About Hastings

Welcome to Hastings SignHastings, Nebraska is a rural community rooted in hometown values and civic pride that maintains quality of life, through special places, cultural offerings and a stable economy. Hastings has a population of 24,907, is centrally located, easily accessible and recognized for its sprawling parks, cultural activities, historic architecture and first class education, medical and sporting facilities.

Here you'll find Hastings College, one of the nation's leading liberal arts colleges; the Hastings Museum of Natural and Cultural History and Theatre -- showing films daily on a screen that's five stories tall and 70 feet wide; a 5-acre water park; a bustling downtown district and much more. 

Hastings welcomes birders from around the world who wish to take in the spectacular annual migration of cranes and waterfowl as they stopover along the Platte River and in the Rainwater Basin each March, is home of the Nebraska Amateur Softball Association's Smith Softball Complex and the site of a premier 2.1 mile road racing course called Motorsport Park Hastings.

Hastings was born in 1872 when the St. Joseph and Denver City Railroads crossed near the small homestead of determined English settler Walter Micklen.  Historical markers for both the Oregon Trail and the Pony Express can be found nearby. Hastings is recognized as the "Official Birthplace of Kool-Aid," as it was invented here in 1927 by Edwin Perkins.  

 

  • Places to eat

    Hastings’ restaurants offer delicious and fun-filled dining experiences.

  • Places to stay

    Hastings’ offers comfortable, friendly lodging for business travelers and families.

  • Things to do

    From festivals and outdoor activities to shopping and dining, there’s plenty to do.

  • View map

    Making a trip to Hastings? Our visitor info map makes it easy to get where you are going.

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