COVER STORY
A Nebraska Legacy
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When complete, Nebraska’s Cowboy Trail will span 317 miles, connecting 30 rural communities and all four of the state’s distinct ecoregions. Here we examine the geography, reach and impact of this Nebraskan outdoor mecca, which turned 30 in 2025. By Cory Matteson
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TRIBUTE: IN MEMORY OF GUY O. WILLIAMS
PATHWAYS TO PURPOSE
REMEMBERING HEART MOUNTAIN
BY LAURA STARK
BY AMY KAPP
BY ASHLEY STIMPSON
Sometimes trails can push us beyond what we think we’re capable of, helping us to change and grow in ways we might never have expected. Learn how five trail aficionados made their lives extraordinary on pathways across the country.
In this History Along the Great American Rail-Trail ® article, we explore what life was like for the people forced to relocate to the Heart Mountain WWII Japanese American Confinement Site in 1942 through the memories of a surviving incarceree, Sam Mihara.
RTC remembers Guy O. Williams, who passed away on July 29, 2025. A nationally respected leader in the trails and environmental justice movements, Williams tirelessly endeavored to make communities
better places to live and the outdoors accessible for all.
Departments
ON THE COVER: Nebraska’s Cowboy Recreation and Nature Trail near Valentine Photo by Clay Cook, courtesy Visit Nebraska
Left // I Support Rails to Trails Conservancy William Casey (North Carolina) Left // From #TeamRTC/Featured Letter to the Editor 02 // Point of View 03 // RTC Quarterly Report 04 // Best Of Railbanked Trails Across America 06 // Emerging Rail-Trails New Mexico’s Albuquerque Rail Trail 26 // TrailNation Spotlight Philadelphia Opens Critical New Bridge Connection 27 // A View From … the 2025 Hall of Fame Inductee: Kansas’ Flint Hills Trail State Park 30 // Destination Pennsylvania’s Great Allegheny Passage: Uncommon Accommodations Inside Back Cover // Featured Map Nebraska’s Cowboy Recreation and Nature Trail
PHOTOS: Counterclockwise, from top: Cowboy Recreation and Nature Trail in Nebraska | Jonathan Egan; Heart Mountain WWII Japanese American Confinement Site | Tom Parker, courtesy National Archives and Records Administration; Guy Williams headshot | Courtesy Guy Williams; Rachel Jones on Colorado’s Manitou Incline | Courtesy Rachel Jones. 1
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