Cowboy Trail Forum

We plan to bicycle the Cowboy Trail in September, 2015. I am looking for information regarding current trail conditions. Any comments will be helpful. Thanks!

I'm riding it now in July 2015. The bridge 40 miles out of Norfolk is still closed so you'll have to use the hwy for a stretch. The trail itself is pretty lose and slow going. Definitely rideable but not as nice as other RTs such as the Katy in MO. Its a bit overgrown in places. I don't think many people really use it. I'm about 35 miles from Valentine at the moment and have seen nobody since leaving Norfolk.

Thank you for the update. We are very spoiled as we live near the Katy and ride it often. Sounds like the Cowboy Trail will be a great adventure! Have you camped along the trail at all? We are hoping to go out and back and camp along the way.

Camping: last summer my son and I camped at the city park in Neligh, and we were happy with it. We even had entertainment - a baseball game in the adjacent field. Nice little town.

We rode the trail last week-end. Its very nicely surfaced from Norfolk to Meadow Grove with new pea sized gravel.It appears to be an older gravel surface after Meadow Grove but we didn't travel too far outside of that town to know. Water is available in towns only via local C-stores/small pubs. Saw no other bikers from Battle Creek to Meadow Grove. Cell phone worked. Needed bike repairs and went to Clevelands Bike Shop in Norfolk and got all fixed up! The convenience store on the main highway in Meadow Grove had a variety of home baked pastries which looked delicious!

Rode the trail last week (July 20 to 24) but went from Valentine to Norfolk. Trail conditions were good to very good on all except a 6 to 7 mile segment about 5 miles outside of Valentine. Surface was OK, just a lot of vegetation growth on the trail ... some of it tall. Our group of 4 had no flats over the entire 197 mile trip. There were plenty of places to fill bottles and get snack items mid-day, all except Wood Lake which has nothing if you plan on going through there on a Monday. Overall, great fun, great hospitality along the way and no problems with the surface except as mentioned above.

jedwards, What type of bicycles did you use on your ride from Valentine to Norfolk?

Have ridden from Norfolk to Battle Creek 3 times--you can start at S. 1st St. and it's 11 miles to Battle Creek. Visit Goodies or Longhorn Bar for a great lunch or supper! And for an interesting store, be sure to stop into the Red Bud Hardware Store. Longhorn Bar and hardware store are on Main St. Goodies is just a bit south of Main.
Today I biked from Meadow Grove back to Battle Creek. A great, flat, fall ride. Saw a hawk & scared up a pheasant.
Surface is cement from 1st St. in Norfolk to a mile or so beyond Ta-Ha-Zouka Park. Then it's crushed limestone that makes for a nice, hard-surface path.
Hope to keep going west town by town this fall.

That is helpful. have you continued west? Any information would be appreciated!

Our plan was to ride from Valentine to O'Neil with overnight stops along the way. Cold weather and rain kept us from doing the trail as planned, so we did day trips instead. Rode Valentine east for 10 miles and then back to Valentine (20 mph head wind on way back to Valentine). Trail was very nice - crushed limestone that was packed down well. Rode another segment of the trail Bassett to Long Pine. Had lunch in Long Pine, then back to Bassett. The trail for this portion was not as nice as the Valentine portion but very do-able. The trail was gravel, a bit thick and loose in many places. We do want to go back and do the trail, but learned that we should only plan on about 25 miles max a day. We are used to riding cement trails - switching to gravel trails was more of a workout than what we thought. An overnight stop in Bassett at the Bassett Lodge is worth a look into, great restaurant and lodge!

I rode from Norfolk to Battle Creek a couple of weeks ago and conditions are perfect. Packed rock with slight loose on top. Better than a good gravel road in my opinion. I'm looking forward to riding farther on the next trip.

Hi Ryan! I am writing a magazine article on this trail - I'm looking for someone who has ridden the trail to do a quick email interview. If you'd be interested please email me at emily.vanschmus@drake.edu

Ryan, thanks for the post. Planning on riding Norfolk to Meadow Grove next month. Rode the west end of trail last fall and it had a lot of washboard and loose gravel. Hoping for a better ride on the east end.

Rode from Norfolk to a mile west of Battle Creek and the conditions were great. Impending rain made me turn around 11 miles out from Norfolk. Averaged 12.5 MPH out and back. Rode May 1, 2015.

Is there any horse stalls at the park. We need to stay 1 night on our way to Valentine?

I'll be hiking the Cowboy Trail as far west as it goes, on to Chadron then up to Bear Butte State Park above Sturgis this August/September. I've read in another post that water is available in every town, food or groceries too? I don't want to carry more that two extra days of food & water unless I need to.

Never mind... I found the info on the site!

So did you end up hiking the whole thing from Norfolk to Chadron? I am thinking of doing the same thing and yeah the stops seem like you can pack pretty light because of the many stops. Anyways just interested to see if you did it and how many days it took? Thinking I can do it in 25 days or less or so.

Coming down there to ride your trail tomorrow. I am going to dominate it! I hope there is beer along the way. And you have shoveled the sand off the path some.

We keep the sand shoveled, and you will not beat my records. Free beer if you mention my name at George's

I think I passed by Cowboy Ken on the trail. He was taking a break by some hay bales on the side of the trail. Lots of washboard on the trail about 10 miles east of Valentine.

This is a short one--5 miles, mostly adjacent to Hwy. 275. This is also where there is 1 bridge that is out, but it's probably only 30 - 40 yds. thru a mowed ditch to the highway, across the bridge, and back to the trail. Very easily navigated!

On a multi-day trail ride last July, I became very sick and had to end the trip. We made it as far as Atkinson and were lucky to get a room at the Sandhills Guest House. When the manager found out about my situation, she made phone calls and sent emails until she found someone to drive us back to our car in Norfolk (one of her relatives!). This kind act saved me a day's worth of time and a taxi ride that would have cost a couple hundred dollars. And besides all that, the motel is comfortable, clean, quiet, and reasonably priced. Can't say enough good things about the Sandhills Guest house.

Ainsworth to Long Pine is the best 10 miles of the Cowboy Trail because the trail is away from the highway. On my ride I saw horses, cattle, a garter snake, birds and a lonely coyote. The Sandhills start on the south and it is fun to ride the trestle over Pine Creek. It is a fun family ride.

Coming down there to ride your trail tomorrow. I will dominate! It looks like a fine ride.

There are LOTS of services in Ainsworth...It's a pretty big town with a city campground in the park, several restaurants and bars, shops, banks, an excellent supermarket, a Bomgaars and two national brand motels. There is even a place to get a latte.

Goodrich ice cream is served at the Subway. Sellers cabin in the city park is worth a visit.

This place was wonderful. I asked if I could use the laundry facilities, and the manager insisted on doing all of my laundry for me, even after I warned her that it was filthy, stinky, sweaty trail clothing. Reasonable price, nice people, convenient location.

My husband and I were at Subway (O'Neill) at 8:00 on 3-14-14. The young man who took our order and made our sandwiches was very rude. He was unintelligible when he spoke to us, and when I kindly asked him to repeat what he said, he became more rude. The change machine was not working. I understand that making change in this day of technology is difficult for some, however, the young man should NOT have responded to me in such a brusque manner. The bread for the sandwich was mangled and the meatballs were hard, dry and impossible to chew. My husband quietly took the sandwich back and explained the problem to the Devall girl. She was very, very nice and offered to make a different sandwich but my husband declined and asked for a couple of cookies instead. Another young man (blonde hair) brought coupons to our table, was apologetic and handled the situation politely.
The young man who initially waited on us went to the back of the store (or left) and we never saw him again. We've been patrons of the O'Neill Subway store since it's opening. We were very disappointed this evening and hope that you will speak to the young man about his poor behavior. We commend the way the Devall girl handled the situation and hope you will pass this compliment on to her. Thank you.

Why on Earth are you making complaints about the O'Neill Subway in a forum about the Cowboy Trail?! There's a customer satisfaction survey on every receipt from Subway. I suggest you go to that website and take the survey. It's about the only way you'll ever get through to anyone that cares enough to correct the behavior. This way, the store manager and owner will see your feedback.

I agree with Aaron, what the heck do we care about Subway and your problems? This forum is for info on the Cowboy Trail.

What are you eating at subway for? There is a Mcdonalds in Oneill! lol.

Just wondering how the trail is from Battle Creek to Meadow Grove. I have a hybrid bike and am a fairly new biker so don't want to go the whole trip. I plan to stay in Battle Creek at the B&B, then take a day trip to Meadow Grove and back. Maybe would have enough tim to go on to Ashfall Fossil Beds the same day. Anyone out there who's done that?

I would be interested in your opinion of the trail from Battle Creek to Meadow Grove. When I biked it, it was just awful. Soft, rutted, full of thorns and used by farmers as a farm road for tractors and livestock. Not very scenic, mostly beside the paved roads. Maybe I am spoiled from biking super awesome trails, like the Homestead, Mopac, Steamboat all in NE and the Katy Trail in MO, plus the Wabash in Iowa.
Let us all know about your experiences.

The B&B in Battle Creek has been sold, FYI. And Ashfall is quite a trip north from where the trail is.

I've not been more disappointed in a trail before. The trail is so sandy, that it's like trying to ride on a beach. In some places it's an inch thick. After 4 miles we ditched the trail and rode the rest of the day on paved country roads. Such a shame that this isn't ridable. It has such potential.

Yes, I agree, this is how I found the Cowboy Trail, horrible to ride on!
I did learn an interesting theory and not sure if correct, but I was told the trail was built to keep it open for a possible return to using it again for trains and the folks in charge of the trail are not the least bit concerned or interested in the trail construction (it was not build correctly!) or if anyone is able to bike on it. It is used by ranchers and farmers as a "farm road." The people up in the area are probably happy we can't ride the trail. :)
Thankfully there are so many other wonderful Rails to Trails in the midwest, that we have a huge choice of trails. This summer I am headed for the Mickelson Trail in SD,
Happy cycling and hiking this summer.

There's a nice article from NebraskaLand Magazine about a complete ride on the whole trail. I recommend reading it.
http://neblandvm.outdoornebraska.gov/2014/05/looking-back-cowboy-trail/

I wanted to see first hand the Cowboy Trail from the Valentine area. I started at the trailhead in Valentine, early in the morning, June 17, 2014. The trailhead picnic shelter is nice and set in a gravel and dirt area. The trail heads east and is paved for a short distance and then is gravel and dirt. The trail surface was hard but covered with an inch or two of that red sand and is not pleasant to bike on. I only went out an hour and then turned around and headed back to Valentine. It was a workout to bike in the sand. The Valentine High Bridge is 1/4 mile long and was exciting to bike over. I didn't enjoy this end of the trail any more than I enjoyed the Norfolk end of the trail. It is like biking on a beach. I didn't go far on the trail as I was headed to Hot Springs, SD to bike the Mickelson Trail, which by the way is a beautiful trail in excellent condition.

Our group just completed the GAP/C and O and are looking for the next trail to bike. What is the status of the Cowboy trail riding east? Thank you.

I'd do the KATY. Loved the GAP/C&O trip, KATY is next best. Planned to do the Cowboy Trail, but have not read anything positive, and the locals/state does not support the trail.

3 of us are contemplating tackling the trail in late Aug or early Sept. How does it compare with the Wabash Trace in Iowa which we knocked out in one day? Is it really that deteriorated or are the people that have actually enjoyed it not giving positive feedback post ride?

The Wabash Trace Trail is so excellent, a wonderful trial to ride. I haven't had a good experience on the Cowboy Trail, but would love to hear if it has improved since I was on it. I thought the Cowboy Trail was pretty awful but maybe it has been worked on since then? Let us all know if you do ride it and tell us about the condition of the trail.
Good riding.

I went to this bike shop in 2012 as I was riding on the Cowboy and broke some spokes. They said if I left it there it would be ready in 3 days...Yada...Yada...Yada...I ended up going to a bike shop in Lawrence, KS that fixed it the same day and spent the rest of my time riding the Prairie Spirit Trail instead of sitting in a hotel in Norfolk waiting for my bike to be fixed.

Who cares? Stop being a whining infant about something that happened nearly two years ago. This forum is for info, updates and conditions about the Cowboy Trail.

Again, I agree with Aaron, we don't care about stevo's bike shop problems!
We need and want updates on trail conditions on the Cowboy Trail.

I've not ridden this trail, but I know from riding other trails (e.g. Great Allegheny Passage, C&O canal towpath) that the right tires can make a substantial difference in the experience. Does this trail require full mountain bike tires due to the soft gravel, or would a faster tire (e.g. 35mm Schwalbe Marathon) be better?

Again, don't waste precious vacation time on this trail! There are so many well maintained trails to choose from. It doesn't matter what tires you use, you will end up riding the nearby roads.

Sounds like the State should be paving the trail instead of using this lame "crushed crap" on the trail. Half of the trail isn't completed, and the part that is, no one can ride on. I had such high hopes for this trail years back. Why won't the State of Nebraska do something?! They are really missing the boat on this Cowboy Trail. Sad.

I'm not sure if anyone is interested in joining me ...

I'd like to ride from Valentine to Norfolk this summer in order to assess the trail's current conditions. This would simply be an simply information-gathering.trip. The bigger and long-term goals should be obvious.

I would really like additional help and input with this "project" and welcome anyone to join me. My bicycle-touring skills are advanced.

Sorry about the typos in my post!

Matt;

Depending on when you plan to go, I may be able to go with you. I really can't make it in June, but if you plan to go let me know when. I have done the Katy Trail six times and the Allegheny/C&O from Pittsburgh to DC once.

I would be interested

A group of us are considering the Cowboy Trail for a trip in May of 2014. All of the comments I am seeing are making me question our choice. Has the trail improved over the last year or so? Is there any work being done to improve it? Where would I find a good resource for information, either in Norfolk or Valentine? Thanks in advance for any help.

Your best bet for info is probably the bike shop in Norfolk. Click Norfolk in the map above and you'll see it in the list of businesses.

Why spend you time and money where the state and local support is not there ? KATY, GAP/C&O/Erie Canal, ... There are great trails out there. Don't waste your time in Nebraska.

There are so many wonderful Rails to Trails in SD, Iowa, NE, Kansas and MO. Why waste time and money on the Cowboy Trail, it is not a good trail to bike on. I would not choose the Cowboy Trail for my vacation ride!

You can ride it but you'll possibly spend more time on parallel US 20 and US 275. Better get Kevlar tires because of the goathead sandbur. That sandbur is absolutely wicked.

Wondering if a bunch of strangers could meet up on the cowboy trail in April and kind of start our own mini RAGBAI all the little towns along the way be the support needed. Frank

I would be interested in riding the trail in April

The trail running east from valentine crosses the beautiful trestle bridge but soon deteriorates. More specifically, the section eat of Thatcher until almost Arabia was in bad shape. For almost five miles the trail is severely washboarded by agricultural vehicles. Even sections marked 'no motorized vehicles' shows clear signs of ATV and pickup use. In many cases the tire tracks lead into fields, suggesting local rancher traffic is making extensive use of the trail. The surface of the trail can also be challenging since the fine gravel is not compacted and can cause sliding where it has accumulated. I was disappointed after being converted to exploring this part of the world after cycling the marvelous Mickelson trail in SD twice.

I agree, don't bother with the Cowboy Trail. I stick to the Mickelson Trail in SD, The Wabash Trace Trail in Iowa, the Homestead and the Mopac in NE. My favorite is the Paul Bunyan Trail in MN. It is over 100 miles long and paved!

Last year I rode from Bassett to Battle Creek in late September. I spent more miles on US 20 and US 275 than I did the trail. Some of it was closed and other places they were working on it. Several times I had to get off because of new gravel. Good people to meet there though.

May 2012

Nebraska spent a fortune building the longest off-road bike trail in the country. However, it is currently unridable since the gravel is not compacted and it is like riding on sand most of the way. Also, the pink quartzite they have added to certain stretches is a much poorer riding surface than the white limestone on other stretches. It would take a very small additional investment to pay someone to steamroll the trail once a year and it would then be a jewel. It is my hope that this will happen and then be followed by positive comments from riders. If so, it will attract riders and much needed income to the wonderful communities along the route. On our trip, we did not pass one other biker over the 180 mile stretch we were on.

Positives;
1) Unbelievably friendly and charming communities
2) Beautiful wide open countryside
3) Flat terrain for riding
4) Wonderful steaks (try Golden Steer in Ainsworth and L&B in Clearwater)
5) Wonderful breakfasts (try West End in O’Neill)
Lodging;
1) Pine Valley Resort cabins; outstanding
2) Stuart Village Inn (Stuart), Historic Golden Hotel (O’Neill), West Hill View Motel (Neligh), New Victorian (Norfolk); all clean and comfortable
Thorns and Bike Repair;
1) The western parts of the trail have goat thorns which easily puncture tires. We had no problem using Continental Punctureproof tires and Sunlite Puncture Resistant tubes.
2) We had a broken derailer hanger and found that the only top bicycle shop on the trail is Cleveland Bike and Sport, 407 E. Norfolk Ave, Norfolk. However, this shop was AMAZING and saved our trip. We had a car at each end of each day’s trip and shuttled the cars with us as we proceeded or we would have been in trouble (i.e. we were able to drive to Norfolk for our repair)

I agree with this comment. The trail communities and the surrounding area have so much to offer and the puzzle is no one seems to care and the trail continues to be useless. Who wants to ride in these conditions, when there are so many other wonderful trails to choose from. Not me.

Rode the trail east 10 miles out and back from valentine, on road bike , trail was great! Wish I could go more but got dark on me.

Don't forget that valentine has the best river in Nebraska for canoe, kayak, and floating. several outfitters in town for shuttles and rentals. The bridge over the Niobrara is awesome!