'Shining Star:' Scotts Bluff National Monument supports tourism in Valley (2024)

Scotts Bluff National Monument hosted 174,267 visitors in 2023, according to the National Park Service. Agate Fossil Beds brought in an additional 15,562.

The Scotts Bluff National Monument’s total was a marginal decrease from 2022, but park officials were still pleased with the results. Eric Grunwald, lead interpreter at the site, attributed the dip to the cold and snow in the late winter and early spring of 2023.

“It was so slow at the beginning of 2023,” Grunwald said. “just due to all the snow and the ice that we had on Summit Road, and the cold temperatures, but come April, things really picked up.”

If it had not been for weather conditions early in the year, he said he suspected the monument would have surpassed its 2022 numbers.

Across the board, visitor totals in 2023 mirrored the trends of previous years with fewer visits in the winter months that pick up as weather improves. As in most years, visitations peaked in July with 30,467 visits during that time.

One of the more noticeable differences could be found in the month of March, when poor weather conditions had a significant impact. In March 2023, the park saw 7,508 visitors, while in each of the three previous years the property saw just over 10,000 that month.

Another point of note was that this year’s September visitations, 22,462, were the highest since the NPS started recording visitations at the monument in 1979.

That year, the park hosted 26,917 in September.

Grunwald attributed that increase to both good weather conditions and some of the events that were hosted by surrounding communities. September of 2023 saw Gering play host to sporting events like the Monument Marathon and the first USA Cycling Gravel National Championships.

“That really affects our visitation because people are in town for those events, their families are in town, and so we see an uptick of visitation during those events,” Grunwald said.

Gering Tourism Director Karla Niedan-Streeks said “2023 was a banner year for tourism” in Gering. Along with the Gravel National Championships, the community also hosted events like the Oregon and California Trails Association’s annual convention for the first time since 2008.

“Scotts Bluff National Monument is our number one tourism attraction draw within Gering and Scotts Bluff County,” Niedan-Streeks said, “so literally every visitor market that comes to our area usually pre-plans to visit the Monument.”

She said she is also excited about the prospect of the second Gravel National Championship, which will be held in Gering again this summer. She said she recently met with USA Cycling about the event and they said they believe registration could double in 2024.

The event included roughly 500 registrants in 2023.

A.J. Legault, chief ranger at Agate Fossil Beds, said he is also pleased with the monument’s 2023 visitation numbers.

“Given our remote location, that is a fantastic number,” Legault said of the 15,562 visitors last year.

Those numbers were also a slight decrease from what was recorded in 2022, which Legault attributed largely to poor weather conditions.

Now both national monuments are looking ahead as they approach their peak visitation season, May to September.

In a press release, park officials recommended that those interested in visiting the parks while trying to avoid crowds visit during April or October.

While rangers at Scotts Bluff National Monument are preparing for those visits to ramp up, unfortunately, the monument will likely be decreasing its summer hours, according to Grunwald.

“We’re probably not going to be able to offer extended summer hours like we have in the past,” Grunwald said. “We just don’t have the budget to hire as much staff as we have in the past.”

Previously in the warmer months, the park has remained open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. This year Grunwald said it would likely open at 9 a.m. and close at 5 p.m. with the last drive up on the Summit Road at 4:30 p.m.

Legault said Agate Fossil Beds staff are also preparing for more visitors and are planning to offer similar programs as in previous years.

Those included nighttime photography classes to take advantage of the remote park’s unfettered access to the night sky.

He said he is also excited that on March 16 they will be bringing in the Oglala Lakota College’s Little Shop of Physics Program. The event will include about 30 hands-on experiments that kids and their families can observe and conduct.

Officials at both parks were optimistic that they would continue to see strong visitation numbers in the coming year.

Niedan-Streeks shared their excitement and looked forward to what 2024 would bring.

“They are our shining star in our visitor attractions,” Niedan-Streeks said of the monuments.