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Print Friendly MapNotice: The Cowboy Trail is closed in several spots along the trail including: Nicobara Bridge (Valentine), Cedar Creek (Johnstown), 44th Rd. to Main St. (Long Pine), Cache Creek (Clearwater), between Clearwater and Neligh, and between 552th Ave. (Neligh) and Homan St. (Oakdale). Please see Nebraska State Trails for more information.
Overview
The Cowboy Recreation and Nature Trail, informally called the Cowboy Trail, one of the country’s longest rail-trails, stretches 203 miles between the Nebraska towns of Valentine and Norfolk (beginning at Ta-Ha-Zouka Park south of town), and another short spur trail between Gordon and Rushville. When complete, the trail will continue west another 126 miles to Chadron.
The entire pathway also includes more than 200 bridges.
About the Route
The Cowboy Trail is mostly surfaced in finely crushed gravel, though some short sections are paved with concrete in the towns along the route. Mountain or hybrid bikes will provide the best experience on the trail. An adjacent natural-surface path is also available for equestrian use.
Communities along the trail are generally spaced about 10-15 miles apart. Although dedicated trail restrooms and drinking fountains are not available on the trail, these amenities are typically available from town parks and trailside businesses. In addition to water, it's also recommended that travelers bring spare tire tubes as Texas sandbur seeds (puncturevine) can occasionally be found on some sections of the trail.
The westernmost section of trail, the spur between Rushville (pop. 812) and Gordon (pop. 1500) can be considered the most rural, separated from the main section of the trail by hundreds of miles. However, both trail towns that anchor both ends of this route offer dining and convenience options and this spur provides a pleasant 14-mile route.
Once on the trail's main route, The trail heads east from Valentine, a modest town with options for dining and lodging. The trail passes the Niobrara River along a dramatic quarter-mile trestle bridge, where five major ecological system converge. The Niobrara is a National Scenic River and is an excellent spot for tubing, rafting and kayaking.
From here, trail users enter the Sandhill Country. This area of the trail, between Valentine and Long Pine features grass-covered dunes (largest in the western hemisphere). The Sandhills are a wetland region with large freshwater reserves that are home to rare bird, fish and mussel species.
As the trail rolls east, it passes small trail towns including Ainsworth, Atkinson, O'Neill and Neligh.
This section of the trail enters the vast native prairie country. This part of eastern Nebraska is characterized by tallgrass prairies and rolling hills. The land here is sunny and dry (bring sunscreen!) and is home to a plethora of raptor and songbird species.
As the trail nears Norfolk, it begins to follow the Elkhorn River, which is lined with tall trees and offers a respite from the bright sunny prairie. Most of the surrounding valley here is dotted with farmlands and other cultivated fields.
Norfolk, by far the largest trail town on the route (pop. ~24,000), anchors the eastern end of the trail. The trailhead here is located in Ta-Ha-Zouka park, a 180-acre greenspace with a campground and plethora of recreation opportunities.
Connections
The Cowboy Recreation and Nature Trail is part of the Great American Rail Trail, a 3,700-mile route from Washington to Washington D.C.
Trail History
The rail-trail follows the route of the old Chicago and Northwestern Railroad. The original corridor fell into disuse in 1992, after which Rails-to-Trails Conservancy bought the corridor and donated it to the state of Nebraska for trail development. It was designated a National Recreation Trail in the National Trails System in 2001.
The Cowboy Nature and Recreation Trail runs between N. Main Street (Rushville) to S. Cornell Street (Gordon) and N Thornton St. (Valentine) to Ta-Ha-Zouka Park (Norfolk), with parking at the easternmost end.
Parking is also available at:
There are numerous parking options along this route, please see TrailLink Map for all parking options and detailed directions.
Nice towns along the way. Good history. Various places to camp/stay. The trail is wide, well groomed and is mostly free from weeds or any overgrowth. But tire tracks from maintenance equipment can create a rough washboard effect along the trail.
In the red aggregate areas there is so much loose red aggregate that sometimes it is very hard to pedal and navigate through. Then the crushed limestone portions are pretty good. Issue is the trail will alternate back and forth with some sections of the really loose red aggregate and some sections of nice crushed limestone.
Use caution in loose material at road crossings (especially in sandier soil areas in western portions of the trail).
No trailheads. Source your own water and find own restrooms in towns along the way. No bulletin boards to post communications so check ahead online for trail closures and detours.
I did not have an issue with the puncturevine many speak of but be prepared for it in case you do.
Today was my 3rd day on the trail. Have logged 140 miles on the trail over the last 3 days....all out and back. Today I rode from Ainsworth beyond Bassett. A pleasant surprise, 3 miles out of Ainsworth the trail surface changed from the red pea sized gravel to white/tan small stone gravel. Similar to what we have in WI…crushed limestone. This made the trail much much smoother! A MAJOR improvement. I did find in Long Pine that the bridge outside of town was out. Required me to take a detour out of town and ride on Hwy 20 for 1.5 miles (I felt safe as the shoulder is quite wide), got on a side road, where not far from Hwy 20 picked up the trail. That side road was very soft, so glad it was a short ride. The trail surface continued to be smooth to Bassett, where it then reverted back to the red stone. It made me wonder why the different type of stone is being used as the red stone surely is part of the reason for the rougher ride when the surface is comprised of this red stone. I rode 53 miles today. The temp was 88...still hot. Glad to be done! Overall, rode 141 miles on the trail. And no flats!!
My wife and I have rode 98 miles on the trail over the last two days (out and back rides), from Valentine to Ainsworth. The nicest thing I can say about the trail is it is clean. By that I mean it has no grass nor weeds growing on it. But that's about it. First, the surface is very washboardy. I surmise this is from the maintenance trucks leaving there tracks on the surface. We ride tadpoles/trikes, so very difficult to avoid these. Two wheelers will have a better time of it, but will still be a challenge. Would recommend they drag it periodically to rid it of this condition. This is a very boring trail....no scenery....just flat! There are also a lot of soft spots. You will sink into these and will need all your strength to get through them. Fatter tires are recommended for the trail, and if they are eBikes, lower your pressure to get a smoother ride, using your power to get through the trail. There are also holes in the trail. One might say they are gopher holes, but these are much bigger, as though prairie dogs live there. And stay clear of the sides as they are very soft and will suck you off the trail. We had been warned about those sharp barbs that can puncture your tires. Here they call them 'goat heads' . We did not encounter these and had no issues with flats. However, we were told this is not the time of year for them, and if you find them on the trail, they are left over from the fall. Late summer and fall is when these present the biggest problem. I also think mile markers would be helpful, but can get past that . Make sure you have plenty of water and few services in the small towns. Will I ride this trail again? Nope! UNLESS....they pave it. I think it would be an awesome trail to get on and just ride, if it was paved. I would come back (from WI) often if it was.
I had an outfitter drop me off in Ewing so I could ride 50 miles back to Norfolk. (wind coming dirctly from the east in my face...my bad). I encountered two bridge washouts. One had a detour sign to leave the trail but no sign on how or when to get back on. The second east of Neligh had no sign and no warning causing a 2 mile double back. There was also a trail washout section again with no warning. The other issue that made this ride less than ideal was that they had laid down about 20 miles of new pea gravel but had not tampted or rolled it so it was like riding in sand. The local big industrial farmers use this trail as their own private tractor highway leaving ruts for most of the section I rode (despite knowing that they are not permitted). In frustration, I left the trail and rode RT 275's nice shoulders for the rest of the trip. Also, if you're looking for scenery, skip this trail.
Rode the trail in 6+ days, nice trail, very maintained, gravel only. Watch out for "puncture vines" must have spare tubes or tires or change from tubeless to tubes. Pack up! Beautiful out there. Don't expect too many people riding. Water up with hydration, not too many choices for refilling. Super hot in June/July. I enjoyed the ride a lot. If you prepare the ride, you find every 30+ miles a good place to sleep.
May 22 – 24 2022 The entire Trail from East to West
Day 1 Norfolk to O’Neil 80 miles
Day 2 O’Neil to Bassett 50 miles
Day 3 Bassett to Valentine 65 miles
The Trail was in good condition with very, little vegetation in the middle of the trail for the duration for late Spring. There are plenty of soft spots (deep gravel) that wider tires (used 50cm) are highly recommended for the Trail.
If you are riding the entire Trail, there are multiple detours along the route. The issue is that some are not marked well until you get to where for example, a bridge is washed out and it says closed as you reach the river and you must backtrack. The detour puts you on a busy highway with plenty of traffic mostly with large trucks. Since the Cowboy follows the highway for a majority of the Cowboy, we learned that once the obstacle was bypassed, we would just join back onto the trail which in most cases was a football field in distance to return to the Trail.
Treat all transitions with caution that includes all roads, driveways and bridges that crosses the trail as each may have challenges to include drop-offs, soft and deep sand plus up to 6” to get back up on the trail.
You may want to take into consideration the winds for the timeframe of your ride because you are exposed as the limited trees along the trail do little to help block the wind. 2 out of 3 days it was a direct headwind of 10+ knots. Also, going from East to West is a steady 1 to 2% climb.
We chose the Spring time frame to avoid the possibility of the dreaded sand burrs but we did have several occurrences of the burrs being imbedding in our tires. Luckily, we were running a tubeless tire setup with a sealant we have been using for years and after removing a burr, it quickly plugged the leak and we continued on with our journey.
Throughout the length of the Cowboy, there was some sort off wildlife digging holes mostly on the sides of the trail but some were in the middle of the trail and quite large. It was difficult to see the severity of the hole until you were almost on it.
As you approach each town on the trail, there is a sign announcing the name off the city and distance to the next one. As you are departing that town, there is another one along the trail.
Near Bassett, keep your eyes in the pastures adjacent to the trail as you might see wildlife of not the indigenous type but more of the exotic kind – 2 camels and a zebra!
We've read mixed reviews of various segments of the trail, with issues of maintenance, and goathead burrs that will puncture tires. But the section near the west end of the trail, specifically near Valentine NEB merits a short ride and we didnt encounter any problems. Park in downtown Valentine, where the trail crosses highway 83 (or anywhere- its a small town) and head east on the trail about 2 miles for a visual treat. The huge trestle that is one of the trail icons crosses high above the Niobrara river, and offers great views of the valley. Also FYI, the Niobrara is a great float river and several outfitters are based in Valentine.
Completed my ride east to west on Aug 9. I rode my Kettwiesel e-assist trike around 40 mi. per day, staying on trail except for required detours, two near Neligh and one at Long Pine. Because temperature in afternoon reached the 90s I started early each day. It’s not an easy ride, soft surfaces occasionally, and weeds in center of trail quite frequently. With my trike one wheel was in the weeds in places. But thanks to Schwalbe marathon tires, I had no flats I did notice goatheads sticking to tires several times and removed them of course.
I had planned on riding total NE Cowboy Trail in 4 days! On 29June I took off @ 7am from Econ Lodge @ Valentine. My first 45 miles were just AWESOME! Then I got a flat tire on the rear; Although I had an extra tube, I did not have a pump. After I began walking my bike, my front tire also went flat. I suspected I had picked up the thorns along the trail middle section, while I had been criss-crossing the trail to avoid the bumpyty-bump of some recent horse shoe prints! I walked about 4-5 miles to my Rodeway Inn. Lucky, Bomgars, was across the street. I was able to buy 2 new tubes, slime, and a hand pump.
After much trials/tribulations getting my 2 tires repaired, I took off late, 930am on Wed 1July. Becuase there was a detour in Long Pine, I decided to ride the Hwy 20 Shoulder. As I could always see the trail along the way, I then decided to avoid the risk of more thorns, by staying on the Hwy 20 wide shoulder. I did OK for 20 miles. Then during a water break, I made the mistake of leaning my bike on a stop sign. I must have picked up several thorns right there; not long after I took off, my rear tire went flat!
First I tried the Slime, but it did not plug the multiple holes! It took me about an hour in 90-degrees on the shoulder of Hwy 20 to get my LAST new tube installed. I had 30 miles to get to Atkinson. I prayed HARD that I would not get another flat.
I got to my Sandhills Guest House @ 6PM. I was totally exhaused by the heat, and the added stress caused by the Prevailing Winds and the continuous flying Farm Semi-Trailers, which created additional wind to push me back!
I decided I would pause my ride after completing 100 beautiful miles. The remaining 100 miles to Norfolk will have to wait for another time! Maybe I will find non-flat tires before my next attempt!
Flat with beautiful views. Visited in early June 2020, rode 17.5 miles eat from Valentine then back for a total of 35 miles. Trail was very flat and worked well with our hybrid bikes. It was a little bit sandy and thick for the first 1-2 miles outside of Valentine but was fine after that. The bridge view was spectacular at Valentine. Beautiful scenic landscape, friendly people in the town of Valentine, and saw lots of wildlife. Would totally recommend.
Trail from Norfolk to the west was well maintained. I stayed in Neligh to ride both east and west. The bridge 6 miles west of Neligh looks to be permanently gone. Much of the trail parallels the main roads, but a small portion doesn't. The experience away from the main roads was great.
I love the empty beauty of the Sandhills and you feel you're out in the middle of nowhere riding east from Valentine, on a stretch where the trail veers away from the road.
I rode my hybrid 16 miles out and then back (to the big cell tower where the trail rejoins the road). There's been some ATV travel on the trail, but generally the surface was good. I met a cyclist or two close to Valentine, but that was it.
On warm days, take plenty of water - there's little shade to be had.
I rode 25 miles out and 25 miles back from Valentine, to Wood Lake. The Niobrara trestle is spectacular and only a couple of miles outside Valentine. The grass was green and the sunflowers in bloom. The people at the motel where I stayed let me park my car. I went in late August after viewing the eclipse over in Wyoming. The weather was hot and humid and very windy (headwind going out). Coming back the wind was lighter, but still a headwind (!) I camped at Wood Lake (pop 60) in the town park (no fee, no one will bother you, rest rooms, picnic tables, shade trees, grass to pitch a tent, electric hookups, excellent drinking water, small playground for kids). The only person I met was the Post Mistress who was helpful and friendly. The cafe is closed, contrary to the trail guide. I was told there is a lady who serves coffee, out by the highway, but the town felt like a ghost town, except for a couple of friendly dogs who came over. I met no one else. Trail conditions were sandy in places and sometimes weedy with washboards where the farmers had used the trail as a road, despite "no motor vehicles" signs. Usually I could avoid the washboards by riding in the center or edge of trail. This is NOT a manicured trail, at least at the western end. I used semi-fat mountain bike tires (26x2.5" Surly Extraterrestrials) with Flat Attack sealer because of thorns and had no trouble with flats or in places where the sand was several inches deep. I rode a few miles on the parallel highway which has good shoulders and is smoothly paved with very light traffic. The places where the trail veers from the highway are the most interesting and scenic; the parts that parallel the highway are a bit boring. I met no other cyclists except within five miles of Valentine. Along the trail I saw two garter snakes, horses, a turtle, a frog, songbirds, ducks, and birds of prey. The Cowboy Trail lacks the social component that more popular trails have. It presents a solitary and perhaps more peaceful experience because there are so few users. One amenity it lacks that more popular trails have are the rest areas with shelters every so often that also serve as gathering places for trail users to meet and swap stories. In between towns there is really no place to get out of the weather and rest or eat a snack unless you sit on the ground. I only explored the western end so perhaps the middle and eastern end have more facilities. The Cowboy is a very long trail and would make a good alternative to highways if you were planning on biking across the whole country.
When you write a review its useful to know what kind of bike.700 would probably suck. While a 29 would make the ride easy.
My son and I drove up from Omaha to Norfolk and on to Long Pine for a biking, hiking, fishing weekend. Only rode the trail from Norfolk west for 5 miles, about halfway to Battle Creek. That part of the trail was very nice - 2 miles of concrete and 3 miles of pea gravel. Nice bridge over the Elkhorn River. However, further west the trail parallels Hwys. 275 & 20. We could see a lot of it from the road as we drove and the further west we drove, the worse it looked. There were sections where it was almost completely overgrown with weeds. Would not want to ride there at all. It's too bad, this could be a very nice trail, but central sections are very neglected if maintained at all. Hence, the 3 star rating.
This trail has great potential but is just flat out ignored, poorly maintained never open all the way through and very rarely traveled without a flat tire, bring a spare or patches.
After a not very pleasant ride on the west end of this trail last fall, tried the East end in May 2015. Much nicer trail. Started in Norfolk and went out 1 mile past Battle Creek before impending rain forced me to turn around and head back. No issues at all in the 11 miles from Norfolk to just past Battle Creek. Except for getting rained on, very nice ride!
We did a 40 mile ride in October 2014, starting in Valentine and, except for the first 5 miles, the trail was not in good condition. A 2 or 3 mile stretch of continuous washboard almost made us turn around. At about mile 18, we hit a stretch that was very overgrown with weeds and our tires become covered in stickers. That did make us turn around. (We did a few miles around town to give us a nice round 40 miles.)
I ride the trail regularly. There is a new mile that starts on south 1st Street--south of where it appears the town ends, so keep going until you see the parking lot and a bridge for the trail. It is cement thru Ta-Ha-Zouka Park--which is on S. Hwy. 81, and is where the trail used to start. The cement continues until west of behind-the-Goodyear plant. Then it is crushed rock. The bridge washed out by that flood has been repaired, elongated, and now has a nice shelter to pull off the trail and have a break. It overlooks the river. Yesterday a blue heron flew with me as I rode over the bridge, and then "disappeared" into the shore. I have ridden the 11 miles from 1st Street to Battle Creek and back. Have coffee with the locals at the gas station in Battle Creek, and the shopping at Red Bud Hardware is definitely worth the time! It has something for everybody to look at--tools, toys, pretties for the house, and great licorice from Australia. Have not been further out than Battle Creek, but Norfolk to Battle Creek is fine!
My family bicycled over 100 miles of the Cowboy trail starting in Valentine. Although the first 5 or so miles near the trestle bridge are good, east of Valentine we encountered abused sections of trail. Clearly local ranchers and farmers view the trail as another access road to their fields. There was severe washboarding for several miles. In general, the trail was poorly maintained for large sections and the still not repaired washouts in the Elkhorn River Valley were a further disappointment. Signs for trailheads and mile markers were nonexistent and services in towns poor. We planned our vacation around this trail to compliment tubing on the Niobrara, so we were very disappointed. From speaking to people in Valentine, it was clear that many thought the trail was a waste of money and that locals were divided on whether to give the land back to local ranchers or support the trail. Locals were surprised to see bikers using the trail. The scenery was beautiful; what a pity the trail was so poorly maintained.
Started from Norfolk. Trailhead(?) was supposed to be at the end of city street (Omaha?), but not marked. Went left and ended up in city park. Reversed course (2+ miles back) and shortly after leaving the pavement started sinking a 1/4 inch into trail. Moderate to difficultly in pedaling. By Battle Creek, it was getting worse. Between Battle Creek and Meadow _____, I was sinking up to an inch into the trail (extreme difficulty in pedaling. Trail sign said it was "closed until further notice 1 mile outside Meadow ______. Pedaled to highway and had my wife pick me up. Very disappointing.
This trail is basically unused due to its surface. One 6 mile stretch east of Valentine had washboard ~ 3-4 inches deep. Two other stretches farther east had had cattle and horses on it when wet, so was very chopped up. The entire trail was surfaced with small gravel which had not been rolled into the surface, so was variable in depth, catching front tires at times. We were using 700-28 and 700-36 tires. Because of the surface we rode most of the 180 miles on US 20, as did other riders we saw. I would never recommend this trail to anyone. Most of the trail was within 20 yards of US 20.
If you think you can ride 195 continuous miles on this trail point-to-point, think again. You can't get from Norfolk to Bridgeport, there's a bridge out. You can't get from O'Neil to Clearwater, another bridge is out and about 5 miles of trail have been washed away. It will never be replaced. We rode from Tilden to just outside O'Neil (thinking we could get to Clearwater) and it was rough and bone jarring. I couldn't wait to get off of it for the day, and this is supposed on a good part of the trail. We only went 36 miles but I was finished. Keep your eyes on the trail or you might hit one of the gopher holes that's been washed out and pop a tire or break a spoke. It makes me very sad that this trail is deteriorating so badly because it could be so beautiful. Four years ago we rode from Valentine east to cross the beautiful bridge overlooking the valley, and that was worth it, but the total ride is maybe 10 miles.
June 14th, 2011 Nice trail....but bridge is still out appx 4 miles from Ta-Ha Zouka park
My wife and I drove up from Columbus to ride this trail and found it to an excellent ride. The recent flooding however has blocked off sections of the trail about 2.5 miles from the trailhead. Caution: check ahead to see if the trail has been cleared.
Cleveland Bike in Norfolk, NE is a an excellent source to check on the condition of the trail and if you need a bike, repairs or parts, then check them out [only an endorsement, I'm not associated with the store in any way].
We are new bikers and were returning from Montana and Canada with the motorhome and bikes. It was late and we stopped at Wood Lake looking for a city park to camp in. We made a donation to park the motorhome by the trail at their nice little park, usually it's free. There is a bathroom facility with flush toilets and sinks. It would be a great place to start a trip. They have a diner on rt20, the people are fantastic, friendly, and see the potential in having the trail go through their small community. I will come back to bike this trail, hats off to Nebraska, lovely scenery, wonderful people.
To answer Pat's question in the May 2009 review below: you'll find fewer B&B/hotel options along the Cowboy Trail as compared to the Katy Trail. However, there are more camping options, if that works for you. Bike rentals are few and far between. Try this website for a list of Cowboy Trail businesses and trip planning tools: www.bikeCowboyTrail.com
Started riding the Cowboy Trail for 13 days, Sep 14’09 late evening from Ta Ha Zouka Park, on Concrete for 1.7 Miles, then Chet surface to Black Bridge where I met a rider who said Johnny Carson played on this Bridge when he was growing up. Trail in good shape to Emmet then it rained and trail was soft for several days. The Trail east of Bassett was the poorest section that I rode, soft & rough from horses. The new section from Ainsworth past Johnstown is in the best shape. I did not ride all of that section, there were signs up “THIS SECTION OF THE TRAIL NOT OPEN TO PUBLIC” .Checked with District II, Bassett Office & was told trail was still under construction. However the trail parallels Hwy 20 to Johnstown and looked complete.
South out of Valentine is a great scenic ride across the 0.25 mile long RR Bridge with a parking area south of the Bridge.N42.83443 W100.51797
The trail is over grown N42.80412 W100.48942 and not good for 3 wheel cycles 2.7 south of Bridge parking.
Parked at Arabia N42.83443 W100.51797 then rode 3 miles north into the sand hills.
Trail parking also available at Johnstown, N42.57060 W100.05776 site of O’ Pioneers CBS Movie, visit the “L-Bow Room Saloon” for local History.
The bad part of the Trail is, that at least 3 places the Bollards are to close together to get a 36” wide cycle through, does not meet “ADA” Standards. I was able to by pass most except for the 3 post one, on the east side of the Pine Creek Bridge at Long Pine. One flat tire at Valentine.
Great Camping facilities in many of the towns. Completed 292.5 miles round trip.
Many Turkeys, Deer, Squirrels and Birds. Noel Keller 14 -29 Sep, 09
I'm looking for walking info of this trail. Miles between accomodations etc. Walked the Katy last year and stayed in B&B and small hotels. Found it easy to rent a bike to cover longer distances between accomodations also, easy to get transportation to get my pack transfered ahead. Is this all possible on the Cowboy Trail? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks Pat
"Living in Norfolk at the eastern end of the Cowboy Trail gives me the opportunity to ride it a lot. No two trips are ever quite the same. The scenery between Norfolk and Meadow Grove (about 18 miles) is really nice. Posssible wildlife sightings include deer,bald eagles,red-tailed hawks,coyotes,blue herons,and many types of waterfowl.I've biked the trail in all four seasons and it is truly enjoyable year-round. I ride it quite often in late fall and winter and often seem to have it almost all to myself,which is why I call it ""my trail"". It's open to anyone,though,and there's no fee to use it,so come see for yourself. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised."
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