The Chicago & Northwestern railroad’s “Cowboy Line” was active for more than one hundred years—delivering gold from the Black Hills, transporting livestock from the ranches in the West, and carrying passengers through northern Nebraska. Now the 321-mile-long rail line is being remade into Nebraska’s first state recreational trail which, when completed, will become the nation’s longest rail-to-trail conversion. Nebraska’s Cowboy Trail: A User’s Guide is the essential companion for anyone planning to hike, bike, or ride horseback on the Cowboy Recreation and Nature Trail, which currently extends from Norfolk to Valentine and will eventually stretch all the way to Chadron. The trail runs through numerous communities, accommodates multiple uses, and provides an up-close look at the ecology of the Great Plains—a view too easily missed when speeding by in a car. Keith Terry’s guidebook enhances appreciation of the trail’s natural advantages with descriptions of the region’s flora and fauna and with pointers for food, lodging, and camping. He also provides brief narratives about historical events that occurred along the route. This guide illuminates a historical corridor of the Great Plains and will heighten the trail user’s experience.

Nebraskas Cowboy Line existed for nearly 125 years and covered more than 400 miles as it made its way across the northern portion of the state. The construction of the rail line, which started in 1869, was the impetus for the establishment of many towns, and even the relocation of some, along the route. The line was employed to transport miners to the Black Hills during the gold rush of the late 1800s, it carried thousands of Irish and German immigrants to the largely unsettled area, and it allowed politicians to meet their constituents. It also was used to deliver necessities, amusements, technology, and new innovations to the states citizenry.

If, as Wallace Stegner said, the national park is “the best idea we ever had,” the rail-trail is certainly a close runner-up. Part transportation corridor, part park, the rail-trail has revolutionized the way America creates high-quality, car-free pathways for bicyclists, runners, walkers, equestrians, and more. It was only a few decades after railroad barons had run roughshod over America’s economy and politics that they began to shed nearly one hundred thousand miles of unneeded railroad corridor. At the same time, bicyclists were being so thoroughly pushed off ever-more-intimidating roadways they came close to extinction. Through political organizing and lawyerly grit, an unlikely, formerly marginalized advocacy arose, seized on seemingly worthless strips of land, and created a resource that is treasured by millions of Americans today for recreation, purposeful travel, tourism, conservation, and historical interpretation. From Rails to Trails is the fascinating tale of the rails-to-trails movement as well as a consideration of what the continued creation of rail-trails means for the future of Americans’ health, nonmotorized transportation networks, and communities across the country.

An old cowboy recalls a big cattle drive from Texas to Montana in 1882