Roughly the midway point of US-20’s long cruise across Nebraska, Ainsworth (pop. 1,800) has something of an identity problem, if its slogans (“Welcome to the Middle of Nowhere” and “Where the Sandhills Meet the Niobrara”) are any guide. Ainsworth also calls itself the state’s “country music capital” and hosts a popular concert and festival in early August. Ainsworth’s Middle of Nowhere Festival, held in June, is celebrated with a Wild West–style trail ride and a black powder rendezvous—where “living history” fans re-enact the muzzle-loading, fur-trapping frontier era. For details on either of these events, contact the town’s visitors center (402/387-2740).
Eat big burgers at Big John’s, along US-20 at 1110 E. 4th Street, and stay the night at the tidy, white clapboard Upper Room B&B ($45–75; 402/387-0107), in a quiet location on the west side of town at 409 N. Wilson Street.
