Black Hills Parks & Forests Association
You can drive to the top of Scotts Bluff or climb it on your own legs. Either way you arrive where the trail travelers looked, on rock that is still, slowly, coming apart beneath you.
The way up Scotts Bluff was built to protect the view. When the Civilian Conservation Corps put a road on the top in the 1930s, they could have run it straight up the dramatic eastern face. That is the face the pioneers saw, the one in every painting. Instead they took it up the back, around the western side, and bored three tunnels through the rock so the historic face would stay unscarred.
That choice is the quiet theme of every route here. You can reach the summit in fifteen minutes by car, or earn it in an hour and a half on foot. Both are legitimate.
But the bluff is not a backdrop. It is soft, crumbling rock that sheds pieces of itself in rockfalls. It bakes in summer with no shade and no water. It hides rattlesnakes on warm concrete. So meeting it well means picking the route that fits you, then respecting what the rock is doing. This page lays out every option, what each one asks of you, and what to carry.
There are five named routes here. Two go to the top, and three are short walks. So they range from a flat paved stroll to a strenuous cliff climb. Here is the whole picture at a glance.
| Route | Distance | Climb | Difficulty | Accessible? | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summit Road (drive) | 1.6 mi | 435 ft | Easy (in a car) | Summit has accessible parking | Fast access to the top |
| Saddle Rock Trail | 1.6 mi one-way | 435 ft | Strenuous | First 700 yards only | Earning the summit on foot |
| South Overlook | 300 yds | Minimal | Easy | Yes, fully | The big view without a climb |
| North Overlook | 310-yd loop | ~50 ft | Moderate | No (16% and 19% grades) | The valley and river view |
| Oregon Trail Pathway | ~0.7 mi round trip | ~30 ft | Easy to moderate | First 50 yards only | Walking the historic trail |
There is no shuttle. So reaching the summit means either driving your own vehicle or hiking. A route-by-route breakdown follows.
Normally yes, by the historic Summit Road. But check its status first. The road is undergoing major rehabilitation funded by the Great American Outdoors Act. It can be closed for that work or for weather. So confirm it is open at nps.gov/scbl or 308-436-9700 before you build your visit around it.
When it is open, the Summit Road is a destination in itself. It climbs 1.6 miles of concrete, the oldest concrete road in Nebraska. So the drive takes about 10 to 15 minutes each way through three narrow tunnels, all cut by hand through the soft Brule rock.
The Civilian Works Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps built it from 1933 to 1937, using hand tools, air compressors, and dynamite. The young men of CCC Company 762 carved the three tunnels and banked the curves to keep the road off the historic eastern face. So the road opened on September 19, 1937. Then it carried visitors to the summit, and it still does.
The tunnels set hard limits. Vehicles longer than 25 feet or taller than 11 feet 7 inches cannot fit, and trailers are not allowed. So if you tow, unhitch and leave the trailer in the oversized lot at the visitor center.
The road also keeps shorter hours than the grounds, longer in summer and shorter the rest of the year. The rehabilitation work can change those hours too. So confirm the day’s hours at nps.gov/scbl or 308-436-9700 before you go.
Winter is hard on the road. A few inches of valley snow can drift four feet deep at the summit, and reopening after a storm can take days. The rock those tunnels pass through is the same volcanic-ash layer described on The geology of Scotts Bluff.
The Saddle Rock Trail is the way to climb the bluff under your own power. It runs 1.6 miles one-way from the visitor center plaza to the summit, gaining 435 feet. So allow 1 to 1.5 hours up. It is paved, but do not let that fool you. The trail has two very different halves.
So the first 700 yards are gentle, wide, and wheelchair-accessible. They cross prairie and badlands to a juniper ravine at the foot of the bluff. After that the trail turns serious. It climbs the cliff in narrow paved ledges, concrete stairs, and tight switchbacks, with temporary gravel patches where weather has chewed up the concrete.
Along the way it passes the historic Scotts Spring. Then it ducks through a pedestrian tunnel bored straight through the soft Brule siltstone, where you can read the rock layers from inside the bluff. So the climb is essentially a 12-million-year walk through the geology, past the badlands, the ash cliffs, and the hard cap.
Treat the upper trail with respect. It is fully exposed, with no shade and no water, and summer temperatures top 90 degrees. Still, heat is not the only hazard. Prairie rattlesnakes like to rest on the warm concrete, so watch where you step and keep your distance.
Stay on the paved path. Leaving it is dangerous and prohibited, and climbing the named rock formations is a federal violation. In winter the north-facing switchbacks ice over and are not cleared, so traction devices and poles are wise. Leashed dogs are welcome on a six-foot leash, but there is no water for them either.
Two short paved trails leave the summit parking lot in opposite directions. They are very different in difficulty.
The South Overlook is the easy, fully accessible one. It is a flat 300-yard out-and-back that looks straight down on Mitchell Pass, the historic trail swales, and the replica wagons. On a clear day you can see Laramie Peak in Wyoming, about 100 miles to the west. So this is the best big view here for anyone who cannot or would rather not climb.
The North Overlook is a 310-yard loop. It has the widest view of the North Platte valley and the towns of Gering and Scottsbluff, but it is not accessible. Reaching the loop means a steep 16% grade up. Then part of the loop drops at a 19% grade along sheer edges with no guardrails. So it is worth it for sure-footed visitors in good weather, but skip it in wind, ice, or with small children.
Yes, on the Oregon Trail Pathway at the base of the bluff. It is an easy walk of about 0.7 miles round trip, and it starts 50 yards west of the visitor center. The first stretch is paved and accessible, leading to three replica covered wagons. Then the trail turns to packed earth and runs directly through the swale, the worn trough left by thousands of wagons. After that a final paved climb reaches the William Henry Jackson campsite.
This is the one trail where the ground itself is the artifact. Where the surface changes from pavement to dirt, you are standing on the actual route west. For the full story of who came through and why, see Scotts Bluff and the great westward trails.
Match the route to your time, mobility, and interest:
| If you… | Do this |
|---|---|
| Have only 30 minutes | When it is open, drive the Summit Road and walk the flat South Overlook (300 yards). |
| Have about 2 hours | Drive up for both overlooks, then walk the Oregon Trail Pathway at the base. |
| Cannot do stairs or steep grades | Walk the first 50 yards of the Oregon Trail Pathway, and use the South Overlook at the summit. |
| Have small children | Walk the Oregon Trail Pathway to the replica wagons; keep kids out of the tall grass. |
| Want the climb | Hike the Saddle Rock Trail early, before the heat. |
| Want the best photo | Catch the east face (Eagle Rock and Sentinel Rock) at sunrise, or shoot west from the South Overlook at sunset. |
A few rules and realities keep a visit here safe:
Early and late. At sunrise, the eastern face takes the first light, and the layered cliffs of Eagle Rock and Sentinel Rock stand out sharply. So that is also the angle the pioneers saw as they approached. At sunset, shoot west from the South Overlook to catch the badlands in silhouette and the trail corridor running off toward the horizon. High winds are common on the edges, so brace your camera and mind your footing near the drop-offs.
Start with the Scotts Bluff National Monument overview, read the rock you climb on The geology of Scotts Bluff, walk into the history on the great westward trails page, and plan your visit.
Black Hills Parks and Forests Association is the cooperating association at Scotts Bluff. The visitor center bookstore, the online shop, and membership help fund trail education and interpretation here. You can also donate or volunteer.
You can also donate or volunteer.
