is a tributary of the South Platte River
, approximately 212 miles (341 km) long, in the U.S. states
. Lodgepole Creek drains the southeastern corner of Wyoming, the southern edge of the Nebraska Panhandle
and a several small portions of northeastern Colorado. As its name implies, Lodgepole Creek is a very small stream; for nearly all of its length, it flows through the semiarid High Plains
. The Lodgepole Creek valley has been a major transportation route for over 100 years; the line of the original transcontinental railroad
, the Lincoln Highway
/U.S. Highway 30
and Interstate 80
all run along the stream for much of its length.
Lodgepole Creek rises on the east slope of the Laramie Mountains
of southeastern Wyoming, about 10 miles (16 km) east of Laramie, Wyoming
. The creek flows east, north of Cheyenne, Wyoming
; it enters Nebraska just east of Pine Bluffs, Wyoming
. In Nebraska, it flows to the east past Kimball
; at Chappell, Lodgepole Creek turns to the southeast and flows into Colorado. The stream, by this point flowing south, empties into the South Platte River at Ovid, Colorado
, 3 miles (5 km) south of the Nebraska/Colorado border.