It was a beautiful fall day (that turned into a winter storm the next day) for a road trip from North Platte to Lodgepole for the Nebraska Lincoln Highway Historic Byway Board of Directors meeting in mid-November. There are so many iconic sights along the highway, this photo album doesn’t even scratch the surface.
Traveling the Lincoln Highway from North Platte to Lodgepole takes just over two hours, according to Google maps. But when you’re interested in seeing all of the sights along the way, it can take considerably longer. Travelers could easily spend a day in each little town along the Byway, seeking out all of the unique architecture, relics of the Lincoln Highway and the unique ways that small towns are keeping themselves alive and serving their residents.
The Village of Hershey has recently installed a reproduction concrete marker in their city park that abuts the Lincoln Highway.
Just east of Sutherland you’ll see an unusual sight – Buffalo, apparently guarding a shipping container storage site.
In Sutherland the community restored a Lincoln Highway era service station and installed a public art project.
The tiny village of Paxton, in addition to being the home of the famous watering holes of Ole’s Big Game Lounge and the Windy Gap now has a country store
and has restored their historic railroad depot into a coffee and gift shop.
The famous cow town of Ogallala boasts Front Street on Highway 30
and the refurbished Spruce Street Station along the original 1913 Lincoln Highway alignment through town.
You know you’re traveling in the footsteps of the pioneers of the great western migration when you pass the historical marker for the famed California Hill.
Big Springs is justifiably proud of their pioneer heritage as can be seen in the restoration of the Phelps Hotel
and the historical markers in their city park.
There is so much more to see along the Lincoln Highway, and these few photographs have only scratched the surface of a very short stretch. When making a trip along the Byway, slow down and take the time to explore the quaint, and sometimes quirky, little towns along the road. Get up late and have breakfast in a local eatery, take a leisurely lunch – maybe a picnic in a park, and stop early so you have a chance to explore the community.
Along the Lincoln, the journey is the destination!