Cowboy Trail

Cowboy Trail
Flooding in June 2010 collapsed this former railroad bridge carrying the Cowboy Trail across the Elkhorn River near Norfolk.
Established	1996
Length	195 miles (314 km)
Location	northern Nebraska
Designation	National Recreational Trail
Trailheads	Norfolk, Nebraska Valentine, Nebraska
Use	Hiking, Cycling, and Horseback Riding
Elevation
Grade	2% or less
Hiking details
Surface	finely crushed gravel, short sections have concrete
Right of way	Chicago and North Western Railway

The Cowboy Trail is a rail trail in northern Nebraska. It is a multi-use recreational trail suitable for bicycling, walking and horseback riding. It occupies an abandoned Chicago and North Western Railway corridor. When complete, the trail will run from Chadron to Norfolk, a length of 321 miles (517 km), making it the longest rails-to-trails conversion in the United States. It is Nebraska's first state recreational trail. The trail runs across the Outback area of Nebraska.

Built by the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad (a predecessor company of the Chicago & North Western Railway) in the late 1870s and early 1880s, the "Cowboy Line" was abandoned by the C&NW in 1992. The following year, the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy purchased the railroad's right-of-way for $6.2 million and donated it to the state of Nebraska. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is responsible for the development and maintenance of the trail.

Development of the trail has occurred at a rate of about 10 to 20 miles (15 to 30 km) each year. In the summer of 2009, the final segment between Valentine and Norfolk was completed, producing a continuous segment of 195 miles (314 km).

A short-line railroad (the Nebkota Railway) did operate on the westernmost 74 miles (119 km) of the Cowboy Trail (from Chadron to Merriman) until 2007. The Cowboy Trail in that section was to be built on an easement parallel to the railroad. In view of the abandonment of the final section, details of where the last section of the Cowboy Trail will be built are still being worked out.