Scotts Bluff National Monument - National Monument

National Monument

The Department of Interior designated Scotts Bluff and several nearby bluffs as a National Monument on December 12, 1919; they were placed for management under the National Park Service, created just three years prior.

The Oregon Trail Museum and Visitor Center was built at the base of the bluff which serves as a start for hiking tours of the bluffs. Exhibits focus on the westward expansion and pioneers, the drawings and paintings of William Henry Jackson, and the geology and paleontology of the region.

In the 1930s during the Great Depression, a roadway leading to the top of Scotts Bluff was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps, organized by President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration. The road goes through three tunnels on its way to the top and provides easy access to the summit.

All historic sites administered by the National Park Service were listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966, when it was established.

  • Looking north-northwest at Scottsbluff National Monument, Gering, Nebraska

  • Mitchell Pass, looking eastward

  • Looking down at road and irrigation ditch to the northeast from Scotts Bluff National Monument.

  • Bicycle path can be seen on the right.

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