Smiley Canyon to Deadman Road Trip
Discover Northwest Nebraska’s Smiley Canyon to Deadman Road Trip starts outside of Crawford, Nebraska, near Fort Robinson State Park, takes adventurers through Smiley Canyon and then explores the White River Valley and the Pine Ridge southwest of the fort.
Unlike some of our other road trips, this tour doesn’t have many stops, but what it lacks in attractions it makes up for in its display of the natural beauty of one of the Pine Ridge’s more attractive, and less traveled areas. Early in the trip, you’ll find opportunities for hiking within Smiley Canyon and the entire tour offers excellent opportunities for photography and wildlife viewing (you’ll find a herd of bison while traveling through Smiley Canyon.) Anglers may want to bring a rod along – there’s plenty of opportunity to fish the White River along the way. Railroad enthusiasts will enjoy traveling beside what remains of the old Cowboy Line as it snakes alongside the river through the valley.
This trip is about 50 miles long.
This road trip is true to the nature of our theme of Roads Less Traveled. Most of the trip is over dirt road and not all roads on the route have signage to help travelers along the way. We’ll do our best here to provide you adequate directions along the route, but adventurers may want to make sure they have their maps and a compass handy. We strongly recommend you print out our Google Maps route map and these directions as, depending on your provider, you may not always have cell service along the tour.
You’ll begin the trip south of Crawford and just east of Fort Robinson State Park on Highway 20. Head west, driving through Fort Robinson, one of Nebraska’s most significant places with regard to the history of the American West. Originally a temporary camp guarding the Red Cloud Agency from 1874-1877, the fort served the U.S. Military in multiple roles until it ceased to be a military post in 1947. Just some of the fort’s prominent history includes its role during the Indian Wars, its stationing of African American “Buffalo Soldiers” in the early 1900s and its serving as a German POW camp during World War II. Travelers can easily make a day, or even a weekend of exploring the Fort and the nearby site of the Red Cloud Agency, but one essential stop along this road trip is the site of Crazy Horse’s death. To visit the site, navigate using the Google map attached to the tour or stop at the fort’s large, brick, administration building west of the highway and ask for directions to the nearby site.
Just as you leave the fort to the west via Highway 20, you’ll immediately take a right turn onto the Smiley Canyon Scenic Drive. This one-way road will take you on a quick trip amid the Cheyenne Buttes, but before you reach the ridges, keep an eye out for a herd of bison that call the area home. Once into the buttes you’ll have the opportunity to stop and read a state historical marker honoring the 1879 Cheyenne Outbreak.
In 1878, a year after being taken from their traditional home to a reservation in what is now Oklahoma, the Northern Cheyenne tribe decided to leave the poor conditions of their reservation and, without permission, return to their native lands in the north. Over 350 Cheyennes took part in the breakout under the leadership of Dull Knife and Little Wolf. When they reached Nebraska the group split into two along the lines of its leaders. Little Wolf’s group sought to join Sitting Bull across the border in Canada, Dull Knife wanted to seek out Red Cloud at the Red Cloud Agency near Fort Robinson. What Dull Knife didn’t know was that Red Cloud and his people had been moved into Dakota Territory.
His party of 149 men, women and children were intercepted south of what is now Chadron and were taken to Fort Robinson on October 24, 1878. The group stayed at the fort through the end of the year as their requests to join Red Cloud were denied and they were eventually, in December, held prisoner in the fort’s barracks.
Under orders to pressure the Cheyenne to return to their reservation in modern-day Oklahoma, the commanding officer of the fort, who had previously asked his superiors for permission to let the Cheyenne stay, ceased giving the group firewood and food. On January 9, 1879, the Cheyenne executed their plan to break out from their confines, using weapons they had stored earlier to attack the guards. The group exited the fort under fire, some barefoot and ill-equipped for the trek through the snow. They followed the White River southwest before cutting to the north and climbing over the buttes to the south of the marker’s location in order to evade their pursuers. As they continued to flee, the Cheyenne had sporadic engagements with the army in the area.
According to History Nebraska, 26 Cheyenne warriors were killed the night of the breakout and about 80 women and children were recaptured. The remaining group was able to move northwest and evaded capture until January 22. Some managed to escape, including Dull Knife and some of his family, and make their way to Red Cloud. 64 Cheyenne and 11 soldiers were killed during the breakout.
For those wanting to explore the area, two trailheads offer hiking. The Cheyenne Butte trail is a 2.4-mile hike with its trailhead in the area of the state historical marker. The Smiley Canyon Loop Trail is a difficult hike at 8.75-miles. Its trailhead is further west along the Smiley Canyon Scenic Drive.
To get back to your adventure, continue west from the historical marker, enjoying the views from the canyon. At the end of the Scenic Drive, you’ll come to an intersection with Highway 20. Head east back toward the fort on Highway 20 just under 2.5 miles and turn south on White River Road. We suggest resetting your trip odometer or keeping track of how far you’ve travelled from this turn in order to help you navigate through the next section of the trip.
Follow the road as it heads south and then west along the White River. Look for signs indicating which areas along the river are available to be fished. These areas are on private land, but landowners have agreed to allow anglers by walk-in only. Respect the private land while you’re on it and make sure you have your fishing license. To be extra respectful, ask landowners for permission to fish before heading to the river.
The first settlements in Sioux County were in this valley along the river. After all, the settlers were protected by nearby Fort Robinson, and they also had the benefit of the Sidney to Deadwood Trail that ran through the area supplying the fort and eventually carrying those heading to the Black Hills in pursuit of gold For around three years it rivaled the Oregon Trail in terms of capacity because traffic flowed both ways over it.
“Up it swarmed the gold seekers, men and women from every walk of life, the jerkline teams of horses and mules, and slow drags of Ox freight.
Down it came disillusioned miners, empty freight wagons, passenger and mail stages, and the Treasure Coach with its galloping four and shotgun guard,” according to Sioux County History: First 100 Years.
The area was also settled by fort soldiers who took homesteads along the river, including Henry Kreman who came in 1881 and whose family still resides in the area. About five miles from your turn south on White River Road, the road will dip into a small valley which was referred to as “Glen” by settlers. The local post office was eventually moved here and a general store was built when the area began to grow due to the railroad coming through the area.
At its peak, Glen was a bustling community and the site of many outgoing shipments of cattle, potatoes and grain. When the Kinkaid Act was passed, which promised more land to new settlers than previous agreements, some began to leave the area to collect their 640 acres elsewhere. As automobiles began to make the nearby larger towns more accessible the stores in Glen began to close and the passenger train stopped running along the Cowboy Line. The depot and station became obsolete and were sold. The stockyard and sidings were removed and what remains of the now defunct community can be seen in remodeled buildings as you pass through the small, secluded valley where Glen once stood.
Next along your trip, things get a little tricky. You’ll head west along White River Road until you reach Corkscrew Road, the next leg of your trip. What makes this portion tricky is that Corkscrew Road does not have a road sign. From where you turned south on Highway 20, it’s about eight miles to the turn south on Corkscrew Road. Here’s a couple more tips for finding the proper turn:
–As you travel along White River Road, the White River will be to your north. Half a mile west of Corkscrew Road, White River Road crosses the river. If you’ve encountered this crossing, you’ve gone too far and missed your turn to Corkscrew Road. Simply turn around, and, heading east, Corkscrew Road will be the second right (south) turn.
-Reference an east-facing home on the southwestern corner of the intersection with White River Road and Corkscrew Road. Between Corkscrew Road and the river crossing half a mile further along White River Road, is another chance to turn south that is incorrect. The easiest way to discover you’ve taken this wrong route is that the terrain will quickly become technical. If you’ve found yourself on this road, turn around and head back to the intersection with White River Road. Once at the road, head back east about 3,000 feet, where you’ll find the turn south onto Corkscrew Road.
Adventurers willing to undertake the extra navigation to be sure they’ve found Corkscrew Road will be rewarded with an eight-mile drive as the road winds and climbs through a beautiful section of the Pine Ridge. The final three miles of the road breaks free from the pines and offers views of the prairie that are in stark contrast to those along most of the route. Continue south for those three miles until you reach West Belmont Road, where you’ll turn to the east. Enjoy the view along this dirt road for about eight miles, at which point you’ll reach an intersection with Diehl Road. From the intersection south, the north-south road is Diehl Road. From the intersection north, the road continues as West Belmont Road. Keep left and head north, continuing on West Belmont.
Continue for about 2.25 miles until you reach Deadman Road, another unmarked road along the tour, after West Belmont begins heading to the northeast for a short stint. At first site, Deadman Road can appear to be a private driveway due to the site of a nearby house to the north. You’ll turn north on Deadman Road, where you’ll once again be rewarded for your diligence in navigating. This road will take you back through Pine Ridge and offers more stunning views.
The drive down Deadman Creek takes you past the first ranch in the area established in 1878 by Edgar Beecher Bronson, the nephew of famous abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher. Bronson was a cattleman, former New York Tribune Reporter, and in his later years an author. He tells of his Nebraska ranching experience in his book “Reminiscences of a Ranchman,” published in 1908. Bronson ran cattle from 1877 to 1882, first for a year in Wyoming, and then along the Niobrara and White Rivers.
The sheer bluffs that are found about halfway through Deadman Road are not found anywhere else in the area. Deadman Creek, which can be seen throughout the drive, was so named because Native Americans in the area avoided it as many at a camp along the creek died as a result of smallpox. At one time, a famous fur trader’s trail from Fort Laramie ran down the creek to the White River.
As you near the end of your journey, you’ll emerge from the pines and be treated to a fantastic view of the buttes north of Crawford. Stop alongside the road for a great photo-op. Continue north on Deadman Road until you reach a “T”-intersection with Four-Mile Road. Head east from here until you reach Highway 71, close to four miles from your turn. Once on the highway you can head north towards Crawford or Chadron for further adventures or a place to grab a nice meal or hunker down for the night.