The U.S. Geological Survey collected field spectra collected from the Niobrara River in Nebraska August 15–18, 2016, to support research on remote sensing of river discharge. Reflectance measurements were made by wading the Niobrara River near Norden Notch using an Analytical Spectral Devices FieldSpec3 spectroradiometer operated in reflectance mode. The original *.asd files are provided in this data release.