Highway 20 across Nebaska
- Thread starter intrepid27
- Start date
Highway 20 across Nebraska is not the end of the world...but you can see it from there.
Have done that many times and yes, it's desolate but wow.....talk about landscape. Especially the western and central parts of Utah on I70. Did that a few years ago when it was dark.....talk about feeling alone. It was close to midnight and that 100 mile stretch you talked of, there was not one car, truck or anything other than the moon and my headlights. Quite a bit different feeling than midnight in the midwest where you see the occasional lights of the farm houses and small towns.
Any trip across Nebraska that doesn't cross at least a small portion of Colorado just seems very wrong.
Highway 20 across NE is a great way to get west from Iowa. Starts in the Sand Hills. Passes along the Niobrara, a National Wild & Scenic river. Outfitters in Valentine will handle your equipment and shuttle needs, makes a great day on the water. Smith Falls State Park is NE's newest, the falls are 63' high. Special place on the Niobrara with a great little campground.
Next you pass by the hometown of Mari Sandoz, she wrote the definitive biography of Crazy Horse. Don't miss the Museum of the Fur Trade in Chadron, right on the highway. This is really the story of how the west was explored. Fur traders, particularly the French, were all over the place long before Lewis & Clark. Museum has a wealth of information, lots of items on display and a fantastic bookstore. Its a steal as admission is only $5.
Close by to the north but 20 tough miles is Toadstool Geologic Park. Hoodoos like you see at Goblin Valley State Park in southern Utah.
You'll be passing by National Forests most of the way, they end near Fort Robinson State Park. You can explore the Soldier Creek Wilderness but it will take some time. Fort Rob only purpose for me was to remind me that winners write the history. The real story of this place is its ugly place in our history of dealing with the tribes for which this is home. We arranged for the murder of Crazy Horse here. But that story is completly untold.
We've crossed on US20 in both directions and always find nature and history close at hand. May not be the mountains or ocean but its serene and beautiful in its own way.
PS, shout out for Agate Fossil Beds Natl Monument. About 50 mile south of Fort Rob. Contains much of Red Cloud & his families prized possessions. This has to be the finest collection of Lakato items that the NPS owns but likely its simply the finest we have. Its also a place where paleontologists unearthed full skeletons of extinct mammals.
If you are headed to Rocky Mountain NP a great route is to continue south to Scotts Bluff, then on thru Pawnee National Grassland, yes there is such a thing as a Natl Grassland! Its an easy way to get to US 34 which becomes Trail Ridge Road but only after heading up the Big Thompson Canyon to Estes Park.
Next you pass by the hometown of Mari Sandoz, she wrote the definitive biography of Crazy Horse. Don't miss the Museum of the Fur Trade in Chadron, right on the highway. This is really the story of how the west was explored. Fur traders, particularly the French, were all over the place long before Lewis & Clark. Museum has a wealth of information, lots of items on display and a fantastic bookstore. Its a steal as admission is only $5.
Close by to the north but 20 tough miles is Toadstool Geologic Park. Hoodoos like you see at Goblin Valley State Park in southern Utah.
You'll be passing by National Forests most of the way, they end near Fort Robinson State Park. You can explore the Soldier Creek Wilderness but it will take some time. Fort Rob only purpose for me was to remind me that winners write the history. The real story of this place is its ugly place in our history of dealing with the tribes for which this is home. We arranged for the murder of Crazy Horse here. But that story is completly untold.
We've crossed on US20 in both directions and always find nature and history close at hand. May not be the mountains or ocean but its serene and beautiful in its own way.
PS, shout out for Agate Fossil Beds Natl Monument. About 50 mile south of Fort Rob. Contains much of Red Cloud & his families prized possessions. This has to be the finest collection of Lakato items that the NPS owns but likely its simply the finest we have. Its also a place where paleontologists unearthed full skeletons of extinct mammals.
If you are headed to Rocky Mountain NP a great route is to continue south to Scotts Bluff, then on thru Pawnee National Grassland, yes there is such a thing as a Natl Grassland! Its an easy way to get to US 34 which becomes Trail Ridge Road but only after heading up the Big Thompson Canyon to Estes Park.
I’m in the minority but I enjoy driving across Nebraska. The high plains have always held a mystique for me, with the histories of the natives and pioneers who crossed them.
This is off of I-80, but near border of Wyoming, Colorado, and Nebraska you can visit Panorama Point, which is something like 5,400 feet in elevation (the highest in Nebraska). On a clear day you can see the Rocky Mountains, which I think is awesome. You can see the Rockies from the state next to Iowa. If go go to the town of Kimball Chamber of Commerce, they will give you a certificate that you can hang on your wall to "prove" you made it to the highest point. I've got it hanging on my office wall.
Right around there, you can hike through a field and get to a marker were Nebraska, Wyoming, and Colorado meet and be in all three states at once.
I would probably feel differently if I lived in that part of the country. But it's cool to drive through every couple of years.
This is off of I-80, but near border of Wyoming, Colorado, and Nebraska you can visit Panorama Point, which is something like 5,400 feet in elevation (the highest in Nebraska). On a clear day you can see the Rocky Mountains, which I think is awesome. You can see the Rockies from the state next to Iowa. If go go to the town of Kimball Chamber of Commerce, they will give you a certificate that you can hang on your wall to "prove" you made it to the highest point. I've got it hanging on my office wall.
Right around there, you can hike through a field and get to a marker were Nebraska, Wyoming, and Colorado meet and be in all three states at once.
I would probably feel differently if I lived in that part of the country. But it's cool to drive through every couple of years.
Just another person recommending you get gas at every opportunity. Even if you have a half a tank. If you see a gas station and aren't confident you can go another 150 miles, stop and fill up.
I spent $20 to buy 4 gallons of gas from a bar in Montana in 2012 while moving the family from IA to WA. They guy told us where the next open gas station was along the highway and we never would have made it. We had gotten off the highway 3 times when signs said "gas this exit" only to find the station shuttered. Needle had been on E for a few miles before we found that bar. Had the wife, 3 young kids, two cats, two dogs and a guinea pig in the minivan, pulling a small U-Haul trailer.
I spent $20 to buy 4 gallons of gas from a bar in Montana in 2012 while moving the family from IA to WA. They guy told us where the next open gas station was along the highway and we never would have made it. We had gotten off the highway 3 times when signs said "gas this exit" only to find the station shuttered. Needle had been on E for a few miles before we found that bar. Had the wife, 3 young kids, two cats, two dogs and a guinea pig in the minivan, pulling a small U-Haul trailer.
This, along with cycoug's post, have motivated me to start planning a road trip!
I lived in a Nebraska town on hw30 for a few years as a kid, it wasn’t a tiny town but it wasn’t big enough for the trains to slow down, maybe 15-20k. We’d have a kid hit by a train because they were using a Walkman once a year, probably worse with iPhones now. I always wonder how you couldn’t hear it, or if they were actually suicides.
It definitely was a lot of trains, more than Iowa towns I lived on that were on 20 and I29.
Latest posts
-
-
-
Christian Wiggins out for the 2026-27 season with a torn achilles
- Latest: xr4ticlone
-
Artificial Intelligence: How are you using it in everyday life?
- Latest: Cmonwhatarewedoinghereman
-
