Scotts Bluff National Monument in Gering, Nebraska

Painted clouds, still cliffs. Scotts Bluff National Monument, Gering, Nebraska

Long before GPS, natural landmarks like Scotts Bluff rose high above the prairie, signaling to travelers that they were on the right path heading west. Before Gering became a town in 1887 and decades before Nebraska achieved statehood in 1867, these sandstone and siltstone formations were already guiding thousands along the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails. Scotts Bluff National Monument is named after Hiram Scott, a fur trader with the Rocky Mountain Fur Company who died under mysterious circumstances nearby in the 1820s.

Today, the nearly 3,000-acre monument includes two main bluffs—Scotts Bluff to the north and South Bluff. It also protects five prominent outcroppings: Dome Rock, Eagle Rock, Crown Rock, Saddle Rock, and Sentinel Rock. At ground level, mule deer graze alongside black-tailed prairie dogs, while coyotes prowl and short grasses ripple in the wind. Higher up, the landscape shifts, spiny yuccas and hardy shrubs cling to rocky slopes, and bighorn sheep navigate the cliffs with ease. Though the wagons are long gone, Scotts Bluff still stands as a guide through both history and terrain.