Cowboy Trail Forum

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.

Is there a place to park and leave a vehicle while riding to Norfolk and back to Valentine?

Valentine has a dedicated parking lot for bike riders on the trail that is usually vacant. Norfolk has the Ta-Ha-Zouka Park at the trailhead, which I would think would be better for long term parking. However, it is generally an uphill ride from Norfolk to Valentine. I also seen the Valentine streets severely flooded during a downpour when I was there, which might be a concern.

Nevertheless, nobody is going to guard your car while you are on the trail. If you insist on leaving a car in Valentine then it is probably best to talk to the police dept. there. They also have a nice city park there, which is easily reached from the trail if you can handle one steep hill.

Thanks for the info. We are at the city park now. No kidding! That is one steep hill.

THANK YOU STEVE FOR TAKING THE TIME TO WRITE THIS UP!

All the information we are gleaning from this Forum is far more than I have found elsewhere. And we trust you riders more than than... well you know.

What are the trail conditions from Valentine to Kilgore. I know the map show that section to be "undeveloped", but what does that mean ? Dirt/Packed earth, bush and weeds (not passable), etc. ?

Thanks -

Any part of the trail from Valentine to the west is literally undeveloped; meaning it's just the abandoned rail bed. I have seen on blogs where people just ride on US 20 from Valentine to Chadron, and vice-a-versa.


They had such a good start on getting the long stretch from Norfolk to Valentine completed, moving about 15-20 miles per year. It has been several years now that this was completed, and the way I understood it, was they were supposed to continue west towards Merriman, NE. At that time, part of the railway from Merriman to Gordon, NE, Rushville, NE, and ending in Chardon, NE was still in-tact and used occasionally. That part of the railway has since been abandoned and the tracks removed, so the entire trail can actually be built on the old railway bed. There are parts that completely disappear from sight on US 20, which sounds like what many of the folks traveling the Cowboy Trail would enjoy more of on the portion that is already completed.


Seems like I have read that with budget restrictions, there may just simply not be any funding these past few years to continue the project. There are numerous small bridges that have to be "upgraded" for trail use, along with the surface they lay down. I would bet, that some communities along the undeveloped section will try and get the trail, at least through their town, finished with a nice, paved surface. I would really think that would help some of these old towns generate interest in their communities.


It is disappointing to hear that the trail is already falling into some disrepair and the surface is not always as advertised. It doesn't help when the ranchers decide to use the path for their own personal road. Sounds like a better option, while more expensive, would be to perhaps either use the proper material, or use blacktop for the trail instead. (Just an idea.)


My mom grew up in the Panhandle; Rushville to be exact. Their neighboring community of Gordon has

(The comment box has a word limit! Ididn't realize.. My apologies, and the rest of my thought(s) are continued below! I started at the beginning of a paragraph.)



My mom grew up in the Panhandle; Rushville to be exact. Their neighboring community of Gordon has a group of people trying to raise money to complete the portion of the trail between their two communities (15 miles apart). They recently had someone riding on the highway (US 20) that was struck by a motorist, so that has kind of kick started their involvement. That would be a welcome thing if they are able to get this done... A ride between the two communities would be very peaceful, and there aren't really any steep grades at all. It would also bring a few more tourists, I would expect, and also some positive news to those outside of the area that aren't familiar with these towns.


Hope the information helps those out there wanting to ride the trail. I have been searching and searching for news as to when, if ever, they plan on starting on the trail west of Valentine. If anyone sees anything, please post it so we can stay informed! Thank you.

If Nebraska wants to be at all successful they have to back up the lovely website with a way to get current information.

We just rode Valentine to Norfolk August 2017. Parts of the trail were rough, weedy and holes, but we made the entire trip except bridge out between Clearwater and Neligh and a section by Co-op at Ainsworth (sticker warning from local). Would be great to see it finished west of Valentine and maintained. It is a great opportunity for the state of Nebraska.

East City Park is small but has perfect accommodations. Water, electricity and a brand new bathroom with shower. We tented and were the only ones there. $10 per night.

ALSO has a gas station/eats -faststop. Great service to bikers and helpful.

We just stayed in this little park last week.It is great! Loved the new shower house and bathroom. We ate at Subs and Suds on Saturday and it was really good. Sunday we got into the little quick shop just in time for supper. The local police were also very helpful.

Curious as to the progress (if any) west of Valentine. I rode the Katy Trail last year, Mickelson Trail this year, and hoping to ride the Cowboy Trail to Chadron next year! Thanks

Are there any places to stay/camp in Clearwater? It seems not. How about in Inman? Thanks for the help.

Deluxe Motel is an older motel that has been remodeled and updated in Neligh. Great place to stay and great price.

We plan to ride from Valentine to Inman on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday of Memorial week.

We rode this section August 9, 2017. One of our harder days. The first few miles ok.Some weeds and grass on trail. Then we started picking up puncture vine, mainly moving across intersections. Pushed across and would have to pick out numerous stickers before going on. A couple times carried bikes across. A local advised riding on highway along the co-op. We took that advice. The trail from that point on into town was good.

WOW! What an amazing trail! I just rode the Norfolk leg. Wish I had more time to ride the whole stretch. I'll be back again someday. Nice work and Thank You!

Planning on biking Norfolk to Ainsworth. Want to do 30 to 40 miles a day and stay at local motels and eat at area eateries. Our dream to bike Nebraska. Have Parkinson and want to do this while able. Any tips or advice?

My best advice is to get tire liners, "slime", or some other type of protection from flat tires. This will not protect against all flats, but tire liners made a huge difference for me.

My first trip on the Katy Trail, I had about 8 flats. Got tire liners before my second Katy Trail trip, and had zero flats. It's a different trail, but both trails have similar thorns. Also avoid riding through the vegetation on the trail as much as possible to avoid the thorns.

Your local bike shop will have the liners and would probably be happy to install for you.

I hope I haven't jinxed myself by bragging about how flat-free I've been with the liners! :-)

Thanks. MY local bike shop did recommend tire liners and we did put them in. You confirm what we were wondering. Big help.
Trail is packed pebbles. How is the biking vs. doing an asphalt course?
Thanks for the advice!

If you happen to overnight in Atkinson, I would highly recommend Sand Hills Guesthouse. Close to the trail, very nice people running the place, and a nice clean room. Thumbs up.

THANKS Will look into it.

This is my first time browsing this site and I just happened upon this comment about the SGH Motel. THANK YOU MR. ST.LOUIS! That was so kind of you to say. We LOVE our guests! atkinsonmotel.com

Dear Ray, Your advice to get tire liners for our bikes to help protect against flats was excellent. It was a big help--no problems --just cycling a long.
thanks.

Hey everyone, we are now offering a gear transportation service from Norfolk to Valentine, or anywhere in between.(or the other way around...) Shuttle is included with all of our services. Trip planning assistance as well as emergency trip assistance is also available! Parking and lodging info too...402-316-0157,nforkoutfitting.com

Awesome! Great to have a service like this for the Cowboy Trail.

Just to confirm - your shuttle service is also for bikes and gear? I visited your website but only saw references to kayaks. Thanks!

We used North Fork Outfitting for our bike shuttle to Valentine in June. Tony and Lita are very friendly and accommodating. Highly recommend.

fyi - just contacted this shuttle service and apparently now they will ONLY shuttle you from Norfolk TO Valentine - not the other way around. We wanted to get a shuttle from valentine to ewing and then bike from ewing back to our car in Valentine.

it appears our only option would be to bike from valentine to ewing and then ride the shuttle from ewing back to valentine - but pay full price for the entire norfolk to valentine route.

My wife and I stayed, slept, visited, ate from Norfolk to Valentine during middle of July. We had to make some adjustments due to heat and thunderstorms, but that was the worse. The best are the folks of the Trail-- friendly, accommodating, and helpful. The Lodging and motels were clean and up to date --service excellent. The local restaurants were clean and the food/service excellent. We had a wonderful vacation- beautiful scenery only surpassed by the wonderful folks of the Trail.
More later

Thanks for the good information. Sounds like you had a very good experience and we are looking forward to the same. We will be riding and ferrying our vehicle along with us.

I'd started a thread above, but thought I'd drop you a note as well. We are going to ride the trail from Valentine to Inman on Labor Day week. I thought I'd ask, "were there any areas you'd avoid and take the highway? A bit of concern for flats etc from thorns. What bikes did you ride? My friend is going to ride her Cannondale Adventure 4 Hybrid with 700x35 tires and I am gong to ride my GT Grade Gravel bike with 700x35 tires. Would love to hear from you about things to do and how your trip went. Thanks, Steve

We did Norfolk to Neligh, then picked up our SUV and did individual biking around Neligh and Valentine after that. We had extreme heat in July and less riding time than we had figured and I had some health issues so the riding bikes were cut short a bit.
1. Bikes - we had Specialized 21 Speeds; tires were 700x38- we wished that we had gravel or mountain tire; we were first timers to this; we practiced on paved roads at 12 to 14 mph and ended on the trail at 6 to 9 mph; we were passed by those with mountain or gravel tires with ease. We thought a mountain tire would have helped this --otherwise we enjoyed it.
2. Thorns- at the start of the trail at Norfolk they warn of Texas burs or Goatheads. We saw them in fields but didn't encounter them. The Valentine Locals watch the thorns East of the Niobrara Bridge to about Wood Lake or Johnstown(?). (read up on the internet about them as they can be a problem for flats.)
From Valentine to the bridge is ok and would recommend the ride (great view!).
3. Flats: We didn't have any! It was recommended (RAY) to put a liner in the tires to help prevent flats and we did. It definitely helped. Also get Triple A they have a pickup and deliver destination policy for bike flats. We stopped at the Norfolk branch and got the 800 number to call if needed; they have reps along the way.
4. The lodging along the way is very accommodating to bikers. Our primary was Country Inn-Norfolk; Deluxe-Neligh; Niobrara Lodge-Valentine; great places- let us store our bikes in safe/secure places; very helpful. Also had contacts in Ainsworth, Stuart, Atkinson, and O'Neill and believed they were accommodating as well if we wanted to stay there.
5. EATS- Valentine: Coach Light for Lunch; Peppermill for steaks---a great eating experience; others were great as well along the way.
6. Things to do: Tubing on the Niobrara- went 9:30 am to about 1PM -it was great! Would do it again. Niobrara bridge near Valentine- a must to see and behold; visit with locals along the way-great people. Views are good for the biking from Valentine to Inman. There a lot of town museums along the way. Pick your towns and research them for labor day events.

Looking forward to checking out the trail this summer 2017. Was curious about the eventual extension to Chadron, anybody have a ballpark ideas as to when that might happen? Thanks.

Also, looking forward to checking out the Trail this summer.

So, just wondering, did you get your ride in? How was it? We are planning Labor Day week to ride from Valentine to Inman, and wondering how things were. Thanks,