North Face Omaha NE

Activities: Hiking, Mountain Biking, Road Cycling, Snowshoeing

Info:
Location: Nearly state wide
State: Nebraska
Length: 1.5 mile loop
Surface: Crushed Rock/Natural, asphalt
Trail type: Bike, Hiking
Difficulty: Easy

Description: The 19th century’s great western migration laced Nebraska with travel corridors — the Oregon-California Trail, the Pony Express bridge route, the Mormon Trail. The longest bridge on the Cowboy Trail, near Valentine NebraskaMost have nearly vanished; their remaining traces are ruts crossing pastures, historical road signs that mark would-be intersections with modern highways, and a few restored way stations. The routes that have endured were laid with rails and connected population and resource centers. The Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe lines, traced by parallel highways, remain sturdy bones in the nation’s transportation network. Somewhere between the almost gone and the commercially robust routes lies the Cowboy Recreation and Nature Trail — a historical corridor in transition. Once part of the Chicago & North Western railroad’s Cowboy Line, the route covers 321 miles across northern Nebraska from Norfolk to Chadron. From east to west, the trail passes through the farmland of the Elkhorn River valley, into Plains ranchland, across the scenic Niobrara River valley, along the northern Sandhills and to the edge of the Pine Ridge. The Cowboy Trail is the longest rail-to-trail conversion in progress in the United States, which includes a 148-foot high bridge over the Niobrara River at Valentine.

Activities: Hiking, Mountain Biking, Road Cycling, Snowshoeing

Info:
Location:Fort Kearney State Recreation area.
State: Nebraska
Length:8.8 miles
Trail Surface: natural ground
Trail type: Hiking/backpacking,biking,cross country skiing
Difficulty: Easy Nebraska has long been known for its historic trails, which carried early explorers, adventurers and pioneers.