OutdoorNebraska

6 Nebraska Game and Parks Commission • Floating The Good Life W H A T I S A W A T E R T R A I L ? A water trail is a designated recreation route on a river, creek, reservoir or lake. While water trails can be used by both motorized and non-motorized watercraft, this guide will focus primarily on non-motorized water trails due to increasing demand and a lack of access to smaller streams and water bodies that can only support paddle craft. Nebraska has 10 designated water trails (see Figure 1). Many of these trails were established more than 20 years ago and consist of several primitive put-in and take-out points. These trails also were established without a great deal of local participation and were put together mostly by active canoeists who had floated the waterways and knew the places that could legally be used for access and would give users an enjoyable float. NGPC would like to expand the water trail network throughout the state and can only do so with the help from local communities. NGPC also wants to encourage local communities to adopt and improve existing water trails and create new trails that can bring more people to those communities and increase economic vitality on a local level. NGPC also encourages the development of water trails on reservoirs and lakes within the state. Currently there are no designated water trails on impounded bodies of water. These types of trails are extremely popular in other states and Nebraska is already seeing more usage of paddle craft on lakes and reservoirs. While there are numerous communities that have lake/reservoirs that serve paddle crafts, none, to this date has been designated as a water trail. N A T I O N A L W A T E R T R A I L D E S I G N A T I O N In addition to having a water trail designated by NGPC, a local community also can get national recognition and promotion through the National Water Trail designation. The Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program (RTCA) of the National Parks Service has established a National Water Trails System. The intent of the National Water Trails System is to bring together existing and newly identified water trails into one cohesive national network of exemplary water trails. Designated water trails will connect Americans to the nation's waterways and strengthen the conservation and restoration of these waterways through the mutual support and cooperation of federal, state, and local governments as well as private organizations. KAYKING AT LOGAN CREEK Figure 1: Designated Water Trails in Nebraska

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