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

Reply to Comparison to the Katy Trail


Cancel and Return to Forum
Scroll down to see the discussion
All submissions are reviewed for appropriateness. We reserve the right to remove or edit any comment that we consider incorrect, misleading, or inappropriate, at our sole discretion. Please remember that this is a family-friendly website.
Subject:
Reply to Comparison to the Katy Trail
Your Name:

This does not have to be your real name. It could be a "screen name", your initials, or just leave blank.
Your Hometown:

Optional - it's just interesting to know where people are from
Email Address
Comment:
So we know you are a human, please answer this easy math quiz:
3 + 5 =
Spencer from St. Louis on 6/8/2020 2:57:25 PM:
I've done a trip riding the full Katy Trail in Missouri, I'm currently planning to ride the Cowboy Trail round trip Norfolk to Valentine and back in mid-July. Has anyone here ridden both and able to provide a comparison of what to expect? Thank You!!

 
Cynthya from Lewis,KS on 6/8/2020 3:37:53 PM:
I have ridden Booneville to Hermann on the Katy Trail and from Valentine to Norfolk and back on The Cowboy Trail. The similarity is: Both are rails-to-trails.

Katy Trail is hard pack..what I rode. Cowboy Trail is gravel, sometimes sand and can be rough going. We picked up stickers(but fortunately no flats), encountered some weedy parts and one very weedy patch just west of Bassett. We found the trail and rode through it. Some paving through some towns closer to Norfolk.

We stayed in city parks along the way. Some had facilities and others had an outhouse and a hydrant. At the time we rode The L Bow Saloon in Johnstown was open.. great food and friendly folks..We stayed in an RV park in Stuart and Ewing and ate at a local bar..

We rode entirely on The Trail except a short portion by the co-op at Ainsworth and a section east of Clearwater that had damage from the flood of 2010

The Katy Trail has shade. Not much shade on The Cowboy (except through some towns). We rode in August 2017 and it was hot! Shade is at a premium. We rested in the shade of a small tree one day and was grateful for that. Then back into the heat for more miles than I can remember with no shade or break from the heat.

All that said...we enjoyed the ride...challenges and all. From reviews I have read there was more damage to the Trail in 2019. Each person has their own perspective. I thought it was a ride to remember(positive memory) and I would go back and ride again. I would love to see The Cowboy completed to Chadron but that might be a long time coming. I think they have a great treasure there and it needs to be kept up and used.