Discover. Dream. Plan. Grand Island Awaits.

See first hand how food goes from farm to fork

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Raising Nebraska  |  501 E Fonner Park Road, Suite 100

Start the day off with breakfast in the Raising Nebraska building operated by the University of Nebraska Extension. There, you’ll enjoy a delicious farm to table breakfast and do hands-on activities such as infusing flavors into cooking oil or visiting the gardens (seasonal).

Allow 2 hours

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Family Farm Experience |  Various sites are available in and around Grand Island

Your group will visit a family farm, see operations up close, and talk with the people who use science and technology in modern farming. You’ll get to see equipment and learn the process of production — livestock or crops.

Allow 1 hour

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Miletta Vista Winery  | 1732 Highway 281, St Paul

Take a short drive up to the edge of the Nebraska Sandhills with a visit to the most established vineyard and winery in the area.  You can hear about the process of producing wine from vine to bottle. There you can sample wines and have lunch.  If you’re there at the right time of year, you may be able to participate in the grape harvest. A step-on guide may be added to share information during your drive to and from this location.

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Experience a world-class migration in the middle of the USA

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Day 1

Stuhr Museum | 3133 W U.S. Hwy 34

Start your migration experience with the Wings Over the Platte art exhibit and lunch at the beautiful Stuhr Museum. This renowned living history museum hosts Wings Over the Platte, showcasing art themed around the Platte River valley. While at the museum, you can watch videos about the crane migration and take part in behind-the-scenes tours of the museum archives and 150,000-piece collections building.

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Driving Tour with Step-on Guide

Next, you’ll hit the road with a local guide who will take you through areas where the Sandhill Cranes feed during the day. If the cranes aren’t too full from feasting on grain and grubs, you may catch them dancing to impress their future lifemate. And, maybe, just maybe, you’ll get a glimpse of an endangered Whooping Crane.

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Crane Trust Nature and Visitor’s Center  |  9325 S Alda Rd

At the Crane Trust and Visitors Center, you’ll learn more about the 1 million bird crane migration that draws visitors from around the world. At the Crane Trust, you’ll hear about how conservation efforts help make this spot on the Platte the ideal resting place for the long crane migration.

At dusk, an up close and personal view of the cranes will be the highlight of your visit. You’ll see and hear the birds fly in for their overnight stay from the Crane Trust's blinds on the river. They are a talkative bunch.

The evening will be capped off with dinner at Kinkaiders Brewing Company. Located in a grand old bar that once housed a theater, it will seem like a throwback to a different era. The locally brewed beer and delicious food will make for a great end to the day.

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Day 2

The Chocolate Bar  | 116 W 3rd St

Coffee, breakfast, and the pleasant environment of The Chocolate Bar will get you ready for your next day of travel. If you want, we can invite a local story teller, photographer, or historian to join you for one last experience in downtown Grand Island before you set out for your next destination.

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Explore this unique plains city named for an island

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Day 1

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For this itinerary, the suggested start time is 11:00 am or 12:30 pm

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The Chocolate Bar | 116 W 3rd St

The Chocolate Bar can accommodate a large group in its meeting spaces. We encourage selecting a buffet-style lunch, including dessert. An artist or foodie may be brought in to talk. This may also be a time when Nebraska Public Media’s video story of Fred’s Flying Circus (another stop on the tour) can be played.

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Allow 1 hour

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Prairie Pride Brewing Company | 115 E South Front St

When a home brewer wins awards and turns pro, you get places like Prairie Pride Brewing Company. With on site brewing, you can sample as well as see the process it takes to develop new flavors and brews for retail consumption.

Allow 1 hour

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La Mexicana Tortilla Factory and Restaurant | 111 E 4th St

When you have a Mexican Restaurant, it’s handy to have your own tortilla factory and store. But they don’t stop there, they sell their tortillas on the wholesale and retail markets too, plus they have a bakery. Now those are entrepreneurs!

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Allow 30 minutes-1 hour

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Fred’s Flying Circus | 503 E 4th St

Fred’s Flying Circus is a whimsical, 3D art display viewed from across the street. It’s the creation of the late Fred Schritt who operated G.I. Body Shop for years. When his auto body skills took an artistic turn, this unique, sky-high art exhibit was born.

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Allow 30 minutes

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Prairie Creek Vineyard and Winery | 1600 16th St, Central City

You’ll have supper at Prairie Creek’s restaurant. The small menu focuses on quality ingredients, locally sourced when possible. They’ll suggest which of their wines best pairs with your meal.

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Day 2

Raising Nebraska |  501 E Fonner Park Road, Suite 100

Have a delicious farm-to-table breakfast and hear about local crops and ingredients that may be part of your meal. You might enjoy local sausage, bacon, eggs, honey, mushrooms, or milk.

Add an art element to your morning. Raising Nebraska staff, or a local artist can lead your group in a hands-on project.

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Allow 1-1.5 hours

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Depart for your next travel stop.

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Stories of bravery, intrigue, & fortitude

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Day 1

Liederkranz | 401 W 1st St

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Liederkranz club was formed in 1870. Step back in time when you visit the original German Bar from the early 1900s, and the retro bowling alley. Have supper and get a historical tour.

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1.5 hours

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Day 2

Burlington Station |  603 N Plum

Start the day off with breakfast in the restored Burlington Train Depot. This venue is owned and operated by the Hall County Historical Society.  Have breakfast served up by members of the Historical Society and hear stories about locals and those who passed through. You’ll probably even find out why there is an island in the most landlocked state in the U.S.  If we play our cards right, you may even get a tour of the Tri-City Model Railroaders set up in the north building of the depot.

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Allow 1.5—2 hours

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Railside Tour | 201 W 3rd St

Take a walking tour of historic downtown sites with a Grand Island Tourism team member and/or Railside district’s director.  Stop into some of our favorite spots and learn about the movers, shakers, saints, and sinners that made this railroad town thrive. A stop at the Grand Theatre, built in 1911, takes you back to earlier movie houses and a 1937, art deco renovation.

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Allow 1.5 hour

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Chicken Coop | 120 E 3rd St

Enjoy lunch in this historic building which, during the early days of the railroad, serviced workers and patrons alike. Learn about those who passed through the doors. The Chicken Coop has a varied menu of great food and its own brews (including root beer).

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1 hour

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Driving Tour with Step-On Guide

See the sites and hear the stories of Grand Island and Hall County. Learn about how two boys on horseback lived after being shot by an arrow that pinned them together.  Plus, hear about how the Oregon and Mormon Trails cut through the county along the Wood River trail.

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Allow 1 hour

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Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer  |  3133 W US Hwy 34

The gateway into this living history museum is the main building, designed by Edward Durell Stone — designer of the Kennedy Center and Radio City Music Hall. As you get further into the museum’s 200 acres, you find a historic, working town comprised of homes, a church, a school, a general store, a planing mill, a tin smith, and a blacksmith. The town is inhabited by historic interpreters from late spring to early fall. While at Stuhr, get a behind-the-scenes tour of the archive and the collections building, boasting over 150,000 pieces.

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Allow 2 hours

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