On Saturday morning, Kyle and I did something silly and fun that we’d never done before.
We started our next wish list; visiting every US state high point! Though I’ve climbed numerous peaks in Colorado, I’ve never actually climbed Colorado’s high point (Mt. Elbert). Nor have I hiked to the Wisconsin high point (Timms Hill) in the 21 years that I lived there! In fact, neither of us had EVER done a high point before! This is pretty exciting stuff, guys.
The closest high point to us (since we’re in Greeley) is the Nebraska high point. It’s so close to Colorado, we didn’t even know we’d crossed the state line to get there! And at only 5,424′, Panorama Point only just rises above the prairie.
Located on a privately owned bison ranch, Panorama Point has been made accessible to the public through a $3/person fee. I imagine these fees go to maintaining the dirt road that goes all the way to the monument. (Nope, no hiking involved for this high point! Anyone can go there as it’s 100% accessible by car.)
It was only a 1.5 hour drive for us, and a beautiful one across the prairie. The last 15 miles were on gravel roads, which should be accessible by any normal car. (I don’t recommend taking your fancy sports car to this one, kids!)
We had fun setting my camera’s self timer and posing on the monument for pictures. It was a gorgeous monument with wonderful views and all within close proximity of the herd of bison. (Not wild, but still fun!) There was even a “summit register” which we happily signed.
We greatly enjoyed the relaxing drive and the silly stop at Nebraska’s high point. Now to figure out which one is next!
Chelsea
Colorado Chelsea 
Awesome! Thank you for posting! I’m thinking of doing this one soon 🙂
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YES! It was a great change of pace. I love the prairie. Hit up Pawnee Buttes while you’re out there too if you want a fun (easy) hike!
(https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/pawnee-buttes-trail) And the tri-state (CO/NE/WY) marker is super close as well! You do have to go through a gate marked private property, however. We ended up not doing it because we were unsure, but a quick Google search when I got home made me think that it’s allowed!
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I did not know this was so close to Colorado, Chelsea. Next time we visit Nebraska, we will have to visit this point!
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It’s totally worth the visit!
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Great plan and a special way to visit all 50 states. I hiked over several of the state’s high points on my Appalachian Trail thru-hike and many of them are spectacular. Enjoy the journey!
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That’s awesome! I’ve never been to the Appalachians. Would love to do some high pointing in that area!
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Finally I don’t feel like such an amateur next to you only walking (hiking as I call it) around Bmore. Thx for sharing this fun little trip of yours.
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Aww, thank you for following along with me!
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I tried to hike in Nebraska a month ago … I found a trail via REI’s Hiking Project that wasn’t far off my route near Ogallala. When I arrived it was on a government installation and wasn’t (and hadn’t been) open to the public. So no Nebraska hike for me. On the other hand, if you and your husband come to Appalachia let me know – my wife and I would totally hike in Shenandoah with you two!
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Oh boy! We’ve never hiked there either, (we drove the entire way to Panorama Point) but I don’t suppose Nebraska is known as a hiking destination LOL!
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We would love to meet up sometime if we ever find ourselves in Appalachia! I’ve never been, so it’s definitely on the list!
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Old Rag and Whiteoak Canyon are the two hikes to do in central Shenandoah National Park. I haven’t written on Old Rag yet but I published a two part post on Whiteoak Canyon about a year ago!
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Cool! The high points of each state! Sounds like a fun and challenging goal!
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I’m so excited about it! We started with one of the easiest ones, but we have our work cut out for us on some of the others!
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