McMillan Ranch Airport – Anselmo, Nebraska Sandhills Ranch Strip
McMillan Ranch Airport near Anselmo in Custer County represents the working ranch airstrip tradition that defines aviation in Nebraska's central Sandhills. Anselmo is a small community in the Sandhills where cattle ranching has been the economic foundation since the late 19th century. Ranch airports like McMillan provide the operational flexibility that large-scale ranching demands—the ability to survey fence lines across thousands of acres, move quickly to distant sections of the operation, or receive urgent supplies without waiting for road conditions to cooperate after heavy snowfall blocks rural county roads.
Custer County's Sandhills terrain creates a distinctive aviation environment—the grass-covered dune landscape provides excellent off-airport forced landing options compared to heavily cultivated or wooded regions, a fact not lost on Sandhills pilots who operate single-engine aircraft across this remote terrain. The FAA Central Region tracks McMillan Ranch Airport in its registration database to support emergency planning, and the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics encourages private strip owners to maintain their facilities and update registration information for safety coordination purposes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is McMillan Ranch Airport located?
McMillan Ranch Airport is located near Anselmo in Custer County, Nebraska, in the central Sandhills approximately 20 miles northwest of Broken Bow.
Is McMillan Ranch Airport open to visiting pilots?
As a private ranch airstrip, McMillan Ranch Airport requires prior permission from the ranch owners before any landing. No public fuel or services are available.
What is the nearest public airport to Anselmo?
Broken Bow Municipal Airport and Thomas County Airport (TIF) near Thedford are the nearest public-use airports for pilots visiting the Anselmo area of Custer County.
McMillan Ranch Airport Contact Information
Address, Phone Number, and Hours for an Airports in Anselmo, Nebraska.
| Name | McMillan Ranch Airport |
| Address | Milburn Road, Anselmo NE 68813 Map |
| Phone | (308) 749-2501 |
| Website | |
| Hours |
Map of McMillan Ranch Airport
Airports near Anselmo
Ranch Aviation in Custer County's Central Sandhills
The McMillan Ranch Airport near Anselmo is part of Custer County's dispersed aviation infrastructure—a county so large that the drive from one end to the other can take well over an hour on paved highways, and far longer on the gravel county roads that serve the interior ranch country. Aviation at McMillan and similar facilities compresses that geography, connecting Custer County ranchers to Omaha commodity markets, Grand Island medical facilities, and Lincoln state government offices in under an hour by air.
Custer County is named for General George Armstrong Custer, who passed through the region during the 1874 Black Hills Expedition, and the vast landscape has changed less dramatically than almost anywhere else in the eastern United States. Flying over this terrain today reveals the same rolling grass hills and meandering creek valleys that earlier travelers described, with only the occasional grain elevator or ranch complex marking human habitation across the vast Sandhills canvas.