US 56 cuts through Pawnee Rock on a diagonal.

Pawnee Rock state park, on the North side of town, provides visitors with an overall view of Pawnee Rock and three counties from the pavilion atop the Rock. The Rock is a a bluff of Dakota sandstone. The 1908 building (formerly a garage); the 19th-century opera house (formerly the Knights of Pythias hall and a restaurant and now Lee's Antiques); the post office (formerly a bank); the building next to the post office (formerly a tin-ceilinged drugstore); the depot (moved off railroad property); the American Legion hall (formerly grocery stores) and several other old brick buildings remain from the start of the 20th century.