1 Week In Hay Springs, NE – Here’s What We Did

After spending a week in Scottsbluff, NE, we drove northeast 1.5 hours to the small city of Hay Springs.

Hay Springs has a population of fewer than 600 people, so it might seem strange that we chose to stay there for a week. However, there were a few attractions nearby that we were interested in checking out and there was a seemingly good value Airbnb located in Hay Springs which is why we decided to book seven nights there.

Here’s a roundup of what we did while in Hay Springs.

Where We Stayed

We stayed at this Airbnb which cost $74.91 per night, paying with discounted gift cards which reduced our net cost to $67.42.

While the price was good, it was one of the most disappointing Airbnb stays we’ve had in the last 4.5 years. The Wi-Fi wasn’t very good and so I had to tether to my phone most of the time. The shower was either scalding hot or freezing cold, the bed had a plastic sheet underneath which made it hot and sticky, they had a full-sized kitchen but only provided a mini fridge, they didn’t provide any kind of hand soap whatsoever, the bedroom had sheer curtains which meant it got bright in the bedroom early in the morning, etc.

What We Did

Chimney Rock

On our way from Scottsbluff to Hay Springs we made a brief stop at Chimney Rock, a unique-looking rock formation that was a notable landmark on the Oregon Trail.

Carhenge

After stopping at Chimney Rock, we had one further stop before arriving in Hay Springs – Carhenge. Carhenge in the city of Alliance is a to-scale replica of Stonehenge constructed using vehicles that have been spray painted gray. Check out this post for more about Carhenge.

Toadstool Geological Park

An hour west of Hay Springs is Toadstool Geological Park, badlands that have rock formations that look like toadstools.

These were formed as a result of erosion, with sandstone slabs atop pillars of clay. The clay eroded faster than the sandstone which is how they formed their strange shapes.

One of the nice features of Toadstool Geological Park is that it’s pet-friendly, so Truffles got to join us. It’s also only $3 per vehicle to visit, so it’s a fun, cheap place to explore.

The park also has a sod house, a replica of a house that was built on the site in 1930.

The area’s clay soil was held together by roots, so strips of that were stacked on top of each other in a brick-like way to create the house. Using sod had benefits given Nebraska’s climate; it helped the home stay warm in the winter and cooler in the summer. The fact that sod houses weren’t constructed with wood also meant there was no risk of them burning down.

Chadron State Park

Only 30 minutes west of Hay Springs is Chadron State Park, a pretty state park that costs $12 per vehicle for out-of-state visitors (I think it was $6 for Nebraska residents).

Chadron State Park is a pretty location with several trails and campsites. We decided to hike the Steamboat Trail which is a 1.3 mile loop trail. The trail takes you uphill high enough to get some lovely views of the area.

There was a big downside to this trail though. About half the trail takes you along grassy sections. Although it was well-mown and so it was clear where the trail was, its grassy nature meant that it was full of ticks. We found a couple on us, but we found a total of 16 ticks on Truffles. She was due to be groomed a week or two later, so her fur was quite long and, being black, made it much harder to find all the ticks.

Nebraska Historical Markers

While driving around, we came across a number of historical markers providing more information about notable sites in Nebraska’s history.

Smith Falls State Park

After leaving Hay Springs, we made our way to Broken Bow. Along the way we stopped near Valentine in the north of the state to visit Smith Falls State Park. It’s a cute park on the Niobrara River which has a short walk from the visitor center to the waterfalls.

Where We Ate

Seeing as we had a kitchen at the Airbnb, we mostly ate there with groceries we’d picked up on our way to Hay Springs as they only have a small grocery store in town. We did eat out and drink there one night though.

Silver Dollar

There were a couple of eateries in Hay Springs, one of which is Silver Dollar which supposedly had great burgers. We decided to try them out for dinner one night and, as small town burgers go, it was pretty good. When chatting to someone at the bar next door later that night though, we were told Silver Dollar’s owner was going to be retiring soon and so they’d be closing down.

Outlaw Saloon

After having dinner at Silver Dollar, we went next door to the Outlaw Saloon for what was originally only going to be for a drink or two. However, we got chatting to some of the locals and ended up staying for several more as we were having such a fun time.