April 2020 • Nebraskaland 25
water trail on the Platte between Fremont and Plattsmouth.
Under the Commission's Venture Parks initiative, new access
points were developed on the Lower Platte at Schramm Park
and Louisville state recreation areas, and a stop midway at
Platte River State Park, making a 6-mile section of the trail,
located within an hour of more than half of the state's 1.9
million residents, more user friendly.
The Platte River begins nearly 900 miles west of this
section of the water trail, on 12,000-foot-high peaks high in
the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Its north fork, the North
Platte, fl ows into Wyoming and turns east, entering the
Nebraska Panhandle near Henry. The South Platte fl ows
northeast through Colorado and into Nebraska near Big
Springs. The two forks join at North Platte to form the Platte,
which ends just 16 miles below the trail where it meets the
Missouri River.
Through most of Nebraska, the river fl ows through a
valley so broad it might be imperceptible to some. By the
time it reaches Schramm Park, its valley is narrow, bordered
by picturesque wooded bluff s that rise from one bank or the
other, providing a scenic backdrop that adds to the experience
on this water trail.
The Platte is a braided river, with many small channels
winding between its high banks, constantly shifting the
sand and gravel that make up its bed and forming expansive
sandbars. It typically fl ows at between 2 and 3 miles per hour
in this reach, so paddling only enough to keep on course you
Lied Platte River Bridge is part of the MoPac Trail in Cass and Sarpy counties. It will be part of a
yet-to-be-completed hike-bike trail connecting Lincoln and Omaha.
