Nebraskaland

April 2025 • Nebraskaland 25 their bodies — they don't need gas, but they need bananas, water and whatever else to make it to where they're going," Borg said. "I would have never imagined how many people bike the trail during the summer. A lot of Americans do it, but there are also so many people from overseas. This past summer, we had a lot of visitors from Europe." Borg helped promote the trail in fall 2024 by getting firsthand experience in one of its premier activities. Even though she doesn't consider herself to be a runner, she was persuaded by fellow community members to enter the Cowboy 200, a grueling footrace that covers the trail's entire distance between Norfolk and Valentine. She made it 36 miles before bowing out of the 100-mile category. This year's race is set for Sept. 26. Working Away With little revenue to support the trail, Game and Parks has had challenges maintaining and developing it since the beginning, "We are statutorily mandated to develop, operate and maintain this corridor as a state recreational trail, so we are doing our best with what resources we have," Duryea said. With the trail's position in the Elkhorn Valley, occasional high waters have caused problems. Flooding in 2010 washed out a large section of trail and several bridges east of Clearwater that have yet to be repaired due to funding and logistics, forcing a detour along Highway 275. In 2019, flooding resulted in five Federal Emergency Management Area disaster sites along the trail. Three of these locations have been fixed with disaster funding. They include sites just west of Norfolk and Neligh, and another east of Long Pine. Remaining is a spot between Neligh and Oakdale where floodwaters washed away the approaches to a bridge that still stands. The other location to be fixed is erosion around a twin 260-foot-long, 4-by-8-foot box culvert underneath about 80 feet of embankment east of Valentine. "If you're just walking along the trail, you'd have no idea that it's even there," Duryea said. "It's a costly repair because it's in a remote, hard-to-get-to location." The setbacks from flooding have slowed new development, but progress is being made. An increased focus on maintenance has made the trail more enjoyable for users in recent years. It also has seen a boost in advocacy from its communities, with some stakeholders along the route forming the Cowboy Trail Coalition. The Cowboy Trail got a boost in publicity in 2019 when the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy announced an effort to connect Washington D.C. with Washington's Pacific Coast via what they dubbed the Great American Rail-Trail. With its central location, the Cowboy Trail is key to the effort which links 150 existing rail trails on the 3,700-mile-long route. Kevin Belle, the conservancy's project manager for the effort, said more than half of the trail is already in place and that it has already become popular even though numerous gaps exist along the way. "The Cowboy Trail is a big part of our history. You all are pretty important with your location as the midpoint, and also because you're one of the longest rails-to-trails conversions Tackling the Trail The Cowboy Recreation and Nature Trail is open to hiking, running, cycling and other non-motorized travel. Horses are allowed alongside the trail, too. Mountain bikes with large tires, such as fat bikes and 29ers, are recommended. Especially late in summer, the burs of puncturevine (shown above), or "goatheads," are present in many places, so riders should be equipped with extra tubes with internal sealant and an air pump. Class 1, 2 and 3 eBikes — pedal-assisted with a top speed of 28 mph — are permitted. Visit OutdoorNebraska.gov for information about the trail, including a list of events planned for its anniversary. ARTW ARTWORK ORK BY T BY TIM R IM REIGE EIGERT, RT NEBR NEBRASKA ASKALAND LAND Todd and Mary-Ann Madison of Valentine ride bikes on the Cowboy Trail, passing through the Sandhills southeast of Valentine in Cherry County. ERIC FOWLER, NEBRASKALAND

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