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    Golden Spike Tower

    4.3 (36 reviews)
    Closed 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

    Golden Spike Tower Photos

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    Jessica S.

    We stopped at the Golden Spike Tower on our way to Colorado on a family vacation (from Nebraska). My three year old is train obsessed and we thought it would be a great way to break up the trip. He liked the train by the entrance and the wooden train out back probably more than the observation tower, which does cost money. Adults are $8 and my son was free. I think for older train enthusiasts this would be great! You do get a nice view of the train yard and there are bits of history planted around the tower. There is also a gift shop. Don't miss the play area in back with the flags. At the watch Golden Spike Observation Tower you see the action of Union Pacific Railroad sorting and connecting over 10,000 cars a day on a classification hump yard, with nearly 120 bowl rows and 400 tracks. The largest hump yard in the U.S.!

    Kelly B.

    My only reason for 1 star is that we drove 2 1/2 hrs to find the doors locked. I called and was told they were doing inventory and that, that info it had been posted a few times. I assumed facebook, so I check because the website site otherwise. What I found were 2 posts, one at 4m and one at 14 hrs, which would have been after 9 pm the night before. I had previously called and was told Jan2 and the facebook page said the same. I checked again after leaving and all facebook posts stating the 2nd had been removed. It was the lie that received the 1 star.

    Museum and shop
    Jennifer F.

    Stopped here after reading some reviews from Yelp and trip advisor. This is an amazing piece of history as well as an important part of transportation of goods across the country. It's amazing how transformational this one location is for Union Pacific and the US. Their staff is extremely nice and very knowledgeable. Eldon showed us around answered all of our silly and sometimes stupid questions all while providing the history and workings of this place. If you have a chance stop in in for a little education both historical and current. I'm glad I made the trip to come check this place out. Make sure to peruse the gifts for that perfect birthday, holiday or souvenir for your loved ones.

    Entrance

    While this place is a short drive off the highway, the scenery to it was nice. The lady that greeted us at the Tower was very informative and helpful. Restrooms were clean. Gift shop offers many choices. Be sure to go to the observation decks. Gary, the volunteer, has so much knowledge. We really enjoyed talking with him. This is a great place to stop and stretch your legs while taking in some railroad history.

    Entrance
    Jim H.

    This is a must-see attraction for everyone - but especially for train lovers. I didn't learn of this attraction until recently or I would have had it on my bucket list. This is the world's largest rail classification and sorting yard and is over 8 miles long and 1 1/2 miles wide. The Golden Spike Tower offers a 7th-floor open-air viewing platform and an 8th floor enclosed viewing area. There are "guides" (appeared to be mostly retired railroad employees) on the 8th floor to explain what you were seeing and to answer any questions. From the tower, you can observe the operation of both "humps" used to sort rail cars and can actually watch them putting together trains. One hump handles east-bound trains and the other handles west-bound trains. For train lovers and non-train lovers alike - it's fascinating to watch. The tower and switch year is located about 5-6 miles off I-80 and you need to follow a bit of a circuitous route to get there. But the "get directions" feature in Yelp got me there with no problems. If you're a train lover - put this on your bucket list now.

    Orphan train exhibit
    Jennifer H.

    The golden spike tower was a nice experience. The views of the railyard really were very cool, but the orphan train museum was more of a display case than a museum. However, it was a nice place to visit on our way through town.

    Eliza H.

    If you're into trains, THIS is the place to be! If not, it's still a cool stop to make. Being from Iowa, the appeal of trains is low. We grew up around them, hearing them, seeing them, getting stopped for an hour waiting for them, etc. However, it is kind of cool to overlook this large rail yard and learn a little history. The workers were friendly and the gift shop was adequate. Go see the museum and trains if you're into it, if not, try it anyway just to say you have been there! Happy sightseeing Yelpers!

    Mr Lynn. A friendly, very informative train expert.

    This was a great midway stop on a trip across Nebraska. We paid a reasonable cost to go to the top where we were delighted to meet Lynn, the volunteer who was so knowledgeable about how everything worked, how the economy had affected the quantity and flow of the trains over the years, the history of the train industry, and so much more. We could have listened to him sharing for hours had we had the time. The views were great. The little guy enjoyed the displays inside the tower, though there weren't very many hands-on things for him to do. Might be basic for a train expert, but for we three newbies it was a great stop.

    Golden Spike Tower

    A must see if you are even remotely interested in railroading. Provides an excellent view of Union Pacific's sprawling operations of this huge sorting yard for transcontinental trains. Lots of useful information and the staff are friendly.

    Katherine S.

    A winning nonprofit organization! For the railroad enthusiast, well worth the visit! Volunteer docents are knowledgeable and enthusiastic about train operations! The hospitality and small town feel contribute to the enjoyable experience! The view is spectacular!

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    1 year ago

    Extremely interesting. Never knew this existed so learned a lot. The staff in the museum was great in answering questions

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    Golden Spike T.

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    5 years ago

    The golden spike is so fun to go to while traveling across the state it's a perfect pit stop

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    Golden Spike T.

    So glad you enjoyed your stop! Thanks for visiting!

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    Ask the Community - Golden Spike Tower

    How long do visitors typically spend at the tower?

    Great question! On average guests spend an hour to hour and a half. Then there are those who could simply spend all day watching the trains!

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    Review Highlights - Golden Spike Tower

    The Golden Spike Tower offers a 7th-floor open-air viewing platform and an 8th floor enclosed viewing area.

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    Lincoln County Historical Museum - Brands of Japanese ranchers

    Lincoln County Historical Museum

    4.2(5 reviews)
    2.3 mi

    I'd heard about this museum and its exhibit of early Japanese settlers so I had to come. Luckily…read morefor me, I was able to visit on the morning of their annual all you can eat pancake feed! Besides lots of pancakes there was a guy dressed up like Buffalo Bill to welcome me at the door. There were lots of great exhibits. One of the highlights of North Platte was documented in the display of the North Platte Canteen, which served troop trains passing through during World War II, offering soldiers a brief pit stop to relax and enjoy some company along with cakes, sandwiches, cookies on their way to war. Of course, my interest was in the Japanese exhibit and I loved the touch screen monitor that showed the different families that had lived in the area, as well as the displays showing the early farmers and railroad workers. Later in the afternoon, I met with Jim Griffin, the museum director. Jim shared some fascinating photos of the Ice House, that many Japanese men worked at in the early 1900's. The workers cut huge slabs of ice from lakes, and transported the ice slabs to the giant ice house to be stored for later use when the railroad shipped fruit and other perishable goods by rail. Fascinating stuff! If you are in the area and get a chance, stop by, there is so much to see at this museum!

    this place smell really bad. do no recommend going here. if you do bring a mask. the things there…read morelook like plastic, and not like the real things.

    Photos
    Lincoln County Historical Museum - Touch screen of families in the area

    Touch screen of families in the area

    Lincoln County Historical Museum
    Lincoln County Historical Museum

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    Mansion on the Hill - Hours of operation

    Mansion on the Hill

    4.0(2 reviews)
    46.4 mi

    The Mansion on the hill is a beautiful 1880s home that is one of the gems of Ogallala. After…read morelistening to the docent carry-on about this place I can tell they're very very proud of their work to restore this and the schoolhouse that is next to it. They worked very hard to make everything be period. That is inside the house. And they have done a very fine job of it. The kitchen the children's room the bathroom all are done very very well and the upstairs has some of the old tools that they might have used a very interesting collection of post hole diggers which I can't remember NE Museum ever having a collection of post hole diggers. I guess you run into something unique at every place you go if you'll just pay attention to what's going on. Another fine thing they have about the small town is they have a set of what I would call poster holders on the second floor and every family the local families of course put notes about their relatives about their background about their family trees. I find this to be a wonderful addition to a museum in a small town where you can track the family tree and track who did what what went where. It's an interesting little Museum it doesn't take very long depending upon the dosing to get if you get the one I did your brain will be overflowing with information and you'll be totally unable to remember everything but you'll know that you had a lot of things run by you. She was so polite and so proud and such a wonderful resident of the small little town in the middle of Nebraska. I love these little small museums. This is of course in the National Historic register

    It's a nice learning experience. There are some interesting architectural details within the…read moremansion. The friendly tour guides are very informative when teaching about the history. There are flights of very steep stairs leading up to the second and third floors. Overall worth a stop by if you're in the area.

    Photos
    Mansion on the Hill - This authentic victorian mansion was built in 1887 from local brick. One of the oldest homes in Ogallala.

    This authentic victorian mansion was built in 1887 from local brick. One of the oldest homes in Ogallala.

    Mansion on the Hill - There was a time when the Ogallala Indians came to town and danced. This sort of stopped when the big freeway came through

    There was a time when the Ogallala Indians came to town and danced. This sort of stopped when the big freeway came through

    Mansion on the Hill - Another bed in the ladies room

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    Another bed in the ladies room

    Golden Spike Tower - museums - Updated May 2026

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