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Rod and Custom Association will kick off a busy summer of tours here
HARTINGTON — Hartington will be a hot spot this summer for tour groups.
The 2026 Nebraska Rod and Customs Association (NRCA) 33rd Tour Nebraska Car Ride will be coming to this area later this week.
The traveling car show, which has 456 classic vehicles registered this year, will be traveling through this area Saturday and Sunday.
This year, the host town is Norfolk. They will travel 510 miles on Saturday, May 30, and Sunday, May 31.
On Saturday, they will stop in downtown Verdigre for a morning break from 9:19 a.m. to 10:40 a.m.
For a lunch break, they plan on stopping at the Skylon Ballroom in Hartington from 1:15 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. They will then arrive back in Norfolk around 4:18 p.m.
On Sunday, May 31, they will stop in Ponca from 9:10 a.m. to 10:40 a.m. for a morning break, then stop at the Nielsen Community Center in West Point for lunch.
The vehicles will leave Norfolk both days at 7 a.m. and will travel in two groups, with the second group leaving 20 minutes after the first.
Each vehicle in the tour must be 30 years old or older, and each year, the tour has a dierent host town and route.
Approximate times on Sunday include Hadar at 7:10 a.m.; Pierce, 7:21 a.m.; Foster, 7:30 a.m.; Plainview, 7:40 a.m.; Osmond, 7:51 a.m., and Randolph, 8:04 a.m.
Those aren't the only vehicles headed this way this summer.
Hartington will have two statewide bike rides come through the area.
Hundreds of bicyclists are expected to get a close-up look at Cedar County this June as the Bicycle Ride Across Nebraska rolls through the area.
The 44th annual BRAN ride, billed this year as the “Outlaw Trail Adventure,” will be held June 7-13. The cross-state ride will begin in Valentine and travel through Springview, Spencer, Verdigre, Crofton, Wayne, Oakland and Arlington.
The Cedar County portion of the ride will come midweek. Riders are scheduled to travel from Verdigre to Crofton Wednesday, June 10, where Crofton will serve as an overnight host community. The next day, Thursday, June 11, the route will take riders from Crofton to Wayne, with Hartington and Laurel listed along the day’s route.
That should give Cedar County residents several chances to see the riders as they make their way through the area.
The 2026 ride will highlight northeast Nebraska scenery and communities, with organizers pointing to the Sandhills, Niobrara River valley, Missouri River valley, Highway 12, Monowi, Verdigre, Ashfall Fossil Beds, Gavins Point Dam and the Meridian Bridge as some of the featured attractions along the route.
The Tour de Nebraska Bike Ride will be in Hartington June 23.
There are 250 riders from 18 states attending this ride. The riders will spend the night at the Cedar County Fairgrounds June 23. Hard Patch Brewery and Nissen Wines have both received Special Designated Liquor Li- censes to show o their wares that night. The Hartington Chamber of Commerce is planning other events that day for the riders, as well.
The group also plans to end their tour through the region in Hartington on June 28.
Another type of vehicle — antique tractors — will also be touring through the region this summer.
There are five tractor drives planned to go through Cedar County this summer. The first one will be this Saturday. That drive will begin with registration at the Randolph city park at 8 a.m. Another drive is planned in the Newcastle area on June 6.
The antique tractors are scheduled to be in Laurel for Ag Days on June 20. On June 27, a Coleridge tractor drive will be held. The final tractor drive through Cedar County will be held July 12, starting at Randolph.
