Touching down at North Platte Regional Airport in North Platte keeps you central, with the Sandhills, the Platte River valley, and classic Western history an easy drive away. North Platte is a railroad town through and through, home to the largest rail classification yard in the world, and it is also where Buffalo Bill Cody built his ranch. The feel is friendly and unhurried, with a strong sense of its place on the old Oregon Trail and the Lincoln Highway.

Standout experiences around North Platte: - Watch thousands of rail cars sorted from the Golden Spike Tower overlooking Bailey Yard - Tour Scout's Rest Ranch, Buffalo Bill's mansion and barn at Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park - Learn the story of the North Platte Canteen, which fed millions of troops passing through during World War II, at the Lincoln County Historical Museum - Catch the rodeo and concerts at Nebraskaland Days each June - Stop at Fort Cody Trading Post for a photo with the giant Buffalo Bill statue - See the steam locomotive and rail cars in Cody Park - Fish or boat at Lake Maloney just south of town

North Platte sits where the North and South Platte rivers join, and the drives in every direction are wide open. Ogallala and its Front Street cowboy museum are 50 minutes west, with Lake McConaughy, the state's biggest lake, just beyond. Gothenburg and its original Pony Express station are 35 minutes east, and Kearney, famous for the spring sandhill crane migration, is about 90 minutes. Order a runza, the stuffed bread pocket Nebraskans swear by, and watch the trains roll through town long after dark.