The corridor that is now the MoPac Trail was part of the Missouri Pacific Railroad's Omaha Belt Line until 1984.
The deed to this land was then transferred to the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District.
The MoPac East section opened in 1994 and is part of the national American Discovery Trail network.
To the east, the MoPac is planned to be connected with a trail extending south and west of Omaha.
As of 2010, the portion from Springfield on Nebraska Highway 50 is completed and extends southward towards to the Platte River.