Homestead Conservation Trails Association

Chief Standing Bear Trail is the result of a multiple-year rail-to-trail project that converted an abandoned railway line to a crushed limestone path for runners, walkers, and cyclists. The trail runs from Beatrice, Nebraska south and east to the Kansas state line and on to Marysville, Kansas in the valley of the Big Blue River. In Nebraska the trail roughly follows the path that Chief Standing Bear and his people took from their Oklahoma reservation to their ancestral homelands along the Niobrara River in northern Nebraska. 

The Homestead Conservation and Trails Association is a volunteer-run nonprofit entity charged with managing the trail. 100% of funds raised are used to maintain and improve the trail.

Recent activity includes renovations to the trailhead at Barneston, Nebraska including planting of ten trees last fall and native grasses & pollinators in the Spring of 2026. We continue efforts to replace the well at the Blue Springs trailhead. The current well is very shallow and no longer delivers water. An attempt was made to drill another well, but no water was found. This fundraiser will help us offset the significant expense of connecting to rural water, once we have the funds to do so.