South Central Nebraska

South Central Nebraska is in Nebraska.

Cities

• 1 Grand Island - where the Nebraska State Fair is held
• 2 Hastings - home of Kool-aid
• 3 Minden
• 4 Kearney - the sandhill crane capital of the world
• 5 Lexington
• 6 North Platte - home of the Bailey Yard, the largest railroad classification yard in the world
• 7 Sutherland
• 8 Ogallala

Other destinations

• 1 Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer - an open air museum with a visitor's center designed by architect Edward Durell Stone.
• 2 Lake McConaughy State Recreation Area - artificial lake created by the construction of a river dam.
• 3 Golden Spike Tower/Bailey Yard - observation tower overlooking the Bailey Yard, the largest rail yard in the world.
• 4 The Archway - a museum spanning Interstate 80.

Understand

This region is where Nebraska gets most of its stereotypes from in terms of landscape. Flat and featureless. The Platte river spends most of its time in this area while traveling through Nebraska. The shallow waters and reoccurring flooding give the landscape its flat appearance. Most of the landscape is farmland growing cash crops such as soy beans and cattle corn. A majority of the population follows the I-80 interstate route.

Get in and around

By car

The main route through this region is Interstate 80. The major towns and cities in the area are going to be concentrated around this route. State highways like US-6, US-30, and US-34 provide access to the smaller towns and are viewed and scenic routes. US-83 and US-183 provide the primary north-south routes.

By plane

There are several regional airports in the area, with one located near Grand Island, Kearney, and North Platte. These smaller airports are primarily used for cargo. Passengers are able to take advantage of the airports but they are very limited in the number of destinations.

By train

Amtrak provides a route coming from Lincoln going through Hastings, Holdrege, and McCook before continuing on to Fort Morgan.

By bus

Bus routes through the region follow I-80 and rarely deviate from that. Stops are located in Grand Island, Kearney, and North Platte.