Final stop in Nebraska for this voyage is a race against the sun to reach the highest point in the state. This one in particular has extremely easy access but it comes at the price of driving way out in the middle of nowhere basically on lots of washboard gravel roads. Don’t trust your GPS for arrival estimates, make sure to allow yourself plenty of extra time. I’m driving a baby monster truck with tuned Fox suspension and these roads are enough to slow me down so take that into consideration. If you can tolerate that minor bit of drama then it’s all gravy – just drive right up to the entrance at the High Point Bison Ranch.
There is a sign at the entrance welcoming visitors and outlining the rules and a bit of bison history. Entrace cost is $3 which is plenty reasonable and I’m sure helps maintain the long stretch of gravel to the actual highpoint.
Beyond the fence posts of this particular part of the rance you will definitely notice the seemingly endless fields of wind turbines (in fact you will see these long before arriving). This area is about as flat as any I have ever seen before with little/no trees and lots of wind – not a bad area to harvest clean renewable energy. Notice also the low clouds/haze on the horizon – I think those are still caused by wildfire smoke and being blown in by the atmosphere, they have followed me now all day.
A short drive up the gravel road after the entrance sign and you will arrive (though take care on this stretch if your vehicle has low clearance, just pay a tiny bit of attention to avoid the handful of big potholes). Here you will find a large parking circle – which today I had all to my own – as well as a stone marker, a metal desk, and a bench provided by the High Pointers Foundation as is common to see at these destinations.
Closer view of the stone marker. Text reads “ELEVATION 5424 THE HIGHEST POINT IN NEBRASKA ERECTED BY KIMBALL NEBRASKA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 1971.”
The metal desk / guest register has a drawer filled with various notebooks for signing in as well as other various curiosities left by previous travelers.
Another angle showing the bench, desk, and marker. The bench has two plaques affixed to it – one for the High Pointers Foundation, the other describing the history of this location.
Here’s a closer view of the history plaque. In short, the site was discovered in 1951 using a WW1 altimeter. It also says this is dedicated to the memory of Hiram Scott which is the same person as Scotts Bluff which I visited earlier in the day.
This area it basically just the highest point in a wide open endless plains landscape. Here are some panoramic views that came from playing with my phone and show a combined 360° view of the expansive nothingness:
My time in the bright sunlight ended quickly due to the low autumn sun angle. Shortly after the photos above as I was driving back on the long and lonely gravel roads the sun set behind the low clouds. I stopped and took a quick photo and then it was off to find a place to camp.
