Cowboy Trail Home
The Cowboy Trail of Nebraska
Cowboy Trail Map
Cowboy Trail Map

The Cowboy Trail is a Great Ride


Go to Forum
Joel Stewart from Springfield, MO on 10/7/2017 12:00:05 PM:
I rode the trail from Atkinson to Valentine and back last weekend. The trail was primitive but enjoyable! We camped in Atkinson, Ainsworth, and Valentine and found well managed campgrounds. I really appreciate the friendly local residents and helpful park managers.

The trail is definitely rough in places and requires one to "dig in". However that seems appropriate for crossing the Sandhills in the Nebraska wind.

I encourage the state-park managers and adjacent agriculture producers to work closely together. It appears that this trail could be an simultaneous asset for both. Perhaps ag-producers could drive cattle and equipment along the trail instead of on it. And in cases where cattle have roughened the trail the produce could repair the trail with a drag or other implement.

In short, this trail is enormous and can be managed as a multiple use resource for both bikers and the very important agricultural industry.

 
Steve McGregor from Hannibal, MO on 10/9/2017 9:28:54 AM:
Yes, we rode the first part of Sept, and enjoyed it. Being a bit primitive made it a little more of an adventure. East of Wood Lake, there seemed to be lots of vegetation and we jumped off onto the road.

The thing that seemed to make it the roughest was the tire tracks. On the compacted limestone it gets hard enough those wouldn't be an issue. On the crushed granite, it never compacts so it is. But, all in all I am glad we rode it..

 
Anonymous on 10/11/2017 9:45:42 AM:
Ever been on a Cattle Drive? Around a herd of Cattle? Cows go where cows want to go. Driving them, you are staying back enough so that they do not spoke and scatter, but close enough to keep them moving away from where you are....and there is a Dance involved to turn them...
Keeping them off the Trail? That will be a HUGE fight with ranchers.

I encourage the STATE OFFICIALS to get out and see that the Local Trail Maintenance IS NOT BEING DONE AS THEY THINK IT IS! I think from reading a letter I got back about the Trail from Omaha and what is said about the Trail.....NOT ONE IN THE SAME! Heads need to roll, because if the Capital really thinks they are spraying for weeds and maintaining the chat..... There is some lying and cheating going on!

 
Pedler4 from Papillion on 10/11/2017 11:37:15 AM:
I agree! the Nebraska Game and Parks division seems like if it does not do anything the issues will go away. I have emailed them twice with no replies to my emails. As a tax payer I feel my dollars are going under a sand dune. The trail needs to have a group go to the capital and protest the mismanagement that we are paying for. Maybe that would get some attention.

 
Brad from Bolivar MO on 10/13/2017 8:09:15 PM:
I agree that mismanagement is never a good thing and certainly frustrating to the taxpayers of any state. And any state should be doing what they say they are doing. As for the condition of the Trail I guess I'm just not that picky because it looked pretty decent to me. As for the many great agricultural producers of Nebraska we should all be incredibly grateful for what they do - after all it appears to me that Nebraska producers are the reason most of us in the Midwest get to eat!! so give credit where credit is due. I believe the Cowboy Trail and Nebraska Agriculture can peacefully co-exist.

 
Marna from Belle Fourche, SD on 10/15/2017 9:04:56 AM:
You sound speciously like a Business person along the trail.....rather than a person from MO

18.191.181.231