2. Borglum 

Nebraska Highway 2 is home to many exceptional artists. Solon Borglum began his work in sculpture on the bluffs of his family farm five miles west of Cairo, Nebraska. Solon’s work went on to grace many locations internationally. His brother Gutzon is known for a much larger work you might find traveling the west end of the Sandhill’s Byway and then traveling north. 

3. The Sandhills 

There is a place in America virtually untouched by the hand of man. The largest area of stabilized sand dunes in the western hemisphere, the Nebraska Sandhills, occupies nearly 20,000 square miles. In this timeless, windblown ocean of undulating dunes, native grass and vivid blue lakes, Nature is still master of the land. Nebraska Highway 2, the Sandhills Journey National Scenic Byway, bisects this ancient 

ground, leading travelers to treasures undiscovered anywhere else. These enormous, wild places are virtual wildlife refuges. Species once common across the Midwest still find their stronghold in the Sandhills. The grass-covered sand dunes are peppered with shallow natural lakes and rivers fed by the High Plains Aquifer, North America’s largest underground water supply. Water percolates into ponds and marshes, providing carpets of wildflowers in a kaleidoscope of color. Here is habitat for a myriad of fish, reptiles, amphibians and bird species. Formations of pelicans soar like bombers from lake to lake and graceful swans have returned and are nesting again in the region. 

4. Sandhills Journey National Scenic Byway Visitor Center 

The Sandhills Journey National Scenic Byway Visitor Center, located at the east edge of Broken Bow, opened in the spring of 2009. Indoor displays and literature feature educational, recreational and historical information on the unique Nebraska Sandhills and the counties along the Byway. Additional outdoor displays include a working windmill, an education exhibit showcasing the numerous grasses that 

make the Sandhills region such a valuable ranching area, as well as recent additions of a sod house and one room schoolhouse. Housed in the historic O. K. Luther barn, this interpretive center offers handicap accessible restrooms, plenty of parking including stalls for the handicapped, a picnic shelter and walking trails. The center is open for the season Memorial Day weekend through September 30, seven days a week including holidays. The phone number is 308-872-8331 in season. 

5. Float the Byway 

There is an abundance of outdoor recreational activities to be found on the Byway. Bring your ATV, kayak, canoe, fishing poles and find a day or a weeks’ worth of outdoor recreational activities on Nebraska Highway 2.  Tanking on the Middle Loup River in Nebraska's Sandhills is a unique, leisurely, and scenic float trip using large galvanized livestock tanks (7–9 feet in diameter) that accommodate up to 5–8 people. Considered a "slow-motion" experience, this calm activity is perfect for groups, providing space for coolers, lawn chairs, and relaxing while drifting past gentle hills. If you are up for a challenge mark your calendar for the Polar Bear Tank Race in early March.  

6. History On the Byway 

Driving on the Byway is a bit like taking a walk through history as you leave big cities behind you get a glimpse of pristine grass land. Travel the Byway and experience a small taste of what homesteaders must have felt seeing vast amounts of untouched ground. Solomon D. Butcher spent time capturing the first epic experiences of becoming a settler in the Sandhills. Spend a day driving from town to town visiting history in museums on the Sandhills Journey National Scenic Byway. 

The Shores family near Westerville, Custer County, Nebraska, 1887 – Solomon D. Butcher 

7. Star Gazing 

The stretch of Nebraska Highway 2 from Grand Island to Alliance has plenty of wide-open spaces to sit back and gaze at the stars. The remote areas of our byway away from artificial light are some of the best places to experience dark skies, perfect for star gazing and astronomy of the best kind.

8. Potash Plant 

At Antioch, 15 miles east of Alliance, discover old potash kiln remnants. On the National Register of Historic Places, this community is now a near-ghost town. The old kilns, long ago invaded by prairie grasses bent on reclaiming their rightful habitat, sprang to life originally at the beginning of WW1 when the U.S. supply of German potash dried up. If only Antioch could tell its own story, I’m sure we’d all be mesmerized. We do know that Antioch was once a city of over 2,000 people and was called the potash capital of the U.S. Its proximity to several alkali lakes allowed five potash reduction factories to flourish but only until the war was over. At that time, the U.S. procured its potash, once again, from Germany and France, and the short-lived boom town dried up. There is a State Historical Marker along the Byway just to the west of Anitoch. 

9. Carhenge 

Carhenge, an oddity on the western Nebraska plains, can be found just a few miles north of Alliance along Highway 87. In the summer of 1987 Jim Reinders, with the help of family members, built a replica of England’s Stonehenge. Carhenge consists of thirty-eight American-made automobiles, all painted gray, in a 96 feet diameter circle with dimensions and layout to mimic Stonehenge. Some of the automobiles that make up this tourist attraction are buried trunk-down in five-foot pits, others are soldered on top, creating arches. The heel stone is represented by a 1962 Cadillac. Additional automobile sculptures have been added to the site as part of the “Car Art Reserve.” This attraction is a great place to stretch your legs and be sure to sign the ‘autograph’ car! 

10. Nebraska National Forest – Bessey Ranger District 

Along the Byway near Halsey is the largest hand-planted forest in the nation. The ranger district lands encompass over 90,000 acres of very fragile Sandhills terrain with high wind erosion potential. The forest’s heritage runs deep as numerous civilian conservation corps workers hand-planted the over 20,000 acres of trees in the 1930s. Located there, the Bessey Tree Nursery is the oldest federal tree nursery in the US (1903, producing over 2.5 million seedlings annually. The Bessey Recreation Complex is located next to the tree nursery and offers camping, fishing, motorized and non-motorized trails, and nearby river access. RV camping, OHV riding, and hunting are primary uses. There is an accessible fishing pier and pond. Bird blinds are available in the spring to watch prairie grouse dance on their leks. 

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