SCOTTS BLUFF COUNTY WEATHER

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Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska

County seat: Gering · Largest city: Scottsbluff · Created: November 6, 1888, from Cheyenne County · Named for: Scotts Bluff, the Oregon Trail landmark · License plates: prefix 21 · Population: 36,084 (2020 census); peak 38,344 in 1980 · Area: 746 sq mi · Time zone: Mountain

About Scotts Bluff County

Scotts Bluff County is the irrigated heart of the Nebraska Panhandle, the North Platte valley from the Wyoming line at Henry to McGrew. Its landmark is Scotts Bluff, a bluff rising more than 800 feet above the river that guided travelers on the Oregon, California and Mormon trails and the Pony Express; it was named for Hiram Scott, a fur trapper who died near it in 1828. Emigrants crossed the hills at Robidoux Pass in the 1840s and at Mitchell Pass from 1851, and the Army kept Fort Mitchell nearby from 1864 to about 1867. In 1851 thousands of Plains Indians met at Horse Creek, near today's Henry and Morrill, for the council that produced the Fort Laramie Treaty.

Voters created the county from Cheyenne County on November 6, 1888, and Gering won the county seat over Mitchell in February 1889. The Burlington built up the north side of the river in 1900, founding Scottsbluff, Mitchell, Morrill and Minatare; the Union Pacific followed on the south side about 1910–11, with Melbeta, McGrew and later Lyman. The federal North Platte Project of 1903, with the Interstate and Fort Laramie canals and the reservoirs at Lake Alice, Lake Minatare and Winters Creek, watered about 335,000 acres, and Great Western Sugar built factories at Scottsbluff (1910), Gering, Mitchell, Minatare and Lyman. Volga German and Mexican American families came to work the beets. The population peaked at 38,344 in 1980; the county has 21 places on the National Register.

Towns of Scotts Bluff County

Cities and villages

Scottsbluff

City · Pop. 14,436 · ZIP 69361
US 26 · NE 71 · NE 92

The Panhandle's largest city, 14,436 people on the north bank of the North Platte across from Gering and the bluff, founded on the Burlington in 1899. Regional West Medical Center, WNCC, the Riverside Discovery Center zoo and the Midwest Theater.

Gering

City · County seat · Pop. 8,564 · ZIP 69341
NE 71 · NE 92

The Scotts Bluff County seat, a city of 8,564 at the foot of Scotts Bluff National Monument, founded in 1887 on the Oregon Trail corridor. Legacy of the Plains Museum, the Robidoux RV Park, Monument Shadows golf and Oregon Trail Days each July.

Terrytown

City · Pop. 1,057 · ZIP 69341
Between Scottsbluff and Gering

Small city of 1,057 on the North Platte between Scottsbluff and Gering, founded in 1949 by Terry Carpenter, whose arena once drew Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington.

Mitchell

City · Pop. 1,548 · ZIP 69357
US 26 · NE 29

City of 1,548 on US 26 and the Burlington northwest of Scottsbluff, named for Fort Mitchell, and home of the Scotts Bluff County Fair since the 1880s, with the National Register Sandford Hall on the fairgrounds.

Morrill

Village · Pop. 934 · ZIP 69358
US 26

Village of 934 on US 26 and the Burlington near the Wyoming line, successor to the 1886 settlement of Collins. Morrill Public Schools, a Regional West clinic and the Horse Creek Treaty markers west of town.

Lyman

Village · Pop. 259 · ZIP 69352
NE 92

Village of 259 on NE 92 less than a mile from Wyoming, the end of the Union Pacific's south-side branch, settled by Volga German sugar beet families.

Henry

Village · Pop. 125 · ZIP 69349
US 26

Village of 125 on US 26 at the Wyoming line, the westernmost town in Nebraska, with the National Register Henry State Aid Bridges and the Stateline Island unit of the North Platte refuge.

Minatare

City · Pop. 715 · ZIP 69356
US 26 · Link 79E

City of 715 on US 26 east of Scottsbluff, begun as Tabor in 1887 and moved to the Burlington in 1900; the gateway to Lake Minatare State Recreation Area and its 1930s stone lighthouse. Tabor Days each August.

Melbeta

Village · Pop. 108 · ZIP 69355
NE 92 · Link 79E

Village of 108 on NE 92 and the Union Pacific south of the river, founded in 1911 and named, it is said, for the sugar beet; Volga German families settled here.

McGrew

Village · Pop. 75 · ZIP 69353
NE 92

Village of 75 on NE 92 east of Melbeta, founded on the Union Pacific in 1911 and named for an Omaha banker, about 5 miles from Chimney Rock.

Former towns and post office communities

Haig

Former post office · post office 1914–1963
Near NE 92, between Mitchell and Scotts Bluff

Union Pacific siding and post office (1914–1963) between Mitchell and Scotts Bluff National Monument, named for a local cowboy, Harry Haig.

Bradley

Former station · Burlington station
US 26 area, between Minatare and Bayard

Former Burlington station on the north side of the valley between Minatare and Bayard, about 3 miles from Bayard.

Travel Corridors

US 26 — along the north side of the valley from Torrington, Wyoming, through Henry, Morrill, Mitchell, Scottsbluff and Minatare toward Bridgeport; four-lane from Scottsbluff to Minatare as part of the Heartland Expressway.

NE 71 — the Heartland Expressway, north from Kimball and I-80 through the Wildcat Hills, around Gering and Scottsbluff, and on toward the Sandhills. Highway 71 Corridor →

NE 92 — from the Wyoming line at Lyman past Scotts Bluff National Monument to Scottsbluff and Gering, then east through Melbeta and McGrew. Highway 92 Corridor →

Other highways — NE 29 north from Mitchell to Agate Fossil Beds and Harrison. The Western Nebraska Regional Airport, 3 miles east of Scottsbluff, has United Express flights to Denver.

Cameras: View Scotts Bluff County cameras → · Road conditions: Nebraska 511

Things to See

Scotts Bluff National Monument west of Gering, with the Summit Road and its three tunnels, the Saddle Rock Trail and Oregon Trail ruts at Mitchell Pass (no entrance fee); Robidoux Pass and the reconstructed Robidoux Trading Post; the Fort Mitchell site; the Legacy of the Plains Museum in Gering; the Riverside Discovery Center zoo, the West Nebraska Arts Center and the Midwest Theater in Scottsbluff; the Horse Creek Treaty markers west of Morrill; and Chimney Rock, just east of McGrew in Morrill County.

Outdoors

Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area, south of Gering, has a nature center, trails, a shooting complex, bighorn sheep and 12 primitive campsites. Lake Minatare State Recreation Area, north of Minatare, has more than 120 campsites, beaches and the 1930s stone "Plains Lighthouse" (open January 15 to October 15). The North Platte National Wildlife Refuge has units at Lake Alice, Winters Creek, Lake Minatare and Stateline Island. Camping: Robidoux RV Park in Gering, Riverside Park Campground in Scottsbluff and Scenic Knolls at Mitchell. Golf: Monument Shadows in Gering and the Scotts Bluff Country Club.

Scotts Bluff County Business Directory

Businesses within 20 miles of: Scottsbluff · Gering · Mitchell · Morrill · Minatare · All listings →

Adjacent Counties

Sioux County (north) · Box Butte County (northeast corner) · Morrill County (east) · Banner County (south) · Goshen County, Wyoming (west).

Events

Each year: Oregon Trail Days in Gering in July (the 105th in 2026), the Scotts Bluff County Fair in Mitchell in late July, Bands on Broadway in Scottsbluff on summer Thursdays, the Old West Balloon Fest in August, Tabor Days in Minatare in August and the Monument Marathon in September.

Events in Scotts Bluff County

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Scotts Bluff County at a Glance

Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska — the irrigated North Platte valley of the Panhandle, with Scotts Bluff National Monument. County seat Gering; largest city Scottsbluff; Mountain Time.

Getting there: US 26 along the valley; NE 71 (Heartland Expressway) from Kimball and I-80; NE 92 from Wyoming and Bridgeport; Western Nebraska Regional Airport.

For visitors: the national monument, Robidoux Pass, the Legacy of the Plains Museum, the Riverside Discovery Center, Wildcat Hills and Lake Minatare. Hospital: Regional West Medical Center, Scottsbluff.

Vehicles registered in Scotts Bluff County carry license plate number 21. See what every Nebraska county number means.

Scotts Bluff County Businesses & Places

394 listings in Scotts Bluff County.

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