Get Tanked

How Cornhuskers float their rivers.

Northwestern Nebraska is a little pocket where you can escape the tech boom and Instagram frenzy of Colorado’s Front Range. Go hike the trails at Chadron State Park or grind the gravel on The Spotted Tail Trail and you will feel transported back in time to when the West was quiet. But if you want to truly do the full Nebraska thing, go tanking. This DIY form of paddling consists of hopping in a stock tank— what cows drink out of on the range—and using it like a massive bathtub boat to float the slow meanders of the North Platte (contact Dusty Trails outfitters, dustytrailsbiz.squarespace.com ), Niobrara (Little Outlaw, outlawcanoe.com), or Middle Loup (Glidden Canoe Rental, sandhillsmotel.com) rivers. A typical tank fits a family of four pretty comfortably or it can be a sort-of romantic variation of rollin’ in the hay for two.