More than 150 years after the completion of the transcontinental railroad, an effort to link both coasts for cyclists, hikers and wanderers through 12 states remains a goal.
The national Rails to Trails Conservancy Project launched the 3,700-mile Great American Rail Trail project in 2019 with a goal to link the country with trails running from Washington, D.C., to Washington state.
So far, Wyoming remains a huge gap in securing routes for its 510 miles of the trail.
Kevin Belle, Washington, D.C.-based Rails to Trails Conservancy project manager, said the group is about 55% complete with 2,070 miles of trails designated — much of it in the East. There are still about 1,600 miles left to build including connection in Wyoming and Montana.
“There are actually 150 trails right now that make up the trail across the country,” he said. “We still have quite a bit of work to do in the Mountain West which is not surprising because largely we use old railroad lines that are not in service and there just weren’t that many in the West. So, we have to get creative in how we work on this trail.”
Belle said the Rails to Trails Conservancy just hired a project manager based in Montana to help shepherd the Great American Rail Trail project through Wyoming, Montana, and Washington.
“Our big goals now are to do a lot of planning,” he said. The organization works with hundreds of partners through the country as part of its goal.
Grant Submission
One of them in Wyoming is Douglas City Manager J. D. Cox who said this week he recently submitted a $250,000 grant proposal for planning the trail from Douglas to Casper to the Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program which is under the Department of Transportation.
Prior to the grant application, Cox met with both the Casper and Glenrock city councils to get their approval for the project.
At a Casper City Council work session, council members gave him a “thumbs up” of support for the application. He said the Glenrock council also were enthusiastic about the effort.
The Douglas grant request comes as the result of the city’s effort to focus on expanding outdoor recreational opportunities, Cox said. He said the city has paved bike trails along the North Platte River and with a local group of outdoor enthusiasts is working to develop a trail on “Douglas Mountain,” a hill in the city.
If the grant is approved, the funds would generate a feasibility study and route between Douglas and Casper — including seeking permission from landowners or government entities for the trail route.
Cox said he has already heard from one property owner who was interested.
“We have a property owner that is somewhat just a little bit east of Glenrock, (and) had heard about us doing this project, reached out to the city to say, ‘Hey, we'd like to be part of it,’” Cox said. “So that's pretty awesome.”
Cox said the “hope” would be that once funding is secured the route feasibility study would be completed within a year.
Casper’s Platte River Trails Executive Director Rachel Spear said she has been working with the Rails to Trails Conservancy as well as Cox, and leaders in Powell and Worland to try and figure out ways to connect the towns as part of the Great American Rail Trail.
“Casper is already considered a gateway trail,” she said. “It’s one of those base pieces for each section of trail.”
The Casper Rail Trail follows the old Chicago & North Western Railway route from the city’s east side to downtown Casper. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily) 
A map along the Casper Rail Trail shows additional trails available in the Casper region for bikers and hikers. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily) 
The Panhandle Trail in West Virginia represents one of the 150 trails that currently make up the Great American Rail Trail. (Courtesy Great American Rail Trail) 
The Great American Rail Trail in Washington State includes the Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail. (Courtesy Great American Rail Trail) 
Nebraska’s Cowboy Recreation and Nature Trail is part of the Great American Rail Trail. (Courtesy Great American Rail Trail)
Rail Trail In Casper
Spear said there are about six miles of rail trail from the old Chicago and Northwestern Railroad that currently exist in Casper that run from the state building downtown on Midwest Street to Hat Six Road at the east end of the city. Efforts are underway to extend that trail.
“The vision is to get people to the state park eventually. We have been working with E. K. Wilkins State Park staff and others,” she said. Spear said a study was conducted in 2021 that included the county, Wyoming Department of Transportation, and other entities to determine the best route to the park.
Platte River Trails Trust received a $300,000 Wyoming Outdoor Recreation grant for pathway surface construction from the current Hat Six Road termination of trail to a spot just across the highway from park.
“That will add just over two miles to the rail trail,” she said. “But at this point we are considering terminating that where the old railroad meets the highway. With plans to figure out how to get from one side of the highway to other to be determined.”
An initial thought to build a pedestrian overpass just across from the park entrance proved not viable. The group is now looking at an underpass and if that concept works it would likely enter the park close to where the old Oregon Trail exists “which would be pretty awesome to come in and have people connect to something historical.”
Engineering for the two miles of trail is complete, and pathway construction has started with crews currently taking down an old railroad bridge that was deemed unsafe. Spear said she anticipates the new two miles of trail being done this summer.
In Powell, also part of the Great American Rail Trail Route, Rebekah Burns, the executive director for the Powell Chamber of Commerce and Powell Economic Partnership, said planning efforts for a trail across Park County to Yellowstone National Park are underway.
“What it looks like for us is an 11-mile stretch from Garland to Ralston,” she said. “At that point it would cross the highway, and we are in conversations with organizations in Cody that would pick up the effort and take it to Cody and then inside the park.”
Burns said efforts for the trail section began a couple of years ago and there has been a lot of education provided to city councils and county commissioners about the rail trail. A petition supporting the project at the Rails to Trails Conservancy website received nearly 1,000 signatures, many from local and state residents but also from all 12 states along the nationwide route.
The map of Wyoming shows only 17 miles of the Great American Rail Trail completed. Efforts to plan sections between Douglas and Casper as well as Powell and Cody are underway. (Courtesy Great American Rail Trail) 
A map of the nation shows the 12 states that comprise the route for the Great American Rail Trail. While many of the trails are complete, Wyoming and Montana make up a major portion of the project yet to do. (Courtesy Great American Rail Trail)
Park County Route
The planned route in Park County would be next to U.S. Highway 14A between an irrigation canal and the railroad. Stakeholders involved in creating the trail include BNSF, the Shoshone Irrigation District, the Bureau of Reclamation, Park County, Powell, and local landowners.
“At this point we have contacted all of the above to garner interest and we are in the phases of funding for the design and surveying of the pathway,” she said. “Our objective is to give the plans over to the county and city and have them execute the capital construction.”
A fundraising effort for the planning of the trail included private and corporate donors and other sources, she said.
Belle said there are 17 miles of the trail done in Wyoming and the goal is to get it up to 100 miles but “that will take some time.” A total of 510.3 miles would be needed to take the non-motorized travelers from the border with Nebraska east of Lusk to the planned northern exit into Montana out of Yellowstone National Park.
Getting the Douglas to Glenrock to Casper portion done would be a big step forward, Belle said. He said each town is about 25 miles apart.
“And that’s perfect for a day trip, a long weekend, people stopping in each town and spending money on lunch, staying the night maybe and going home the next day,” he said. “We really want to see that corridor developed because we think it is a really instrumental piece in showing how this trail could be built across Wyoming.”
The Rails to Trails Conservancy estimates the trail in Wyoming would bring in $900,000 in new tax revenue, generate 900,000 trips a year, create 150 new jobs and add $7 million to the state’s gross domestic product.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
