Rethinking the Flyover — A Slow Stop in Kearney, Nebraska
Nebraska has spent years as our ultimate flyover state — or, more accurately, our ultimate drive-through state.
Our experience
For the last five or six years, we’ve made the drive between Palm Springs and Minnesota, and Nebraska was always the long middle section. Nothing to do. Nothing to see. Just keep driving.
This time, we decided to change the pattern. Instead of pushing through another long day on the road, we broke the drive into smaller pieces and actually stopped somewhere we had passed by for years.
Our first stop was Kearney. And we were genuinely surprised by how much we liked it.
Kearney has a vibrant downtown that feels like it is actually working. The Bricks Creative District has the classic Midwestern main-street look, complete with brick streets, but instead of rows of empty storefronts, we found furniture stores, salons, coffee shops, restaurants, boutiques, and plenty of activity.
We could easily have stayed another couple of days.
Dinner was another surprise. We ate at Cunningham’s Journal on the Lake, overlooking a small lake — or maybe a pond by Minnesota standards — with a large patio and huge windows facing the water. We ordered a full spread, including Brussels sprouts and several appetizers, but the chicken mac and cheese was the standout: decadent, comforting, and honestly hard to forget. Add a beer selection of more than 45 local and regional craft options, and it was exactly the kind of unexpected road-trip dinner we hoped to find.
We also appreciated one small but noticeable detail: Cunningham’s has six all-gender restrooms rather than separate men’s and women’s facilities — a thoughtful, forward-looking design choice we did not necessarily expect to encounter in the middle of Nebraska.
Kearney has much more of a brewery culture than we expected from a Nebraska city of its size. Downtown alone gave us several options, including Thunderhead Brewing, Upper Room, Platte Valley Brewery, and McCue’s Nebraska Taproom, which focuses on Nebraska-made beer and spirits.
Must-sees and must-dos
- Explore The Bricks Creative District — walk Kearney’s brick-lined downtown and browse its restaurants, coffee shops, boutiques, salons, and locally owned businesses.
- Try the local brewery scene — check out places like Thunderhead Brewing, Upper Room, Platte Valley Brewery, or McCue’s Nebraska Taproom.
- Eat at Cunningham’s Journal on the Lake — grab a table overlooking the water, explore the craft beer list, and come hungry enough for some serious comfort food.
- Visit the Museum of Nebraska Art — make time for Kearney’s art museum and discover a side of Nebraska that is easy to miss from the interstate.
- See the Archway — stop at the landmark stretching directly over I-80 and learn about the travelers who crossed Nebraska long before modern road trips.
- Experience the sandhill crane migration — if you are traveling during crane season, consider staying longer to witness one of the region’s remarkable wildlife events.
Our pro tip
Break up the drive. That may be the biggest lesson Kearney gave us.
When you repeatedly drive the same long route, it is easy to develop a list of places that exist only as exits, gas stations, and miles remaining until the next overnight stop.
Change the pattern once in a while. Stop somewhere you have driven past for years. Stay near downtown instead of beside the interstate. Give yourself enough time for dinner, a brewery, a museum, a park, or simply a morning walking around town.
Kearney reminded us that sometimes the supposedly boring part between two destinations becomes part of the trip once you finally give it a chance.
We spent years driving past this town thinking there was nothing here. There is plenty here. And Kearney, Nebraska, is somewhere we would happily stop again.
Planning a Palm Springs–Minnesota drive of your own? Start with Visit Kearney and stay downtown on the Bricks instead of treating Nebraska as another tank of gas.