Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway

The late Charles Kuralt called Nebraska’s Highway 2 "one of America’s 10 most beautiful highways" exclaiming,

"This road will take you to one of the last unexplored frontiers where vast treasures can be discovered."

Like the sea the emptiness of the Sandhills gives the traveler a strange sense of comfort. Highway 2 is not just another highway that goes somewhere Highway 2 is somewhere."

If variety is what you’re after, you’ll love the Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway. The beauty here is a direct result of the dramatically changing terrain, the topography here is uniquely captivating. From mid-February to early April, in an awesome spectacle, 500,000 Sandhill cranes and over 300 species of other migratory waterfowl visit the central Platte River region on the eastern end of a Sandhills Journey.

Nebraska National Forest, near Halsey, is the largest man-made forest in the United States. The terrain changes are dramatic, plentiful, and beautiful. The plant life compliments the landscape, blankets of green grass line the rolling hills, while black-eyed susans and wildflowers peek out and greet the morning sun. Pheasant, grouse, quail, and deer thrive amongst the subtle beauty of the area. The Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway traverses the rugged beauty of God's land where the hospitality of the local residents is evident no matter where you are along the road.

The Sandhills Journey Byway extends from the city of Grand Island west to the city of Alliance along Nebraska Highway 2. The byway meanders through the communities of Cairo, Ravenna, Hazard, Litchfield, Mason City, Ansley, Berwyn, Broken Bow, Merna, Anselmo, Dunning, Halsey, Thedford, Seneca, Mullen, Whitman, Hyannis, Ashby, Bingham, Ellsworth, Lakeside, Antioch and Alliance. It passes through these Nebraska counties: Hall, Buffalo, Sherman, Custer, Blaine, Thomas, Hooker, Grant, Sheridan, and Box Butte.

Produced in part by a grant from The Nebraska Division of Travel and Tourism