Rising sharply from the plains of western Nebraska, Scotts Bluff was a critical landmark for 19th-century emigrants traveling the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails. After weeks of navigating by rivers and rutted tracks, wagon parties would spot this towering formation and know they were on the right path.

Today, from overlooks reached by steep trails or a winding summit road, that same geography still reads clearly: The North Platte River curves through the valley, and faint traces of historic trails remain etched into the earth below.

Each of the two overlooks offers a slightly different perspective. The South Overlook has vistas over the broad sweep of the river valley, where movement and migration defined the terrain. Those who trek up can clearly see four of the five named rock formations of Scotts Bluff: Crown Rock, Dome Rock, Eagle Rock, and Saddle Rock.

The North Overlook, reached by a trail that climbs along the bluff’s edge, emphasizes the monument itself, from layered rock faces to sheer drop-offs. From here, visitors can also spot irrigation canals that were dug in the 1880s to early 1900s, as well as the Union Pacific Railroad built in 1911 to transport coal from Wyoming’s Powder River Basin.

All of the surrounding land still looks and feels much as it did to the people who passed through here hundreds of years ago, and the bluff continues to serve as a reliable natural marker.