Cowboy Trail Guide: Maps, Businesses, Mileage, and More

About Nebraska's Cowboy Trail

The Cowboy Trail runs 321 miles across northern Nebraska, following the old Chicago & Northwestern rail route. The railroad called this the "Cowboy Line."

When completed, the Cowboy Trail will be the world's longest rails-to-trails bike trail. Currently about two-thirds of the route has been surfaced: the 195 mile stretch between Norfolk and Valentine (where you'll cross a magnificent old 148 foot high railroad bridge). Some surfaces are paved, while most of the trail uses finely crushed gravel.

The maps on this website only show the trail to Kilgore, but the trail is actually planned to run all the way to Chadron. We will update the maps as other sections of trail are developed. The trail west of Valentine is not officially open, and any usage of undeveloped trail should be considered "at your own risk."


Near Valentine, the Cowboy Trail crosses 150 feet above the Niobrara River

Cowboy Trail Resources

	An interactive MAP of the Cowboy Trail

	BUSINESSES and SERVICES along the trail

	An interactive TRIP PLANNER provides details specific to your trip

	Trail MILEAGE CHART

	Discuss the trails on the COMMENT FORUM

	EVENTS on or near the Cowboy Trail

	Journals and TRIP REPORTS from others' Cowboy Trail travels

	ELEVATION (altitude) of towns along the trail

	WEATHER along the trail

Cowboy Trail Conditions

Trail conditions are currently good, to the best of our knowledge.
If you are aware of any adverse trail conditions, please let us know the specifics, or contact the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.

Upcoming Events on or near the Cowboy Trail

Nebraskans love a good celebration - make your Cowboy Trail experience even more memorable by enjoying a small-town festival.

Where	What / When
Ainsworth Mile 150	Middle of Nowhere Bike Ride Second weekend in July
O'Neill Mile 81	O'Neill Summerfest Second weekend in July
Tilden Mile 23	Prairie Days Festival Last weekend in July
Wood Lake Mile 171	Wood Lake Community BBQ Last Saturday in July
Atkinson Mile 99	Hay Days First Weekend in August
Ainsworth Mile 150	Country Music Festival Second weekend in August
Bassett Mile 131	Rock County Fair Second week in August
Inman Mile 71	Inman Pioneer Days Second weekend in September

These are the events for the next three months. To see events past that timeframe, please visit the Events page.

BikeCowboyTrail.com's mission is to provide all the resources you need to plan and enjoy your adventure on Nebraska's Cowboy Trail. Let us know if there's anything we can do to improve!

If you are looking for the Cowboy Trail in Canada, try this link: Alberta's Cowboy Trail

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