Official Nebraska Government Website Nebraska Department of Economic Development   |   Division of Travel and Tourism
TwitterFacebookYou Tubeitunes

AddThis Social Bookmark Button
Sandhills Excursion PDF Print E-mail
ROAD TRIPS - OPEN ROAD ADVENTURES
Chadron-Based
Grand Island / Hastings / Kearney-Based
Lincoln-Based
Norfolk-Based
North Platte-Based
Omaha-Based
Scottsbluff / Gering-Based
Valentine-Based

Experience the Nebraska Sandhills in all its glory along this exceptionally scenic tour. Slowly wind your way through the region’s quiet towns, wide-open countryside, rolling hills, and horizons that seem to stretch forever.

Are you ready to relive the rough and tumble frontier days of the Old West? You can at Dobby’s Frontier Town in Alliance. This re-creation of a turn-of-the-century Western town boasts a homesteader’s cabin, mercantile, bootlegger’s cabin, post office, jail, baled straw house, and much, much more. Be sure to stop at one of the most fascinating places in Nebraska, Carhenge near Alliance. This unique attraction is an exact replica of Stonehenge—but built entirely out of cars! Chadron State Park south of Chadron is Nebraska’s first state park and an outdoor recreation lover’s paradise. Nestled among towering pine trees and rugged buttes, the park is packed with fun-filled activities such as paddleboating, black powder demonstrations, hiking, biking, and sightseeing.

Nebraska’s cowboy way of life is alive and well at the Tri-State Old Time Cowboys Memorial Museum in Gordon. Enjoy the scenic beauty of the northern Sandhills as you make your way to the Arthur Bowring Sandhills Ranch State Historical Park near Merriman. The visitor center, outbuildings, and ranch house document the history of ranching in the Sandhills and chronicle the lives of Eve Bowring (the first Nebraska woman to serve in the U.S. Senate) and her husband Arthur. Explore the remoteness of the Sandhills as you travel down NE-61 south of Merriman into this wide-open region. NE-61 ends at NE-2, also known as the Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway.

Route Directions
Start in Alliance at Dobby’s Frontier Town
56 miles north on US-385 to Chadron
47 miles east on US-20 to Gordon
30 miles east on US-20 to Merriman
 

Press RoomGroup Travel PlannerIndustryspacerBusiness DevelopmentCommunity DevelopmentLiving and WorkingNews
Nebraska Department of Economic Development • 301 Centennial Mall South • PO Box 94666 • Lincoln, NE 68509-4666 • Tourism Contacts