Prairie View Trail
in Nebraska
The Prairie View Trail runs from the Visitor Center to the eastern boundary of Scotts Bluff National Monument. At the boundary the Prairie View Trail connects to the City of Gering's Monument Valley Pathway. Length: 1.2 miles (1.9 kilometers), one way Surface: Asphalt Difficulty: Moderate, with an elevation change of 50 feet (15 meters).
Access: There are two trailheads. One trailhead is located in the southeastern corner of the Visitor Center parking lot. The other trailhead is located at the western end of U Street in Gering. The Prairie View Trail is the only trail in Scotts Bluff National Monument that allows for bicycling.
As you travel east, this trail offers some of the best views of Saddle Rock. For those traveling west, look for Mitchell Pass, Eagle Rock and Sentinel Rock. About 1/2 mile from the visitor center, the trail crosses a large ravine.
- States
- Nebraska
- Trail type
- National Monument trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Denver, CO · 159 mi · ~5 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 41.8281°, -103.7072°
About Scotts Bluff National Monument
This trail is inside Scotts Bluff National Monument, a national monument managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.
Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/prairie-view.htm
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/scbl/index.htm
Plan your hike
Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.
Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.
When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.
If you've hiked Prairie View Trail and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
Other trails within 50 miles
Sources
Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.