Nebraska Highway 61 is a highway in western

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

. It is a north–south highway with a length of . The southern terminus of Nebraska Highway 61 is at the

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

border south of Benkelman, where the highway continues south as K-161. The northern terminus is at the

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

border north of Merriman, where the highway continues north as

South Dakota Highway 73 South Dakota Highway 73 (SD 73) is a state route that runs across western South Dakota. It begins at the Nebraska border north of Merriman, Nebraska, as a continuation of Nebraska Highway 61. It runs to the North Dakota border, where it continu ...

Route description

Nebraska Highway 61 begins at the Kansas border south of Benkelman. It goes north through farmland for one mile (1.6 km), then intersects

U.S. Highway 34 U.S. Route 34 (US 34) is an east–west United States highway that runs for from north-central Colorado to the western suburbs of Chicago. Through Rocky Mountain National Park it is known as the Trail Ridge Road where it reaches elevation ...

, with which it overlaps through Benkelman. It goes north from Benkelman to

Enders Reservoir State Recreation Area Enders Reservoir State Recreation Area (SRA) is a state park, state recreation area in southwestern Nebraska, United States. The recreation area surrounds the Enders Reservoir, a reservoir on Frenchman's Creek (Nebraska), Frenchman's Creek, appro ...

, where it intersects

U.S. Highway 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War Grand Army of the Republic, veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast fr ...

. They overlap north, then west into

Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texa ...

. At Imperial, Highway 61 turns north and continues north until an intersection with

Nebraska Highway 23 Nebraska Highway 23 is a highway in southwestern Nebraska, United States. Its western terminus is on the Colorado border at Venango, where the highway continues west as Colorado State Highway 23. The eastern terminus of NE 23 is at Holdrege at ...

, where Highway 61 and Highway 23 turn west to go to

Grant Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom *Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama *Grant, Inyo County, C ...

. At Grant, Highway 61 goes north and continues north until

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...

at Ogallala. At I-80, an overlap with

U.S. Highway 26 U.S. Route 26 (US 26) is an east–west United States highway that runs from Seaside, Oregon to Ogallala, Nebraska. When the U.S. highway system was first defined, it was limited to Nebraska and Wyoming; by the 1950s, it continued into Idaho a ...

begins and they go north across the

South Platte River The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwestern United States, Midwest and the American Sout ...

and intersect

U.S. Highway 30 U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route in the system of the United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. With a length of , it is the third longest ...

. Nebraska Highway 61, U.S. 26 and U.S. 30 then go west out of Ogallala, then Highway 61 and U.S. 26 turn north. Three miles later, U.S. 26 goes west while Highway 61 goes east. Highway 61 then turns north to cross the

North Platte River The North Platte River is a major tributary of the Platte River and is approximately long, counting its many curves.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 21, 2011 In a ...

via Kingsley Dam at the eastern end of

Lake McConaughy Lake McConaughy is a reservoir on the North Platte River. It is located north of Ogallala, Nebraska, United States, near U.S. Highway 26 and Nebraska Highway 61. The reservoir was named for Charles W. McConaughy, a grain merchant and mayor of H ...

. It then intersects

Nebraska Highway 92 Nebraska Highway 92 is a highway that enters the state from Nebraska's western border at the Wyoming state line west of Lyman, Nebraska, to the state's eastern border on the South Omaha Veterans Memorial Bridge over the Missouri River in Omaha, w ...

and the two highways overlap as they enter the Sand Hills until

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...

. After Arthur, Highway 61 goes north until

Nebraska Highway 2 Nebraska Highway 2 (N-2) is a state highway in Nebraska consisting of two discontinuous segments. The western segment begins at the South Dakota border northwest of Crawford and ends southeast of Grand Island at an intersection with Intersta ...

. They overlap going west into Hyannis, then Highway 61 continues north until Merriman. At Merriman, Highway 61 intersects U.S. Highway 20 and overlap in town. Highway 61 continues north from Merriman past the Bowring Ranch State Historical Park and ends at the South Dakota border.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{Attached KML, display=title,inline
Nebraska Roads: NE 61-80
061 Transportation in Dundy County, Nebraska Transportation in Chase County, Nebraska Transportation in Perkins County, Nebraska Transportation in Keith County, Nebraska Transportation in Arthur County, Nebraska Transportation in Grant County, Nebraska Transportation in Cherry County, Nebraska