Tour Introduction
Plan a self-guided driving tour of the Sandhills Journey National Scenic Byway
Day 1 | Grand Island
Experience the cranes and the Sandhills Journey National Scenic Byway from the Platte River valley to Broken Bow. Here's your chance to get up close and personal with the natural phenomenon of 600,000 migrating sandhill cranes as they camp out each spring in the Platte River Valley at the eastern end of the SJNSB. Arrive at the Crane Trust Visitor Center on the south side of Alda, exit 305 on Interstate 80, about mid-afternoon around March 15th, where your previously reserved evening sandhill cranes tour is awaiting you. Your waiting guides will orient you regarding what you'll see on the Platte River when the cranes, still getting their daily fill of corn in the fields surrounding the Platte River, return to the river in the evening. You'll travel to the blind at the river's edge and watch as the thousands of birds gradually return from the cornfields to stand on the sandbars in the river, which afford them protection from predators for the night. As day merges into dusk, the din of…
Day 2 | Grand Island to Broken Bow
You'll want to see the cranes depart the river for the cornfields. Arrive at Crane Trust well before daylight so that your guide can accompany you to the blind while it is still dark. Quiet is the modus operandi so as not to disturb the cranes. They are still enjoying their vertical sleep on the sandbars in the river before sunrise. You'll quietly walk to the blind from the parking lot carrying your camera and your coat, an essential item in the predawn chill. As the wide, flat river emits its never-ending sounds of gently flowing water and starts to take visual form in the very early light, you'll see thousands of cranes catching a few last winks.
Day 3 | Broken Bow to Thedford
Leaving Broken Bow, you first come to Merna about 10 miles up the road and lying in the highly productive Dale Valley, which is surrounded by grass-covered, hard land hills. Travel another 10 miles and come to Anselmo, the gateway to the Sandhills. In Anselmo, one of nature's sweetest gifts is the honey produced by all-important honeybees. Chandler's Sandhill Honey sits on your left as you enter Anselmo and is a stop worth making. You'll not want to leave there without purchasing one of the many delectable honey items from Nebraska hives! Their products can be found in area stores if the plant is closed; and by all means, don't miss St. Anselm's Catholic Church - The Cathedral of the Sandhills.
Day 4 | Thedford to Alliance
Following that great night's sleep, it's time to shove off into the western part of the Sandhills. You'll continue to parallel the Middle Loup River for a few miles as you travel west. The road will then cross over the river via a high bridge that will allow you to see the river disappear from your view off to the northwest in the direction of its origin from a Sandhills spring. Total mileage from Thedford to Mullen is 27 miles, and, as you approach the turnoff to Seneca coming up on your right about halfway there, you'll be able to see the north wall of the deep gorge through which the Middle Loup River, now off to your right, is flowing. Seneca is only about a mile north of Highway 2, and you might want to take the short little hiatus to experience the rapid descent of the spur highway into the very narrow river valley. Despite the steep descent to the little town and the river, you are still almost 3,000 feet above sea level on the valley floor. As in all of the plains states,…