Scotts bluff National Monument

Visited: July 2019

Duration: 2-3 hours

Accomodations: Used IHG points at the Holiday Inn, Scottsbluff, NE.

Along the North Platte River in western Nebraska, Scotts bluff jets out of the landscape. Scotts Bluff and Chimney rock were mileposts for those expanding westward in the great migration. This is a place where the emigrants knew they were traveling the correct route when they saw these formations. Both Oregon and California Trails pass through here. We are following the California trail out west and hitting up the Oregon Trail on the way home.

Scotts Bluff National Monument is a great easy stop out in western Nebraska where there isn’t much else to see or do. I was really surprised how beautiful the countryside was on our trip. We came from Iowa traveling along I-80 which is pretty boring if you have ever traveled it. We took our exit and after a few minutes the beauty began to unfold. You truly have to see it to believe it.

We arrived pretty close to sunset and drove to the top of the bluff. The kids thought this was a pretty cool drive because you get to go through several tunnels on the way up. Once at the top, gorgeous views of the town and all around.

We stopped off at the visitor center on the way down the hill grabbed some Junior Ranger booklets and walked around the interpretive trail to the south of the bluff. There were covered wagons and oxen to check out for an idea of how the pioneers traveled.

It was getting late so we called it an evening and decided to stop back in the morning to earn our Junior Ranger badges.

We got our badges and cancellations (shown below) and will continue our journey westward! Up next is Fort Laramie, WY. Check back soon for that blog.