Sand Hills

Antioch, Nebraska (ghost town)

Sand Hills

Sand Hills

At around 23,000 square miles, the Sand Hills are a unique region within the Great Plains. Almost exclusively sand dunes covered with grass, around 85% of it has never been plowed. Occasionally, blowouts occur in which the grass cover rips open by wind or truck tires, and the sand gets exposed. In order to stop a blowout from spreading, locals might throw tires in or drive an old car into one which somehow manages to stabilize the gash.

Lots of little ponds sit in the pits between the dunes, making the area good for livestock grazing but not much else, especially road building. So, one of the few state highways to cross this bizarre landscape follows the Burlington Northern Santa Fe line. We passed a few ghost towns on our way through this fascinatingly beautiful corridor.

Great Plains scavenger hunt item #6: Sand Hills

The Sand Hills is a region of mixed-grass prairie on grass-stabilized sand dunes in north-central Nebraska, covering just over one quarter of the state. Dunes in the Sand Hills may exceed 330 ft (100 m) in height.