Great American Rail-Trail In Nebraska
Nebraska’s Cowboy Trail | Photo by Alex Duryea, courtesy Nebraska Tourism Commission
The Great American Rail-Trail crosses from Iowa into Nebraska on the iconic Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge—a 3,000-foot cable-suspension structure over the Missouri River. The preferred route of the Great American Rail-Trail in Nebraska weaves through the urban areas of Omaha and Lincoln, connecting these population centers to the western, more rural, part of the state along one of the longest and most famous rail-trails in the country—the Cowboy Recreation and Nature Trail.
Nebraska stories along the Great American Rail-Trail
The “Great American” Route Through Nebraska
The Great American Rail-Trail crosses into Nebraska on the iconic Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge before weaving through the urban areas of Omaha and Lincoln. The existing mileage of the Cowboy Recreation and Nature Trail (the “Cowboy Trail”) takes trail users almost 40% of the way across the total planned mileage for Nebraska, with more miles set for the trail’s construction in the near future. With over 291 miles of trail gaps to develop along the preferred route through Nebraska, completing the Cowboy Trail will go a long way toward making the Great American a reality.
601.2
Total Miles312
Existing Miles291.1
Gap Miles51.9%
Complete
Great American Rail-Trail Route Assessment (2026)
The Great American Rail-Trail Route Assessment 2026 defined the preferred route of the Great American Rail- Trail as more than 3,700 miles—with 2,086 miles of existing trails and 1,674 miles of trail gaps.
Economic Potential of the Great American Rail-Trail Report (2022)
Investments could generate more than $229.4 million in visitor spending, $104 million in labor income, and $22.8 million in new tax revenue.
Trails Along the Route
Gateway Trail: Cowboy Recreation and Nature Trail
Nebraska’s Cowboy Trail offers an authentic Old West experience with friendly small towns and sweeping views of the High Plains and pristine prairie. At a whopping 219 miles, it’s already the third longest rail-trail in the country and yet has 100 more miles awaiting future development. With the stunning bridge over the Niobrara River and a wildlife-rich backdrop—including roaming bison, wild turkeys, elk and prairie dogs—this is a bucket-list trail for true adventurers. View trail map on TrailLink.
Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge
The Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge, discussed in more detail in the Iowa chapter of this report, has become a major community landmark. The bridge is lit at night to provide a safe and attractive connection throughout the day and night. Visitors taking the bridge into Omaha can travel about a half-mile south along the Omaha Riverfront Trail to the Omaha Visitors Center to learn more about Omaha and what it has to offer. People continuing along the Great American Rail-Trail will head west into Omaha along the recently completed “Baby Bob” bridge extension. In early 2025, a long-planned extension of the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge opened to facilitate an easier trail connection into downtown Omaha. Called the North Downtown Pedestrian Bridge (or “Baby Bob” Bridge), the bridge helps trail users cross the configuration of roads and railroads along the Missouri River frontage and connects to the Mike Fahey Street Shared-Use Path at North 10th Street. View trail map on TrailLink.
Burt Street Trail
The existing Burt Street Trail runs 0.8 mile between North 20th and North 30th streets in Omaha. The trail is a shared-use path that parallels Burt Street on the south side of the road. It is largely wide enough to accommodate both bicycle and pedestrian traffic, though there are small sections that narrow to a normal sidewalk width. This pathway provides a connection on the north side of the Creighton University campus.
Turner Boulevard Trail
The Turner Boulevard Trail connects to the Burt Street Trail at North 30th Street in Omaha. The trail is a shared-use path that runs along the west side of North 30th Street and Turner Boulevard, winding past several parks and neighborhoods and ending at the Field Club of Omaha.
Field Club Trail
The Field Club Trail travels 1.8 miles from the intersection of South 39th and Leavenworth streets south to the northern terminus of the South Omaha Trail. Of this trail, 1.4 miles beginning at the end of the Turner Boulevard Trail Extension will provide a connection through Omaha and the Hanscom Park neighborhood for the Great American Rail-Trail. The Field Club Trail occupies an old railroad bed that lies 30 feet below grade. View trail map on TrailLink.
South Omaha Trail
The South Omaha Trail connects the Field Club Trail to the Keystone Trail at its crossing of Little Papillion Creek. The South Omaha Trail is built on a former Chicago and North Western Transportation Company corridor with an old trestle crossing South 60th Street. View trail map on TrailLink.
Keystone Trail
The South Omaha Trail connects to the Keystone Trail at its crossing of Little Papillion Creek, though the Keystone Trail continues several miles north through much of western Omaha. The Keystone Trail partially follows the banks of Papillion Creek atop the flood control levees, while the remaining 2.3 miles are along an old rail corridor. The Great American Rail-Trail turns west once the Keystone Trail intersects the West Papio Trail near South 36th Street at its crossing of Big Papillion Creek in Bellevue. View trail map on TrailLink.
West Papio Trail
The West Papio Trail connects at its eastern end to the Keystone Trail and continues west toward the city of Elkhorn through the city of Papillion, following West Papillion Creek. At the western edge of Papillion, the Great American Rail-Trail heads south along South 96th Street toward the Walnut Creek Lake and Recreation Area to eventually connect to the MoPac Trail. The Great American Rail-Trail makes a brief on-street jog westward along Santa Fe Circle to access a trail underpass and safely cross underneath the busy state Route 370. View trail map on TrailLink.
Walnut Creek Lake Trail
The West Papio Trail connects to a trail system at Walnut Creek Lake, a 105-acre reservoir and mixed-use recreation area in Papillion. The lake and recreation area are under the management of the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District. The paved loop around Walnut Creek Lake is 3.3 miles and is complete with amenities including a campground, restrooms, water fountains and an equestrian trail.
MoPac Trail (Springfield)
The MoPac Trail exists in three segments, starting just north of Springfield to the north and ending in Lincoln to the south and west. Nearly the entire route rests on an abandoned Missouri Pacific Railroad corridor (the MoPac). View trail map on TrailLink.
Segment 1 – MoPac Trail (Springfield):
Beginning at Schram Road in Omaha, the MoPac Trail heads south along state Route 50 through the town of Springfield, where a former gap in the route between Platteview Road and Main Street was recently completed slightly away from the former MoPac rail line, allowing for uninterrupted off-road travel through Springfield. The MoPac Trail continues along the old rail corridor south of the Platte River, just north of the city of Louisville, where the trail heads west to parallel state Route 31. Once the trail reaches the Platte River at South Bend, there is a trailhead with parking as the trail continues to cross the Platte River over the Lied Platte River Bridge.
Segments 2 (MoPac Trail East) and 3 (MoPac Trail West)
are discussed on the following sections.
Platte River Connection
A connection across the Platte River at the village of South Bend, Nebraska, was completed in 2002, using an abandoned Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad bridge. The bridge across the river is now known as the Lied Platte River Bridge, named after the Lied Foundation, a major contributor to the project. The bridge was heavily damaged by flooding in March 2019. The Lower Platte South Natural Resources District and the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District collaborated to repair and reopen the bridge to the public in July 2021.
MoPac East Trail
The second segment of the MoPac Trail, following the old corridor of the Missouri Pacific Railroad’s Omaha Belt Line, travels 20.7 miles between Wabash and Lincoln. This eastern segment of the MoPac Trail is very rural and travels on a crushed stone path through prairie, woodland and farmland. A separate equestrian trail, the Charles L. Warner Equestrian Trail, is provided along the majority of the trail. Here, the MoPac Trail East connects to the MoPac Trail West to make the rest of the voyage into Lincoln. View trail map on TrailLink.
MoPac Trail West
The third segment of the MoPac Trail starts at South 84th Street, east of Lincoln, and travels 6.2 miles into downtown Lincoln. The MoPac Trail West travels through many neighborhoods in Lincoln and helps connect the two campuses of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. View trail map on TrailLink.
Antelope Valley Trail
The Antelope Valley Trail runs roughly south to north through downtown Lincoln, with Lincoln High School to the south and Salt Creek to the north. The trail passes Trago Park, Union Park Plaza and the Bob Devaney Center.
Salt Creek Levee Trail
The Salt Creek Levee Trail connects a trail along the levee of Salt Creek from its confluence with Oak Creek down to the Jamaica North Trail. The Great American Rail-Trail will utilize the northern mile of the Salt Creek Levee Trail connecting the Antelope Valley Trail to the Oak Lake Connector Trail at a bridge crossing Salt Creek.
Oak Lake Connector Trail
The Oak Lake Connector Trail travels around Oak Lake Park along Charleston and North 1st streets in Lincoln, connecting to a shared-use path along North 1st Street at U.S. 6/Cornhusker Highway.
North 1st Street Trail
A shared-use path runs along the length of North 1st Street from U.S. 6/Cornhusker Highway northwest to Superior Street. The trail is made of concrete and is approximately 10 feet wide, running along the northbound lane of North 1st Street.
Superior Street Trail
A 0.2-mile section of the Superior Street Trail will host the Great American Rail-Trail between North 1st Street and a connection to the Highlands Trail at Technology Drive in Lincoln. The Superior Street Trail is primarily a commuter route following its namesake thoroughfare from U.S. 6/ Cornhusker Highway to the Highlands neighborhood at the western edge of the city.
Highlands Trail
The Highlands Trail offers a pleasant 2.6-mile loop through Lincoln’s Highlands neighborhood, providing the western link of the series of trails that travels through Lincoln. Those following the Great American Rail-Trail can follow the trail 1.3 miles along West Highland Boulevard and connect north along NW 12th Street to the Highlands Trail’s terminus near NW 10th Street.
Oak Creek Trail
The Oak Creek Trail occupies a former Union Pacific Railroad corridor between the Nebraska villages of Valparaiso and Brainard. The trail travels 13 miles through Saunders and Butler counties. Across the county line is the tiny community of Loma, where restrooms are located just off the trail near the St. Luke Czech Catholic Shrine in the center of town. An equestrian trail runs adjacent to the Oak Creek Trail for its entire route, and horse trailer parking can be found at the trailheads in Valparaiso and Loma. View trail map on TrailLink.
Third Avenue Viaduct Trail
The 3rd Avenue viaduct was an infrastructure project decades in the making. Prior to its completion, travelers heading north or south along 3rd Avenue between 8th Street and U.S. 30 were forced to cross a tangle of Union Pacific Railroad tracks at street level. The finished viaduct, which opened in August 2018, includes a concrete path between 8th and 19th streets (just south of U.S. 30), ensuring safe passage over the tracks for drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians. The trail is part of a trail network in Columbus known as CART (Columbus Area Recreational Trails).
Robert White Trail
In Columbus, the Robert White Trail runs 1.5 miles between 18th Avenue/Monastery Road and the start of the Bob Lake Trail at the intersection of 65th and 68th streets. The trail follows the southern shore of Lake Babcock for its duration.
Bob Lake Trail
The Bob Lake Trail runs 1.2 miles between the northern terminus of the Robert White Trail at 65th and 68th streets, south of 83rd Street. The trail follows the southwestern shore of Lake Babcock for part of its route.
White River Trail
The White River Trail runs along a former Chicago and North Western Transportation Company corridor for 2.8 miles, starting in Crawford and ending at Fort Robinson State Park. Fort Robinson encompasses the fort and military camp that was home to the Red Cloud Agency in the 1870s. The agency served as an issuing point for supplies to the Oglala Lakota tribe of the Great Sioux Nation, as well as the Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes, authorized in exchange for land ceded to the United States in 1868.
Fort Robinson is also the site of Crazy Horse’s surrender and death in 1877, and visitors can find a historical plaque that marks the location. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission handles the ongoing operations and maintenance of the White River Trail, while the city of Crawford maintains the portion of the trail outside of Fort Robinson State Park.
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Completing the Great American Rail-Trail: Catalyst Initiatives in Nebraska
In every state along the preferred route of the Great American, needs for completing the trail vary. To spur trail completion, RTC has identified initial catalyst initiatives—projects or challenges that would most benefit from RTC’s national breadth of resources. (View the complete list of catalyst initiatives and criteria here.) Through these initiatives, RTC will support local and state partners, investing time, expertise and organizational resources in specific projects that are critical to the ultimate completion of the Great American Rail-Trail.
Great American Rail-Trail Gap #55: South Bend to Wabash (MoPac Trail Gap)
RTC will work with the local partnership, including Bike Walk Nebraska, the Nebraska Trails Foundation and the Great Plains Trail Network, pursuing strategies to complete this gap in the MoPac Trail—the last significant gap to complete a trail between Nebraska’s two population centers, Omaha and Lincoln. RTC will provide technical and planning assistance in the form of strategic planning; local-property owner engagement; alternative analysis; completing a feasibility study; cost estimation; and design, engineering and construction assistance.
Great American Rail-Trail Preferred Route
