S. Highway 183. After a brief concurrency with US 183 north, it turns east and briefly overlaps Nebraska Highway 137 before continuing eastward to another concurrency with Nebraska Highway 11 in Butte. It goes south out of Butte, then turns east and meets U.S. Highway 281 in Spencer, which it also overlaps. It continues eastward through the tribal lands of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and around the edge of Niobrara State Park. It then crosses the Niobrara River and enters the village of Niobrara, Nebraska, where it meets Nebraska Highway 14.^[1][2]

NE 12 and NE 14 continue eastward together from Niobrara until NE 14 turns north to go across into South Dakota. NE 12 continues east through the Santee Indian Reservation and continues due east through Crofton, Nebraska. It continues on the same line eastward, intersecting U.S. Highway 81 in the process, then turns southeastward near Wynot. It meets Nebraska Highway 15 and the two routes are paired together through Obert and Maskell before NE 15 turns north to go toward Vermillion, South Dakota. It angles through Newcastle and Ponca. It turns briefly south, then goes southeast to end west of Jackson at an intersection with U.S. Highway 20.^[1][2]

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Cherry	Valentine	0.00	0.00	US 83 (Blue Star Memorial Highway)	Western terminus; road continues south as US 83 (Main Street)
	Fort Niobrara NWR	4.13	6.65	S-16A east
Keya Paha	Springview	48.31	77.75	US 183 south (11th Street)	Western end of US 183 overlap
	​	53.31	85.79	US 183 north	Eastern end of US 183 overlap
	​	75.41	121.36	N-137 south	Western end of N-137 overlap
	​	79.90	128.59	N-137 north	Eastern end of N-137 overlap
Boyd	Naper	89.47	143.99	S-8A north (County Road V)
	Butte	102.53	165.01	N-11 south	Western end of N-11 overlap
		103.53	166.62	N-11 north / Lewis and Clark Trail	Eastern end of N-11 overlap
	Spencer	112.60	181.21	US 281 north	Western end of US 281 overlap
	​	116.19	186.99	US 281 south	Eastern end of US 281 overlap
Knox	Niobrara	150.24	241.79	N-14 south (Cedar Street)	Western end of N-14 overlap
		153.10	246.39	N-14 north	Eastern end of N-14 overlap
	Santee	156.13	251.27	S-54D north
	Crofton	178.41	287.12	N-121 north (8th Street)
Cedar	​	183.39	295.14	US 81 – Yankton SD, Norfolk
	Fordyce	185.43	298.42	S-14A south (558th Avenue)
	​	190.43	306.47	N-57 south
	St. Helena	191.43	308.08	S-14H north (564 Avenue)
	Wynot	195.65	314.87	S-14B north
	​	200.11	322.05	N-15 south (572 Avenue)	Western end of N-15 overlap
Dixon	​	207.82	334.45	N-15 north (579 Avenue)	Eastern end of N-15 overlap
	Ponca	223.49	359.67	S-26E north (Nebraska Street)
		224.47	361.25	N-9 south
Dakota	Willis	231.26	372.18	US 20 / Lewis and Clark Trail – Sioux City, O'Neill	Eastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nebraska Highway 12.

• The Nebraska Highways Page: Highways 1 to 30
• Nebraska Roads: NE 11-20