Adventure on the Bridges to Buttes Scenic Byway

Route Directions

Valentine to Cody: 38 miles

Cody to Merriman: 24 miles

Merriman to Gordon: 30 miles

Gordon to Chadron: 46 miles

Chadron to Fort Robinson State Park: 28 miles

Day 1

Valentine

After a hearty breakfast at Bunkhouse Restaurant and Saloon, head a short drive east along Highway 12 to Smith Falls State Park, home to Nebraska’s tallest waterfall where you can take a scenic walk to enjoy the water rushing down on you as you stand under the falls. On your way back stop by Golden Prairie Bison to learn more about these amazing creatures and how the owners work to be mindful stewards of the land and conserve it for future generations.

Head back to Valentine for lunch at Coachlight Café before continuing your day south of town to Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge for a driving tour to view the refuge’s bison herd and other wildlife. Enjoy top-notch beef for dinner at Peppermill E.K. Valentine Lounge, a local favorite. Afterward, if you are up for a unique experience, head to Merritt Reservoir State Recreation Area, home to Nebraska’s first Dark Sky Place, for amazing and spectacular views of the night skies seen with no light pollution.

Day 2

Valentine

Stop by Scotty’s Ranchland Foods and Deli for a quick breakfast and to grab lunch before heading out to spend the day outdoors kayaking or tubing down the gorgeous Niobrara National Scenic River. Dinner tonight is some delicious stick-to-your-ribs barbeque at Bulldoggers BBQ followed by excellently crafted beers made from the purest Sandhills water at Bolo Beer Co.

Day 3

Cody & Merriman

Stop by the Circle C Market, an exclusively student-run market in the village of Cody to pick up a quick breakfast item or snack to tide you over until lunch. Continue west to Bowring Ranch State Historical Park to explore an authentic turn-of-the-century working cattle ranch once owned by Arthur and Eve Bowring surrounded by the beautiful Nebraska Sandhills.

Gordon

Explore life during the time of the Old West cowboy at the Tri State Oldtime Cowboy’s Memorial Museum and the yester-year of Gordon at Scamahorn Museum before sitting down delicious home-style cooking at Antelope Creek Café.

Chadron

Continue west into the heart of the Pine Ridge of northwest Nebraska where your first stop is the Museum of the Fur Trade, the country’s only museum dedicated to the fur trade industry, the first business in the New World. South of town, Chadron State Park is an outdoor paradise nestled within an outcrop of scenic beauty. For dinner go south of the border at Molcajte’s Mexican Restaurant. If your lodging tastes lean toward the historic, try the rustic Olde Main Street Inn downtown.

Day 4

Chadron & Crawford

Start your day with a delicious breakfast and specialty coffee at Bean Broker Coffee House & Pub before heading to the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center to learn more about this notable Nebraska author’s life and works, including “Old Jules” and “Crazy Horse.” Then it’s time to explore one of Nebraska’s most historic places. Visit Fort Robinson State Park where you can go on jeep or stagecoach rides, hike scenic canyons and bluffs, tour the Trailside Museum of Natural History to see the impressive “Clash of the Mammoths” exhibit, and learn more about the tragic Cheyenne Breakout in 1879 and the death of Sioux Chief Crazy Horse. The park has a great restaurant on site for lunch. As you return to Chadron for the night, detour to the remote moonscape of Nebraska’s sliver of the Badlands at Toadstool Geologic Park.