Gering Nebraska

City · Scotts Bluff County · County seat · Population 8,564 (2020 census) · ZIP 69341 · Founded 1887 · Peak population 8,564 (2020)

About Gering

Gering is a city of 8,564 (2020), its largest count yet, and the seat of Scotts Bluff County, on the south side of the North Platte at 3,921 feet, across the river from Scottsbluff. Scotts Bluff National Monument rises just west of town, the Wildcat Hills about 10 miles south. NE 92 runs through Gering, and NE 71, the Heartland Expressway, passes on the east toward Kimball and I-80. Gering is on Mountain Time.

History

Settlers arrived in 1886, and the town came into being on March 7, 1887, when its post office opened with Oscar W. Gardner, head of the townsite company, as postmaster. It was named for Martin Gering, a pioneer merchant who offered the county a free bridge over the North Platte if the seat were placed here; the Gering Courier began that April, and the first fair of what was then Cheyenne County was held in Gering that September. When Scotts Bluff County was created on November 6, 1888, Gering won the seat over Mitchell in a February 1889 runoff, and the bridge was built that summer.

The Burlington built up the north bank in 1900 and founded Scottsbluff, which soon outgrew Gering; the Union Pacific branch on the south side arrived about 1910–11, and a sugar factory followed in 1916. The Classical Revival courthouse was built in 1920. Oregon Trail Days, first held in 1921 and billed as Nebraska's oldest celebration, reached its 105th year in 2026. The Gering Courier published its last issue in December 2024.

Things to see

Scotts Bluff National Monument, about 3 mi west: the 1.6-mile Summit Road with Nebraska's only three vehicle tunnels, the Saddle Rock Trail, Mitchell Pass with Oregon Trail ruts, and the visitor center (no entrance fee) · the Legacy of the Plains Museum, 2930 Old Oregon Trail, on 80 acres of farmland · Robidoux Pass, about 9 mi west, the main Oregon Trail route of the 1840s, and the reconstructed Robidoux Trading Post on Carter Canyon Road · the Fort Mitchell site markers on NE 92 northwest of the bluff · Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area, about 10 mi south, with a nature center, bighorn sheep and camping · the 1920 Scotts Bluff County Courthouse, 10th and Q Sts. (National Register) · Five Rocks Amphitheater, 2505 D St., and the Gering Civic Center, 1050 M St., with the visitors bureau · Oregon Trail Park, with ball fields and the city pool, 905 13th St. · the 18-hole Monument Shadows Golf Course, 2550 Clubhouse Dr., and the Robidoux RV Park, 585 Five Rocks Rd. · the Gering Public Library, 1055 P St. · Oregon Trail Days in July