Cowboy Trail Forum

Here is a video of our first day (well the first 25 miles from Valentine to Wood Lake, where I ran out of battery). You can sort of see the trail, and what to expect up to about Arabia ranch and a little further.

I realize there is NO MUSIC, and I didn't know how to add sound, but you can skip through it to see abit of the scenery of the sand hills and what the trail looks like.

Just remember Crushed Granite is NOT Crushed Limestone. And it was washboard and sort of rough. But a wonderful adventure:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os_6VbsVICU

So I finally got all three days of our ride on YOUTUBE. You might like to gaze through pretty good ideas of trail conditions from Valentine to Inman..

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWafS6tC5la3w6E9fGe6eYw

A buddy and I just completed a ride from Atkinson to Valentine and back (around 200mi.) Sept.29-Oct2. We were very pleased with the Trail in general and the scenery was amazing! Met some wonderful people in the small towns along the way and were blown away by their friendliness and hospitality! Especially in Ainsworth. We really liked the remote, desolate, and wilderness feel of the trail. It's nice not having annoying mile markers or signs every 100 yards. The biggest challenge for us was the goatheads or puncture vine that we encountered in a few specific sections of the trail that caused a slight tire issue. We were aware of them and prepared to deal with them. It's a good thing because they ARE a reality. We were running tubeless tires, had a pump, and C02 cartridges. I would strongly encourage this set up if you are planning to ride the trail. It will reduce your chance of flats dramatically. We camped in city parks and the Mill Race Park and that all went very well. We will definitely be back someday and would highly recommend this Trail to others. One curiosity was the very pronounced washboards for a few miles between Arabia and Valentine. Not natural and not sure how they got there other than vehicles driving on the trail. Any ideas?

Didn't you love Atkinson? I loved that little town. But yes, there was washboarding, and we ran into a soggy, loose gravel issue over between Bassett and Newport (lots of sub irrigated soil was probably some of the problem). But we watched the Goatheads etal, and I got one over by Inman, and Lisa had a few in her tires. But only one flat on our ride (me). We loved the trail.

I must say, we really enjoyed the trail. A few places were pretty tough (either thorns or a bit mushy), but it did make for a bit more of an adventure than just a bike ride. A little review of our trip is outlined below, I did take some clips on my Go-Pro and am going to try and splice them together showing conditions of the trail, and a little bit of our ride. I'll probably break them down by the day of the ride:

A Lot of Fun With a Little Adventure


DAY 1

We’d driven over from Hannibal to St. Joseph the night before and started North toward Sioux City/Omaha on Saturday Morning, Driving along we stopped and had a bit of lunch and a brew at Divots Brewery in Norfolk. Great Beer and Great Cheeseburger. Then we continued on our route out Hwy 20, toward Valentine, seeing all of the towns we’d be riding through on Sunday over the next three days, as we went along. We’d gotten a room at the Raine Motel in Valentine, and had arranged a rental car so we could drive Lisa’s car down to Inman and have a way back to Valentine. So we got checked in, the car company had left our car at the Raine Motel, and we were off, seeing all of the road from North to South the way we’d ride it. Got to Inman, and left Lisa’s car on the square (or street anyway), and headed back to Valentine. We stopped at Chesterfield West in O’Neill and had a salad, then back to our Motel for the evening.

DAY 2

The weather forecast for the day had changed and went from a high of 89 to a high of 100. We stopped by the McDonalds for a bit of breakfast, and then we started out from Valentine about 7:00 so we could ride earlier in the morning and miss the midday heat. The trail was just a block or two north of our Motel, so it was easy to get to and we were off. Riding along just before the sun came up, brisk chill in the air, and clear skies, it was an exhilarating feeling. We met one other biker that was out that early riding about 10 minutes into our ride. He had his dog with him.

We got to the Niobrara Bridge right about 7:40 AM and the sun was just on the horizon to the East North East, and steam was coming off of the water forming a fog in the low lying valley around the river. We stayed for a bit, enjoying the vista that were the inspiration for our trip out. Then we were on our bikes again going down the trail to the South East. Mostly crushed red granite and granite dust, it wasn’t the compacted limestone of the Katy Trail, but it was ridable, and fairly firm underneath our bikes.

Along the trail I saw one box turtle, one dead porcupine (the first I’d ever seen in the wild albeit dead), some small snakes, and on track across the gravel of a big snake about the size of my forearm I’d guess.

We got to the Arabia Ranch for our first snack and drink of the day, then rode on. A few miles down the trail at about mile 19, we jumped off on to the road as the vegetation had pretty much taken the trail and we were trying to avoid the goatheads and puncture vine. So we rode the highway shoulder down to Wood Lake where we met Rachel and Patrick from Boise, ID who were on their last leg of a 24,000 mile trip that started in Holland and included other parts of Europe, the Mediterranean, Africa, and India. Nice folks who were on their way to Valentine for the night.

We pull in to the park wat Wood Lake about 10:00 or so and enjoy the calm pretty shaded area, filling our water bottles at the spigot and writing a note on the spiral notebook in the mail box there for travelers. A beautiful little spot to sit and ponder the rest of the mornings ride.

About 10:30 or so we got on our bikes and headed toward Johnstown, our goal was to be there by noon, have lunch in the L Bow Room, and then go to the Brown County Fair there and watch the Rodeo till later in the afternoon and the heat had subsided a bit. We visited with the young cowboys and cowgirls in the bar as we had our lunch. We left our bi

the rest:
bikes in the back of the L Bow Room, and as we were leaving and walking down the road, one cowboy, Joe(who I’d shook hands with in the L Bow Room), said, do you need a ride somewhere. We responded we were going to the rodeo, he said he was too and to jump in so he gave us a ride to the rodeo. We were pulling through the gate and we pulled right past the guy there, who started hollering that we hadn’t paid to get in,
Joe stopped and we gathered up enough money to pay our way in.
Joe, stopped, get gathered up our money and paid. Joe said, “Now that’s a fellow that takes his job seriously.” He sat with us telling us who to watch and all as he knew all of the riders. This made for a great afternoon break. We all stopped by the L Bow room for a final beverage and get our bikes for the remaining 15 miles of our trip. As I was pulling my bike out of the bar, one cowboy said, “You need a lead rope on that one”… and I responded, “Yes I do”..

So we are riding on for the final leg of our day riding into Ainsworth and our room for the night at the Rodeway Inn. We went across the street to the Pizza hut for a small pizza for dinner.

DAY 3

Got up early and had breakfast and were on our way to Long Pine. It was 55 degrees when we got up, chillier that we had expected, so we stopped in at the Dollar General and bought a couple of long sleeved shirts to keep us warm for the first part of the ride.

Great riding, a nice cool morning and about an hour into our ride we were at the trestle bridge at Long Pine, while not as expansive a view as the tressel at the Niorbara Bridge, it was a wonderful stop and an inspiring sight of a pristine wilderness creek running through a beautiful green valley nestled away in the Nebraska backwoods. We stayed and enjoyed it.

We ran on into town where we had a break and lemonade at the Sandhills Lounge right on Main Street. We had a great visit with the bartender and waitress, discussing things, I brought up our friend Joe and he said, “I know him, he’s a friend and is in here from time to time”. I wasn’t surprised as Joe wasn’t the shy type. There in town Lisa had found the old school house that had been surrounded by a castle like wall and the owner had put in a huge sword shaped sidewalk laid out up to the building. He told us to check Google Earth from time to time, that we might be able to see his ‘sword’.

We were off to Basset, the trail was much looser, granite and granite dust and pretty mushy. Mainly rolling sand hills with hay and cattle.

We got to Bassett thinking we’d have a bit of lunch, but the downtown was totally empty (it being Memorial Day), so we sat and had a drink at a little corner of a building there, Lisa advised she’d ventured on South and found a Convenience Store open, so we went down and had lunch there, and sat for a while down by Hwy 20.

After lunch we were off toward Newport. I was riding along and came upon a lady walking with her dog, we were visiting, her husband was a rancher and she a teacher, when Lisa showed up, she’d had a tumble and cut her arm and leg, in the soft gravel. This as far as surface of the trail may have been the toughest we’d encountered.

When we got to Newport we decided to jump off again and ride the road, on to Stuart where our room for the night was. We were riding and met a rancher in his driveway, on a four wheeler, talking to him, he had alfalfa down and was hoping to get it baled. Lisa was discussing with him that we’d left the trail at Newport because of the mushy conditions. He said, “Well, that’s all sub-irrigated
soil up there, and your ride tomorrow out of Stuart should be much firmer”.. We said our farewells and were off toward our room.

At Stuart we stayed at the Stuart Inn, and to check in you go to the Mini-Mart, our only option for supper that night, it being a Holiday. We moved our chairs out on the sidewalk in front of the

motel and watched traffic until dark, being the only customers there that night (although the Motel was booked for the rest of the week for a local wedding).

DAY 4

Getting up early Tuesday morning we realized it was 46 degrees out and we had no fleece or jackets, only the long sleeve shirts to wear under our bike clothes we’d gotten on Monday morning. So we got on our bikes in the cold early morn and headed out to the Central Bar downtown Stuart for Breakfast. It was COLD, and my fingers were tingling in just a few blocks. The restaurant/bar was full of the local citizenry having their coffee and breakfast. We were greeted by the server and ordered our breakfast, which was promptly served with a smile. The owner came out to check on us and our meal and was very gregarious and interested (as were the rest of the folks), where we were going etc. We told him we were going to hang around till 9:00 or so to see if it warmed up a bit, so we sat enjoying the company and the warmth. I mentioned to the owner about our Rodeo experience and our friend Joe, whom he also responded, “Yes, I know him, he’s a friend of mine and is in here frequently”. He told us to try lunch at Chesterfield West where we’d been before and have the Prime Rib Sandwich, he was good friends with the owner.

So about 8:30 or 9:00 we went outside and in the sunshine it had warmed up a bit, so we took off and headed toward our destination, Inman. It was still pretty chilly, but rideable. We got to Atkinson and sort of jumped off and went down town where we found a pavilion to have our snack bar and drinks. A really pretty little town, we liked it a lot. We got done, rode our bikes back to the trail and off we were again. Coming to the town of Emmet, we thought we’d find a place for a lemonade or drink for our morning break, but no such luck, there wasn’t anything there for that, so we sat on the curb and have a drink from our water bottles before getting back on the trail. About half way to O’Neill I got my first flat tire, the front tire, and a goat head was sticking pretty much in the sidewall. So I stopped and Lisa and I pulled it off, (my tire liner came out with it fell in the dirt and got all gritty so I didn’t put it back in), put the new innertube in and it wouldn’t hold air. So off it came and I put another tube in, and it seem to hold ok. There was lots of vegetation, Lisa had about four that she found in her tires (but no flat at that time, but the day after our ride, we found her front tire flat). So we jumped off on to the highway and rode to O’Neill, where we stopped again at Chesterfield West and enjoyed the Prime Rib Sandwich Special that Ray from the Central Bar had recommended. From O’Neill we rode pretty much on the highway (as I had only on innertube left), and got to Inman 20 minutes later. Happy to see Lisa’s car there sitting just as we’d left it.

All and all a wonderful three days on the trail, with not near the tribulation I’d expected after reading much of the online chatter about flats etc. I would definitely recommend the Schwalbe Marathon tires, they have a protective liner built in, and were really about the right size for the type of gravel we were dealing with. My Clement X’plor USH tires are great gravel tires, but they were a bit too narrow for the consistency of the gravel on the trail. I did have Teflon Liners in my tires though and I do recommend them.

Thanks for taking the time to write this up....I had been 'waiting for it'. ;-)

June 23-30, 2017 One of the best ways to see and experience the United States is to bike through it. For the last 12 years, my friends and I, all women between the ages of 52 and 66, have chosen a long off road bike trail to ride. We’ve ridden the Katy, the Erie Canalway, the Ohio to Erie, the C & O Canal and Great Allegheny Trails, and others. This year we chose the Cowboy Trail in Nebraska, about 200 miles from Valentine to Norfolk. We go slow and stop often, averaging 30-35 miles per day. Some of us camp, and the rest of the group stays in hotels, B&Bs, or inns along the way. We visit local museums, restaurants, libraries (two of us are librarians), parks, and shops, and talk to the local residents. People are often interested in our story, and we are interested in theirs. We always have a fantastic time no matter what obstacles or hardships we encounter.
This year we drove to Norfolk, NE on Friday, June 23, 2017. We stayed in The Norfolk Lodge and Suites overnight and met up with Tony and Lita from Norfolk Outing the next morning about 8:00 AM. They loaded our six bikes into their trailer and shuttled us to Valentine. Tony and Lita were very accommodating and friendly. In Valentine, we stayed at the Niobrara Lodge. We had lunch at Frosty’s and then biked out to the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge. We stopped by the Visitor Center, where J bought an elk antler (a shed) and carried it across Nebraska on her bike. We saw lots of prairie dogs, birds, bison, and made a short hike to the waterfalls.
On Sunday, June 25, we rode from Valentine to Ainsworth (about 48 miles). The first 18 miles out of Valentine, which included a magnificent trestle bridge over the Niobrara River and the beautiful sandhills, was fantastic. There were open, rolling hills with the trail far from the road. We saw antelope cavorting, deer, and lots of interesting birds. Unfortunately, the trail then became overgrown and covered with loose gravel, so we abandoned the trail and road on Highway 20. Highway 20 is flat with a nice wide shoulder. We were expecting to find no amenities or water for 48 miles, but were pleasantly surprised when we entered Wood Lake. There was a small, welcoming park with an open bathroom and a water pump. We also saw a redheaded woodpecker with its striking red head. Farther down the road we stumbled across the L-Bow Saloon in Johnstown, which was open. Yeah! We enjoyed refreshing lemonade and iced tea, while Ruth, the proprietor, filled us in on the town history. Johnstown, NE, population 64, was the filming location for the TV production of Willa Cather’s, Oh! Pioneers. Ruth was welcoming and delightful. We arrived in Ainsworth in the late afternoon and stayed at The Rodeway Inn. The room was very large with a shed for our bikes. Two of our party were camping, and stayed at East City Park. There was water but no hot showers. The camping was very accessible all along the trail. Many of the towns had facilities in their parks with water and showers. We ate dinner at Big John’s Café.
Monday, June 26, we had breakfast at the hotel or the D & B Café on Richardson Drive. There is a nice downtown, and we visited several shops while we waited for the Sellers Barton Museum to open before heading out from Ainsworth to Bassett (about 17 miles). We were happy to find out that this part of the trail was very good, and we were told the road is very hilly. The area around Long Pine is hilly and beautiful. There is another handsome trestle bridge going into Long Pine. We ate lunch in a park near the trail. In town there is a drinking fountain and an old jail outside. So, of coarse, we took pictures of us in the jail. We arrived in Bassett in the late afternoon. We stayed at the rustic Bassett Lodge, and the campers stayed at the fairgrounds where there were showers and water. The folks at the Bassett Lodge were very accommodating. We wandered into the thrift store next to the lodge and met Carolyn and her friend. They invited

In my previous comment, I mistakenly referred to North Fork Outfitting as Norfolk Outing. Highly recommend.

Thank you for this excellent report. I'm sorry that the website cut off the end of your posting. Here is the rest:

They invited us to meet them at The Corral, the local bar down the street, for $2.00 hamburgers. When we arrived, we were greeted by the local ladies, who had saved a table for us. Carolyn, the secretary for the local Historical Society, is quite the ambassador for the community – she knows the history and the geology. We talked with her for over an hour. The next morning, Tuesday, June 27, we had a great breakfast and coffee at The Range Café, which is attached to the Bassett Lodge. We rode from Bassett to Stuart (about 22 miles). This was a tough day. The winds, out of the south, were 25-26 mph and we were heading SSE. There was a lot of loose gravel on about half of the trail, too. We stayed on the trail the entire time because the winds were so strong, and we didn't want to fight the wind on the road with the cars and trucks. One of our most delightful discoveries was in Newport. Right next to the trail is The Newport Pool Hall. A small white building with lovely wood floors, a pool table, snacks, and drinks, all run on the honor system. Enjoy, take what you want, and leave your money in the jar. We arrived in Stuart in the afternoon a little tired after fighting the wind and the gravel. We stayed in a nice little hotel, The Stuart Village Inn, and had lunch at the South Side Mini-Mart. The owners of the mini-mart also own the hotel and were extremely friendly. The campers stayed in the city park with showers and water. We visited the White Horse Museum and ate at the Caste Iron Bar and Grille, where we met the owner, Dustin, who is a Cubs fan and runs a nice restaurant. Unfortunately, we also had a run-in with the infamous Texas sandburs. We all had kevlar tires, but one bike still got a front and back flat. The rest of us used tweezers to pull out several thorns from our tires. One bike had 11 thorns. They were small, very hard, and white. On Wednesday, June 28, we ate breakfast at the South Side Mini Mart among several local folks. They serve tasty breakfast pizza and breakfast sandwiches. We also met Rochelle, who worked at the local paper. She took our picture in front of the mini-mart with the hopes of getting it into the local paper. We then headed out toward O’Neil (about 28 miles). We stopped in Atkinson, and were told not to miss the purple building at the end the street. Something Special by Marilyn is a large purple building, 4400 square feet of Christmas ornaments and other holiday gift items. It was pretty amazing. We also visited the soda fountain at the back of Goeke’s and we all had ice cream treats at 10:30 in the morning. A lady from The Atkinson Graphic, the local newspaper, stopped by to interview us and take a picture for the paper. We also stopped by “the bike store” which consisted of two shelves in the local hardware store with tubes with shrader valves only. Make sure to carry your own spare tubes!! We ate lunch at a picnic table in Emmet. About 14 miles of the trail was good, and we were on Highway 20 for the other 14 miles. We arrived in O’Neil in mid-afternoon. We stayed at the classic, Golden Hotel and the campers, again, stayed in the park with showers and water. We were able to do laundry at the hotel. We ate dinner at Chesterfield, visited the quaint Carnegie library, and chatted with the director of the library. Thursday, June 29, after having breakfast at McDonalds, we rode from O’Neill to Neligh (about 41 miles). We stopped in a tiny store in Inman for drinks and a bathroom break. At Ewing, we ate lunch in the mini-mart and had drinks and dessert in the café in Clearwater. We rode most of the way to Clearwater on Highway 20 because a storm was predicted and there was quite a bit of loose gravel on the trail. Our waitress at the café informed us that we needed to stay on the road because part of the trail had been washed out in a flood – seven years ago in 2010! Afte

One more continuation (I need to fix this to handle longer comments!):

After the washout, we jumped back on the trail and it was good all the way into Neligh. We arrived at our fantastic hotel, the Deluxe Hotel, just before a downpour. Tim, the proprietor, was very helpful and friendly and the rooms were great. We went into town for dinner, visited the old mill, and walked by a Carnegie library that is now a private home. Friday, June 30. One of our group was sick through the night and could not ride. So, she and B stayed at the hotel, while the rest of us headed to Norfolk and the cars (about 36 miles). First, we stopped for breakfast at Mama and Nana’s. We stayed on the road, Highway 20, the whole way because we wanted to get to Norfolk as quickly as possible. We didn’t stop anywhere except the mini-marts along the road. A couple of miles out of Norfolk we jumped back on the trail. It was paved and wound its way along the Elkhorn River. We saw a redheaded woodpecker and a Baltimore oriole, too. It was a lovely way to end the ride. We loaded the bikes, retrieved the friends we left at the hotel, and headed back to Chicago. Our friend recovered and was feeling better in the afternoon on Friday and was fully recovered by Saturday. The weather for our trip was beautiful – low to mid 80s. There was a breeze everyday, sometimes in our face (not so good) and one day 25-26 mph (not so good), which helped with the heat because the sun is pretty intense. But, you can’t control for wind or heat or rain. You just have to be prepared. If you ride hard and fast, this is not the trail for you. If you are up for meeting some lovely people and a bit of an adventure, you might want to consider The Cowboy Trail.

You Ladies are so Blessed to have one another! I am 60 y/o....how do I sign up for your rides!

Thank you for taking the time to write up such a wonderful review of your ride. My husband and I are looking forward to enjoying the Cowboy Trail in Sept.

Thank you VERY MUCH for the detailed info on the Cowboy trail. We will be starting our trip on Sep. 11 so this was very helpful!

I love your story, it seems you all found pretty much the same conditions Lisa and I found. It was really a great ride, and I am glad we got it done!.. We do have about 100 yet to ride, we just didn't have time to go further.

All kidding aside....

Maybe we should each, EVERYONE OF US, take the 20 minutes it would take, and write a letter to the State of Nebraska and ask them, tell them, about the Trail and it's conditions.

Make sure you tell them where you are from and that you had planned to stay a few days and spend money in their State.....but the Trail needs work.

One letter, they will probably ignore. Two letters they will probably ignore, 10 letters will raise eyebrows and 25 to 300 letters will get time on the Floor of their next meeting.

Send a CC to the Tourism of Nebraska also.....that will REALLY matter to them too.

We all spend days or even weeks preparing for our Rails to Trail Rides....adding 20 minutes to get letters off COULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

It might change the topics here on this forum from "uncut, overgrown" to "they just finished the section of....."

20 minutes....now don't just intend to do this....DO IT! You are at your computer and now is a GREAT time to write something up.....then MAIL IT.... Snail Mail is not overlooked like email can be. Hit Copy, grab an envelope and drop it off in a Mailbox!

Comment here when you send yours.

Mine are sent.....

Going to work this one over and send it to the Nebraska Governor too.....mentioning how Mickslon got behind the Trail here in SD and ended up getting the Trail named after him.

Here is what I wrote...and SENT

*********************

August 26, 2017
Concerning The Cowboy Trail:

Hello,

Can you tell me what your State's plans are for the Cowboy Trail? We are planning to come and ride it and spend several days in your State (and spend money there) when it is ready for riders. Actually we are planning a trip down in Sept to Valentine to ride the Trail to Arabia. (and spend money in your State)

As we understand it the Trail is rough to closed.

My husband and I have ridden both the Katy Trail in MO, End To End and the Mickelson Trail in SD There and Back (each direction). We also rode many many miles on these two Trails (Katy and Mickelson) Section by Section on other dates (and spent money eating and camping and in motels and shops). Why? Because the Trails are so Nicely Built and Well Maintained as well as User Friendly.

Thank you for your time.


Marna Kazmaier

*************

I sent them a like to my website under my address that has a bog and many photos of the Mickelson Trail

That was exactly my thoughts and plan. We just rode The Cowboy Trail. I am with you maybe if the state gets enough mail they will get on 'trail and take care of a great treasure and opportunity for Nebraska.

I just got an nice email from The Parks Dept. I was so glad they took the time to write,.....and I hope they took the time to READ what I had written. I sent my letters snail mail, but my reply thanking them for taking the time to write me back, I sent email, reply.

Keep Writing Folks....the more letters they get the more the money could sway toward the Trail.

The legislature and or governors office would probably be good too.

I am going to write a letter. But one thing that I really enjoyed about this trail. It was a challenge and an adventure. It wasn't just a "day ride".

I think if they could possibly control the vegetation on the route (we ran into a few areas that were pretty thick, and that's where you pick up the thorns), and while the crushed granite wasn't as "firm" and compact as limestone, most of it was rideable. I think we had some tracks from a four wheeler on day one, maybe where they'd been out spraying, but it was like rumble strips.

But again my thought is this is an Adventure trail, and I am glad we got to enjoy it.

Part of the trail washed out nearly ten years ago about 3 miles East of Clearwater. Does anyone know if it has been repaired?

Trail clear from Norfolk to Neligh. We traveled mid-July. Heat and other events caused us to travel and do day trips. Don't know about Clearwater area.

We just rode this August 18, 2017 The bridge is still out. We had to detour to the highway for a couple miles or three? On the east side the sign says 'Cowboy Trail Closed indefinitely' It is overgrown with weeds.

Yes the trail just to the east of Clearwater is closed indefinitely. The Elkhorn river literally flows through where the trail right of way used to be and the bridge is out. Please detour around this part by hopping on the highway at 517th AVE and then you can get back on the trail at 519th AVE.

Hey all,

I am planning a tour taking place on September 25-27, 2015 and will consist of riding on 195 miles of the Cowboy Trail from Norfolk, NE – Valentine, NE. This initial tour will be predominately unsupported and you will need to ride self-contained so bring gear to accommodate the late September weather. We will be stopping at most of the towns along the way to fill up water bottles, grab food, and check out local attractions. The goal of this tour is to assess the current condition of the Cowboy Trail and the feasibility of hosting this as an annual tour. By doing this I hope to raise awareness and increase traffic on the trail which will bring more tourism to the towns along its path. I am looking for a group of experienced cyclists to come out and participate in this tour with me. All are welcome! If anyone is interested in joining, please contact me for further details and join the event on the Facebook page. I have linked the Facebook Page for the event which contains a route map with overnight towns. Thank you for your consideration, I hope to see you out there!

https://www.facebook.com/rideoncowboy

Alex Duryea
Eco Tourism Consultant
Nebraska Tourism Commission

You will want to figure out a "plan B" for east of Clearwater...there is NO bridge and NO signage to let you know the trail dumps into the river!!!! Rode it day before yesterday.

Has been a problem for a long time:

"Note: Due to flooding in 2010 -Other than some temporary closures due to resurfacing the only closed section from Norfolk to O'neil is on the washout between Mile Post 123.5 and 121.5 or 1mile east of Clearwater then east for 2 miles. Trail users simply travel HWY 275 to continue."

And it is an easy bike around as HWY 275 does not have much traffic and has a shoulder.

How did your trip go? I think that an annual tour would be a good ideal. In Missouri, DNR does one for the Katy Trail and there is another one is South Dakota(done by the parks dept.) for the Mickleson Trail. I am familiar with the DNR Katy Trail and that one is 5 days/4 nights on a 220 mile trek of the Katy Trail. They charge around $350/person and that includes breakfast and dinner, camping, and bag shuttle. If you want to stay in a hotel, that is extra. They usually post details of their June trip in March of each year.

It's been a couple years. How did this go? I think this would be a great idea and bring more awareness to the trail..The state of Nebraska has a great treasure that they need to continue to develop and maintain. We just rode Valentine to Norfolk.
Parts were good. Out west more maintenance and work needs to be done. But we were glad to have done the ride.

Hi Everyone,
I have ridden a lot of trails in the mid-west and central US. My two favorites are the Mickelson and the Katy. Nebraska has a diamond in the rough (literally rough). I think we should start a petition drive to get Nebraska to add more money to improving the trail and have a grand opening ride that is well published. I think this would be a good article for some of the cycling magazines when it is planned. I am 67 and retired and I know there are other baby boomers who are like minded and are looking for something like this to do.

Hi All,

Thanks for your comments about the trail! I know it's been a few years since we did the tour. We had a few show up and ride. One of the guys worked at Monkey Wrench in Lincoln and did a short write-up on his experience:

http://monkeywrenchcycles.com/touring-the-cowboy-trail-valentine-to-norfolk-nebraska/

Afterwards I met with some folks at Game and Parks to talk about the trail and told them about some of the rough spots. They invited me to come talk at some public meetings that were held in some of the towns along the trail that winter. The goal of these meetings were to gather input to update the master plan for the Cowboy Trail. While there we talked to locals about he economic and tourism benefits having a trail like this can have and referenced Katy, Mickelson, Great Allegeney Passage, and others showing what they can do for the towns along the trail.

As far as an annual tour I could not find anyone that was willing to continue it. Since then I helped Jim Craig with Angry Cow Adventure put on two Ultra Marathons on the trail called the Cowboy Ultra which garnered some attention from the local media.

We have been trying to promote the trail as much as possible! Getting more people to ride it is probably the best thing for it. I have gone to most of the sites where the cowboy trail is listed and posted current pictures, updated info on the trail and left an honest good review. (This is a great way you all can help too!) A lot of things still need to change to make this trail into what it can be. Many of the rumors out there saying the trail is closed, completely overgrown, impassable, rough, or whatever need to be put to rest. Most of the trail is in pretty good shape but yes you'll run into some rough areas from time to time. I know NGPC has trouble maintaining the entire length of the trail and operates it on an EXTREMELY limited budget. Probably because the usage is just not there. I know they do their best to keep back the weeds and sandburs but if you see areas that need improvement let them know exactly where the problem is, they want to keep the trail in good shape. There is the detour on the highway at Clearwater where the bridge is out but it's quick and easy. The cost to replace that bridge is very expensive and the river now covers the right of way so the detour will have to stay for now.



The trail needs more public support (both local and statewide) if more is going to happen with it. I really think it is a diamond in the rough and can be a great asset to the state. Feel free to call or email me anytime about the trail, my contact info is on visitnebraska.com

I see a lot about biking. I'm thinking about a hike of about half this trail with my dog. I'll camp but every once in awhile I need a bed and shower. Does anyone walk? Do you know any dog friendly bnb's and is there anything or anyone I need to be cautious of walking alone?

I took my two oldest boys 12 & 8 on a one day hike of the trail last summer. We camped at the park in Inman and hiked to O'Neill and back. Can only speak to that small sample of the trail but we spent nearly the whole day hiking and only encountered one couple of locals utilizing the trail the entire day. I would want to make sure I had more than a cellphone as means of calling for assistance if an emergency was encountered. Service may not always be reliable through out. Hopefully someone can give you more info on B&B or other accommodations.

The Sand Hill inn in Atkinson is dog friendly , and I suspect some of the chain hotels in O'neil are dog friendly that is a 20 mile leg between the two towns and a good days walk. The only people you are going to come across outside of the towns are ranchers if anybody. So the western half of the trail is going to be spooky deserted, not sure if that makes more a less safe for a Woman and dog walking alone as compared to a more traveled trail.

Thank you for your comments. Planning now and looking forward to the experience. I assume that locals can advise me day to day about weather conditions. Late spring or early fall? A friend from Lincoln says beware of early snow??? This southerner does not know snow.

I am also interested in hiking this trail, though it'll have to wait until next year. Would like to hear about your experience.

Hello!

Your trip sounds like such fun. I hope when you return from the trip you will do a 'full write up' for us here on this Forum!

I am a dog trainer and have had working dogs all my life. I have backpacked 1000's of miles with dogs also in packs.

One thing I would warn is about the Thorns we hear so much about on this Trail and your dog's paws.

BUY HUNTING DOG BOOTIES made for Briars, Yes, they are expensive, they are made well and will protect your dog's feet.

The correct Dog Booties can make all the difference. This is an excerpt from my working dog website.

The booties need to be simple with few stitches, that might aggravate the dog's foot. The bootie needs to fit just up to the ankle and no higher. Any lower, it would not close correctly, any higher can hurt the dog's ankle and or movement. Impeding the movement of the ankle can irritate the dog's leg and even stretch the muscles and or tendons at that joint.

If you boot one foot, front or back, boot the other foot opposite from the injured foot. This way the dog will continue to move, walk or run, evenly on it's body. If you only put on booty on a dog, it will walk differently, much like a limp. This twists the dog's body as well as puts more weight on the unbootied foot than the other. Use the same type, same age (not one worn down and the other new), on the dog at the same time. This way, again, the dog will not throw it's weight to one side or the other.

We are planning to ride from Valentine to Inman Labor Day week, Just wondering if anyone has ridden that stretch lately, and how the trail was. Areas to avoid (someone mentioned that the area around Johnstown was good to avoid and take the road as there was a lot of thorns in that area etc. So any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

Hello Stephen,

Sorry no one answered your questions....I would like to know too. We will be riding in Sept, but sometime after your ride.

I hope you will write about your experiences on the Trail. From what I have heard about the thorns and ranchers..... kinda apprehensive.

Stephen & Marna We just rode Valentine to Norfolk Aug 7-21. We were a little apprehensive as we left Valentine as we were told the road was ok to Arabia and after that not so good. We rode all the way on the trail except for a short distance in front of the co-op at Ainsworth (local advised stickers bad). Also we did have to detour to highway between Clearwater and Neligh. Bridge has been out since 2010. The trip Johnstown to Ainsworth was our hardest section. Stickers were bad as you cross roads from one section of trail to next section. We carried bikes a time or two. We checked tires at each intersection and pulled out many stickers. Now that we are done, I can say, we had no flats, but did have to air up a front tire on one bike each day before starting. L Bow Saloon in Johnstown serves a great hamburger and folks are really nice there. About 3 miles out of Long Pine going east we ran into a patch of thistle. Covered the entire trail. We rode through it for a quarter of a mile or so and then it cleared up again. We rode a bit of The Katy Trail earlier in the summer and if you are thinking these trails are similar, I say no. The surface is not as hard pack most of the time, you will come across tracks and bumps not made by a bicycle (more so on the western end). Sometimes it is like a pature road. Weeds in the middle and a trail on each side. At times there were big holes in the road and look out for bridge 164 between Meadow Grove and Battle Creek. big washout. As we moved east the trail was progressively better. We rode recumbents with 2 1/2 inch tires. We didn't break any speed records. Rode in rain a couple days around Inman and that was slow going. We saw only a couple folks on the western end. About Neligh we saw maybe a half dozen riders besides ourselves. It was challenging at times, but we made the trip and glad we did it. We met nice folks along the way. I hope that they can make improvements and finish out the trail to Chadron. I would like to ride that. Hope this helps. I will try to add more to the various sections. I just have not had time. I would have liked to have had more current information than we had when we started.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS WRITE UP ABOUT THE AREA!

I knew, had heard, that the Cowboy was not as nice as Katy or Mickelson. We just wanted to know what to expect and what to prepare for before the ride. We are not new to this type of riding, we even tell people, on our website, what they might want to carry on the Mickelson....and it is sure not the Katy Trail either! www.doesmybuttlookbigithesaddle.com but with all the tourist information written..... that paints such a pretty picture.....the book for the Cowboy.....no.
AGAIN! THANK YOU!

Thanks, much for the comments and we knew a little about it figured the ride was similar to what my friends did in the Dirty Kanza in the Spring(I plan to do one of those rides next spring), rougher than the Katy, but passable. We have several tubes, a repair kit or two, and my friend just put Schwalbe tires on her bike (they have the puncture resistant layer in them), and I put Slime liners in my Clement XPLOR USH tires. Hopefully we'll be ok on that. We are only planning on 40 or so miles a day. I had read about Johnstown and riding the highway around the agri center there. We may end up riding the highway more if tires become an issue :) But we are looking forward to our ride.

Thanks for the comments and discussion, and hope your ride goes well too Marna!

Steve

The trail is closed at Clearwater. The bridge over the Elkhorn river is out. The trai is wasted and overgrown.

Is the whole trail overgrown and wasted?

im planning to walk this trail in june. is the trail completely out at clearwater? or detoured.

The trail is completely knocked out at clearwater, the bridge going over the elkhorn river is down. The "detour" is to walk on the shoulder of highway 275 (it's a nice 4' wide shoulder). You can see it on google earth if you look, it's just east of clearwater. I rode the trail in September with some friends and a couple guys actually crossed it...do that at your own risk though, I think the water levels were low at the time. I hope you come out and hike the trail! I had a great time riding it last year. There are some cool things to check out in the towns it runs through.

I looked on google earth, and sure enough, the bridge is out. However, I noticed that the satellite image date is from March of 2012. Are you saying that 4 years later, and it's STILL not fixed? I'm planning to use my spring vacation (i'm a student at UNO) to backpack some of the trail; I guess i'll just use the highway for that portion.

Hello! We just finished biking Valentine to Norfolk and YEP! The bridge between Clearwater and Neligh is still OUT snd now it is 2017. You have to detour to the highway first least a couple miles.