The Western Trails Scenic and Historic Byway reaches from Ogallala northwest 145 miles along US-26/State-92 to the Nebraska-Wyoming state line. Never straying far from the North Platte River and the towering groves of cottonwoods lining its banks, the blacktop takes you past more than a dozen famous landmarks.

You can see the ruts of wagons that descended a frighteningly steep hillside to a welcoming spring at Ash Hollow State Historical Park (30 miles northwest of Ogallala). Drive another 50 miles west and you'll pass Courthouse and Jail rocks, huge stone formations given their fanciful names by pioneers. Chimney Rock, the trail's best-known landmark, now a national historic site, rises needlelike 13 miles west near Bayard. You can ride a Conestoga wagon from the Chimney Rock museum to the base of the spire.

From here, the castlelike bulk of Scotts Bluff National Monument is already visible 30 miles northwest near Gering. The vast, flat-topped sandstone bluff rises 800 feet above the North Platte River. There, wagons passed through the narrow notch of Mitchell Pass. Iron-shod wheels wore away so much earth that now, in places, the 6-foot-deep trench can hide visitors strolling the trail. You can hike or drive to the top on a paved road that passes through three tunnels. From the summit, you can see the first outposts of the Rockies. In the visitors center, you can view trail paintings by William Henry Jackson.

Related Links: