Cowboy Trail — Valentine, NE
On October 15, 2024, we walked a section of the Cowboy Trail just outside Valentine. The timing could hardly have been better. Fall color was starting to show across the Niobrara River valley, the weather was comfortable, and the wide-open Nebraska scenery looked about as good as it gets.
The Cowboy Trail follows an abandoned railroad corridor and is one of the country’s largest Rails-to-Trails projects. Near Valentine, the route includes the former railroad bridge over the Niobrara River — about a quarter-mile long and 148 feet above the river.
We only walked a small part of the trail, but it was enough to understand why people make longer trips out of it. This was one of those simple stops where the season, the scenery, and being outside together were really all we needed.
