Overview
Grand Island is a city of 51,000 people (2019) in South Central Nebraska. Grand Island has been given the All-America City Award three times (1955, 1967, and 1981–82) by the National Civic League.
4 sights · 2 things to do · 2 places to eat · 1 bars & cafés · 6 places to stay
Updated from Wikivoyage on 1 October 2026 · Something wrong or missing? Improve it on Wikivoyage
Best things about Grand Island
Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer
A large scale indoor/outdoor museum dedicated to the Nebraska frontier and the pioneers who settled those lands. Exhibits include a replica 1800s plains town where visitors can interact with exhibits, walk inside the man…
Townsley-Murdock Trail Site
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 5, 1998, this site contains one of the only remaining ruts on the Mormon Trail. The 2.4-acre site is west of and adjacent to the Wood River Crossing area. Upon …
Crane Trust Nature & Visitor Center
The non-profit Crane Trust protects whooping and sandhill cranes in the Big Bend region. Their Visitor Center is very popular during migration season (March).
Plainsman Museum
A museum dedicated to the plainsmen of Nebraska. Exhibits include a log cabin and a sod-house, a time-varied history from the 1800s into the 1900s as well as automobiles, a 1800s schoolhouse and other various exhibits.
Art in the Park
A juried summer art festival operating since 1982.
Nebraska Danger Football
The Nebraska Danger, central and western Nebraska's indoor professional football team and member of the IFL, was founded October 4, 2010 in Grand Island, Nebraska, by Charlie Bosselman and is owned and operated by the Bo…
Plan your trip
Best time to visit & weather
Most comfortable: May–Oct. Summer highs reach about 87°F; winter lows dip to about 13°F. Cold months (Jan, Feb, Dec) can bring snow and ice; check road conditions. Wettest: May and Jun. (climate data from nearby Kearney)
Blue bars: average daily high and low (°F). Purple columns: average monthly rain and melted snow (inches).
Getting there
- From you: to see whether to drive or fly, and how long it takes.
- GRI Central Nebraska Regional Airport, Grand Island — 3 mi away. Directions
- EAR Kearney Regional Airport, Kearney — 37 mi away. Directions
- OMA Eppley Airfield, Omaha — 130 mi away (major hub). Directions
Interstate 80 (I-80) runs just south of Grand Island. Exits 312, 314 and 318 lead into the city. US Highway 30 cuts from the southwest corner to the northeast corner of town. US Highway 34 runs out of town to the east, paralleling I-80.
Full “Get in” guide ↓Budget & where to stay
No prices are listed for this place yet. See the Sleep guide ↓ for options.
Sample 2-day itinerary
Day 1
- Morning Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer, Crane Trust Nature & Visitor Center
- Lunch Godfathers Pizza
- Afternoon Art in the Park
- Dinner Tommy's Family Restaurant
- Evening The Chicken Coop
Day 2
- Morning Plainsman Museum, Townsley-Murdock Trail Site
- Afternoon Nebraska Danger Football
Stops are grouped by area so each day needs little backtracking. Check opening hours before you go.
Food for you
Cuisine (tap to filter)
What to ask about, for your diet
Diet labels come from each listing's description and cuisine; “likely” means the cuisine usually has good choices, not a promise. Check with the restaurant. Open the food finder
Photos
Map
Every listing with a location. Tap a pin for its Google Maps link.
Get in
By car
Interstate 80 (I-80) runs just south of Grand Island. Exits 312, 314 and 318 lead into the city. US Highway 30 cuts from the southwest corner to the northeast corner of town. US Highway 34 runs out of town to the east, paralleling I-80.
NE Highway 2 runs out of the city to the northwest. US Highway 281 cuts through the city north to south.
By plane
By bus
Arrow/Trailways Lines (+1-800-992-4618)
By shuttle
Navigator Bus / Eppley Express provides limited shuttle service between Omaha and several Nebraska cities including Kearney, Grand Island, Hastings, Lincoln and York. Two pick-up/drop-off locations are available in Omaha: Eppley Airfield and Holiday Inn at 72nd & Grover just north of I-80. Service is limited to specific days and times depending upon your destination. Reservations available on-line. +1 308-234-6066.
Get around
By Handi Bus
Public shuttle service for the Greater Grand Island Area (308-385-5324)
By taxi
Action Cab & Courier (308-381-1010)
See
See Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer (Stuhr Museum)
A large scale indoor/outdoor museum dedicated to the Nebraska frontier and the pioneers who settled those lands. Exhibits include a replica 1800s plains town where visitors can interact with exhibits, walk inside the many buildings and houses on the campus and observe an 1800s train station along with older farm equipment used in the area.
See Townsley-Murdock Trail Site
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 5, 1998, this site contains one of the only remaining ruts on the Mormon Trail. The 2.4-acre site is west of and adjacent to the Wood River Crossing area. Upon leaving the Wood River Crossing, travelers were funneled onto a narrow ridge, which separated the winding Wood River from the wetlands of the Platte. Every traveler on this trail was forced onto this narrow pathway, creating the wide and shallow swale, which remains. The name of the site comes from the first settlers on the land, Marshal Townsley around 1860 and later Phineas and Catherine Murdock in 1866. Survey notes from 1866 note this tract of land contained the Murdock home, a sawmill and a telegraph line. This sawmill probably supplied the railroad ties for the first transcontinental railroad by Union Pacific Railroad in the 1860s as it was one mile south of the tracks.
See Crane Trust Nature & Visitor Center
The non-profit Crane Trust protects whooping and sandhill cranes in the Big Bend region. Their Visitor Center is very popular during migration season (March).
Do
Do Nebraska Danger Football
The Nebraska Danger, central and western Nebraska's indoor professional football team and member of the IFL, was founded October 4, 2010 in Grand Island, Nebraska, by Charlie Bosselman and is owned and operated by the Bosselman Companies/Bosselman Entertainment, LLC.
Eat
Eat Godfathers Pizza
Dine-in, delivery, pick-up at drive-thru. Daily lunch buffet from 11AM-2PM. Wednesday night buffet from 5-8PM. In business for over 30 years.
Eat Tommy's Family Restaurant
Chicken fried steak, fried chicken, pie, etc.
Drink
Sleep
Stay Comfort Inn
Go next
- Omaha- 80 East. About 3 hours away.
- North Platte- 80 West. About 1½ hours away.
- Hastings- 34 West. About 35 minutes away.
- Aberdeen SD- 281 North. About 6 hours away.
Nearby
My experience
Write about your trip here. Notes save automatically in this browser as you type; back them up from My journal.