Find the top rated trails in Columbus, whether you're looking an easy walking path or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
The scenic Two Lakes Trail runs for 2.4 miles between where 48th Avenue crosses the Loup Canal, and the start of the Bob Lake Trail, and Lakeview Road at 18th Avenue. The trail follows the northern...
The Robert White Trail runs for 1.5 miles between the start of the Bob Lake Trail, where the trails converge near 65th Street, and 18th Avenue/Monastery Road. There is no shade. The trail follows the...
Nebraska's Oak Creek Trail, occupying a former Union Pacific Railroad corridor in the eastern part of the state, is about as rural a trail as you will find in the United States. While the trail is...
The Bob Lake Trail runs for 1.3 miles between 48th Avenue and the start of the Robert White Trail where the trails converge near 65th Street. The trail follows the southwest shore of Lake Babcock,...
The Wilderness Park Trail offers a convenient, paved route past the popular 42-acre Wilderness Park Soccer Complex with its ten regulation-size fields. The trail is 1.5 miles, but connects with the...
Located on the eastern side of Seward, Nebraska, the Plum Creek Trail runs for nearly 3 miles through open fields and dense woodland. As its name suggests, the trail follows the course of Plum Creek...
Traversing through 8 miles of central Nebraska, the Dark Island Trail runs from the outskirts of the small town of Central City to the edge of the even smaller village of Marquette. The trail's unique...
The scenic Two Lakes Trail runs for 2.4 miles between where 48th Avenue crosses the Loup Canal, and the start of the Bob Lake Trail, and Lakeview Road at 18th Avenue. The trail follows the northern...
The Bob Lake Trail runs for 1.3 miles between 48th Avenue and the start of the Robert White Trail where the trails converge near 65th Street. The trail follows the southwest shore of Lake Babcock,...
Portions of the Cowboy Trail are closed because of damages from flooding of the Elkhorn River in 2010. Please refer to Nebraska's Game & Parks website for updates. The Cowboy Trail, one of the...
The Wilderness Park Trail offers a convenient, paved route past the popular 42-acre Wilderness Park Soccer Complex with its ten regulation-size fields. The trail is 1.5 miles, but connects with the...
Located on the eastern side of Seward, Nebraska, the Plum Creek Trail runs for nearly 3 miles through open fields and dense woodland. As its name suggests, the trail follows the course of Plum Creek...
Nebraska's Oak Creek Trail, occupying a former Union Pacific Railroad corridor in the eastern part of the state, is about as rural a trail as you will find in the United States. While the trail is...
Traversing through 8 miles of central Nebraska, the Dark Island Trail runs from the outskirts of the small town of Central City to the edge of the even smaller village of Marquette. The trail's unique...
The Robert White Trail runs for 1.5 miles between the start of the Bob Lake Trail, where the trails converge near 65th Street, and 18th Avenue/Monastery Road. There is no shade. The trail follows the...
Traversing through 8 miles of central Nebraska, the Dark Island Trail runs from the outskirts of the small town of Central City to the edge of the even smaller village of Marquette. The trail's unique...
The scenic Two Lakes Trail runs for 2.4 miles between where 48th Avenue crosses the Loup Canal, and the start of the Bob Lake Trail, and Lakeview Road at 18th Avenue. The trail follows the northern...
The Wilderness Park Trail offers a convenient, paved route past the popular 42-acre Wilderness Park Soccer Complex with its ten regulation-size fields. The trail is 1.5 miles, but connects with the...
Located on the eastern side of Seward, Nebraska, the Plum Creek Trail runs for nearly 3 miles through open fields and dense woodland. As its name suggests, the trail follows the course of Plum Creek...
Portions of the Cowboy Trail are closed because of damages from flooding of the Elkhorn River in 2010. Please refer to Nebraska's Game & Parks website for updates. The Cowboy Trail, one of the...
Nebraska's Oak Creek Trail, occupying a former Union Pacific Railroad corridor in the eastern part of the state, is about as rural a trail as you will find in the United States. While the trail is...
The Robert White Trail runs for 1.5 miles between the start of the Bob Lake Trail, where the trails converge near 65th Street, and 18th Avenue/Monastery Road. There is no shade. The trail follows the...
The Bob Lake Trail runs for 1.3 miles between 48th Avenue and the start of the Robert White Trail where the trails converge near 65th Street. The trail follows the southwest shore of Lake Babcock,...
Road from Valparaiso to Brainard and back. We saw about 6 other bikers and a few walkers/joggers. Total of about 10 people the entire ride. Trail is in great shape. Some of the intersections with county roads have a lot of loose gravel, but other than that, no issues. Stopped for a burger and a beer at Husker Bar II in Brainard. Had a great time on this ride.
My son and I drove up from Omaha to Norfolk and on to Long Pine for a biking, hiking, fishing weekend. Only rode the trail from Norfolk west for 5 miles, about halfway to Battle Creek. That part of the trail was very nice - 2 miles of concrete and 3 miles of pea gravel. Nice bridge over the Elkhorn River. However, further west the trail parallels Hwys. 275 & 20. We could see a lot of it from the road as we drove and the further west we drove, the worse it looked. There were sections where it was almost completely overgrown with weeds. Would not want to ride there at all. It's too bad, this could be a very nice trail, but central sections are very neglected if maintained at all. Hence, the 3 star rating.
This is a beautiful walk with a little bit of each kind of scenery found in Nebraska. Past corn fields, ranches, and prairie, you'll want a hat for the sun, but there are also beautiful areas of forest with welcome shade. The surfacing still reaches no further south than SR 66. After that all the way to Marquette, you have to walk on old railroad gravel, a little uncomfortable to the feet, but to many, worth it for the views and serenity.
There is also a lot of wildlife to see along the trail. I saw hawks, deer, rabbits, chipmunks, butterflies, and numerous kinds of songbirds. Of course, the farm animals are present; don't miss the miniature horses that you can see from the trail near Marquette. In season, the wildflowers are a treat as well.
There was active preparation for lengthening the upgraded surfacing when I went through. The main down side to the trail at this time is walking on the big sharp gravel of the old railroad bed. Google Maps needs to catch up with the fact that it's no longer a railroad south of the country club into Marquette.
Crushed white rock surface from the trailhead east of the high school to the Hwy 66 crossing, about two miles. Past that, even walking would be challenging. You might be able to ride a fat bike from Hwy 66 to Hwy 14 but that might even be tough. This is still a beautiful trail and the Bader Bridge is outstanding! Lots of work to be done. Who ever got it this far deserves a big round of applause! I hope the debris along the bridge can get pulled out before it takes out the bridge.
Beautiful, peaceful trail. The scenery changes from a treelined trail with steep drop-offs, to hilly fields and old buildings. There is plenty of wildlife to enjoy as well. We enjoyed our tours through Brainard and Loma, which included the old Czech dance hall and the beautiful catholic churches.
this is a beautiful nature trail, connecting 3 great small towns and now that the Loma Tavern (which is on facebook) is open with its many bands, food, and cold pivo it makes this trail so much better for all
I've used biking as a means to escape reality and exercise over the last couple of years. Living in Lincoln is very convenient as there are trails everywhere. When I have an hour or two to kill I can easily go out and enjoy the outdoors. One thing I've really been hung up on is isolation. I want to really get away and this trail is perfect.
About 20 minutes away is Valparaso. Nice little town where our trail starts. There is a gas station that will be your best bet to get a drink or a snack. Starting here on my Cannondale CX-2 I will pace myself.
The ride has a slight incline most of the way and you'll feel it most of the 13 miles. All crushed rock, my brothers road bike seemed to handle it just fine. Loma has an operating bathroom at just over 7 miles. I usually take 45 minutes each way. I highly advise you bring a tube, because you'll be walking otherwise should you get a flat. This is true isolation.
There is no place I'd rather go than this trail. You will feel alone and in the wild. I've chased turkey, squirrels, deer, rabbits, and a badger. (Not the best decision to chase a badger) Val to Loma feels like the woods and Loma to Brainard will give you the great plains. I usually take this trip as the sun is setting. It is absolutely beautiful at this time. Yes, I'm that guy biking in the dead of night.
To wrap this up, this trail is the best therapy. You will feel alone and at one with the elements in the wild. I rarely see anyone, especially at night. Been taking this trail lately atleast twice a week. Couldn't ask for anything better and within 20 miles of my home. Make sure and support the local businesses. There is a hydrant in Brainard to refill your water and a bar. Check the hours if you plan to stop before. :)
Limestone installation is not yet finished between 28th St in Central City and Hwy 66. A hard surface should be in place by mid-July pending acceptable weather. It's still not ready for bikes or strollers.
After a not very pleasant ride on the west end of this trail last fall, tried the East end in May 2015. Much nicer trail. Started in Norfolk and went out 1 mile past Battle Creek before impending rain forced me to turn around and head back. No issues at all in the 11 miles from Norfolk to just past Battle Creek. Except for getting rained on, very nice ride!
There is a lot said about this trail in other reviews, but there's just a few things that I want to add.
I decided to start in Valparaiso. I found the trailhead there easily, from the maps, but after I parked and walked around a bit, I found that the restroom which looked so handy, was locked up. I don't know its 'open' hours, but I would not count on it being open...at least at 9:30 Saturday mornings. There is a nice gas station a block away tho, and easily visible from the trailhead, so you can use its facilities and get your snacks there if need be. They were very nice when I went in.
I was a bit confused as to where the trail started, as it does not start at that spot, which has a sign that reads "trailhead' and has all the parking and decorations. There is one little yellow seemingly out of place sign at the park, that reads 'cycling'. I knew the old railroad headed out of town to the west tho, from map gawking on my pre-ride research, so I headed a few blocks west, and found it. Once your at the large marked trailhead, you need to ride about 2 blocks west, then 1 block north, and you will see the actual start of the trail, marked by a couple typical wood placard covered billboard type structures. That is also where the trail funds go for your daily ride fee. There may have been an obvious connection to there at one time, but I didn't see it.
When you get to Loma, you might not even know it. You will see the restroom there, from the trail, so no need to go off trail at Loma. The restroom there is....very basic, but very nice to have there :) There's a concrete pad there also, which looks to be for a picnic table or something, but the pad was bare. Still....nice spot for a rest. Once you get this far, your a bit more than 1/2 way to Brainard. Take the break...the rest of the way to Brainard is more uphill, and windy.
The last couple miles at the top, just before arriving Brainard, get easier. Flatter. You can gain some speed again.
As you come into Brainard, theres a nice little covered picnic table spot for lunch.
I did not spend much time in Brainard, due to bad afternoon forecasts, and already been lightly sprinkled on once, and had 13 miles to go to get back to my van still.
I rode this one a bit faster than I normally do, just due to the afternoon forecast, but I made 10 mph avg, and spent 2 hr 40 min riding, and the whole trip took me about 3 hr 45 minutes. I was tired when I got back. I hit the gas station for a Gatorade and a ice cream cookie sandwich.
Issues...I didn't really see any with the trail. The only cut out parts were from normal country road grading, which are typical. Most of them did not even really slow me down. I found very few critter holes in the trails, and they were small. There is a tiny amount of grass in the trail in the northern section...but not enough to even really mention....nothing that makes an issue for trail riders. There was one spot up near Brainard that had a 20 foot section under about 5 inches of water, but I coasted thru that with no problems, other than a couple squeeks from my brakes afterwards.
This is a nice trail. It will make you tired tho. I rode north, then south. I had the winds in my face on the way back/downhill, so never could get into a speed groove I had hoped, but it was a fun ride. I saw NOBODY the entire time I was on it!
The only reason I give it less than 5 stars, is that the restroom was not open as I had been led to think.
We did a 40 mile ride in October 2014, starting in Valentine and, except for the first 5 miles, the trail was not in good condition. A 2 or 3 mile stretch of continuous washboard almost made us turn around. At about mile 18, we hit a stretch that was very overgrown with weeds and our tires become covered in stickers. That did make us turn around. (We did a few miles around town to give us a nice round 40 miles.)
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