Sandhills Journey
Sandhills Journey is a National Scenic Byway in Nebraska. Within Nebraska it covers roughly 270 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Sandhills Journey with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
Nebraska Highway 2 crosses the Sandhills, the largest sand-dune formation in the Western Hemisphere — grass-stabilized dunes rolling across a quarter of the state. The route runs through vast cattle ranches and wetland-filled valleys, with the wide-open grassland stretching unbroken to the horizon. It is one of the great drives through the American Great Plains.
- the Nebraska Sandhills
- grass-covered dunes
- cattle ranch country
- wetland valleys
- NE-2
Designated for its natural qualities
Plan a drive on Sandhills Journey → Drive this route in Road SortiesTurn-by-turn on iPhone · App Store
Places to stop along Sandhills Journey
Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer
A Grand Island living-history museum with a re-created 1890s railroad town.
WebsiteNebraska National Forest at Halsey
The largest hand-planted forest in the country, begun in 1902 in the treeless Sandhills, with a fire tower and nursery.
Victoria Springs State Recreation Area
One of Nebraska's oldest state parks, a shady oasis with spring-fed ponds.
Knight Museum and Sandhills Center
An Alliance museum on homesteaders and the Ogallala Aquifer beneath the Sandhills.
WebsiteCarhenge
A replica of Stonehenge built from 39 vintage cars painted gray, in a field north of Alliance.
Website
Where to Stay along Sandhills Journey
2 campgrounds and RV parks sit within about 5 miles of Sandhills Journey.
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What is a National Scenic Byway?
National Scenic Byways are roads recognized at the federal level for at least one outstanding quality — scenic, natural, historic, cultural, archaeological or recreational — that gives travelers a reason to seek them out rather than just pass through.