MoPac East Trail

The MoPac East Recreational Trail is a 22-mile crushed limestone trail through some of southeast Nebraska's finest wildlife habitat. It offers year-round recreation for hikers, joggers, bicyclists, horseback riders, cross country skiers and wildlife watchers. Owned and maintained by the Lower Platte South NRD the trail also serves as an environmental education and public awareness tool.

The MoPac stretches east from Lincoln through the communities of Walton, Eagle, Elmwood and Wabash, featuring a blend of hometown, woodland and agricultural scenery along a former Missouri Pacific Railroad corridor. The final two miles of the corridor beyond Wabash are maintained as a nature trail, only. The rail line was active until 1984, when heavy rains destroyed a portion of track near Elmwood. The Nebraska Trails Foundation and the Great Plains Trails Network raised the funds to purchase the trail property. The property was then deeded to the Lower Platte South NRD on July 3, 1991, and the MoPac East Recreational Trail was born.

The MoPac East Trail connects to the MoPac Trail in Lincoln near 84th Street, linking it to the more than sixty mile city trail network. The trail is completed from Lincoln to Wabash, a distance of 22 miles. Eventually it will reach the Platte River Connection and Lied Platte River Bridge, a bridge over the Platte River at South Bend, with future connections to the Omaha trail network. A marked county road route currently exists between Wabash and the Platte River Connection.

Within the MoPac East corridor and paralleling the limestone trail is the separate, natural surfaced Charles L. Warner Equestrian Trail. The equestrian trailhead is at 98th & A Streets and the trail extends to Elmwood, and will eventually continue to Wabash. Charles L. Warner was a well-known horseman and long-time LPSNRD Director, who was a supporter of MoPac equestrian use.

Trail users will find an abundance of attractions along and near the trail. Famed Nebraska Author and Nebraska Hall of Fame member Bess Streeter Aldrich (1881-1954) did much of her writing about pioneering in the Midwest from her home in Elmwood, Nebraska. The community served as the setting for several of her books. Refreshments and other services are available in all of the communities.