Nebraska Communities
Learn about Nebraska communities.
Nebraska Sights

  Tip: Return to your last location

Parks and Trails

 

Water Sports
Learn about Nebraska Waters.
Nebraska Waters

    This space is waiting for a great photo.

Omaha & Neighbors

    Omaha
    Bellevue
    Council Bluffs
    Dundee
    Florence
    Papillion
    Plattsmouth
    Lincoln
    Sioux City
    Sioux Falls
    Columbus
    Grand Island
    Kearney
    Des Moines
    Ames
    Davenport
    Cedar Rapids
    Iowa City
    North Platte
    Sidney
    Scottsbluff
    Kansas City
    St. Louis

 

Recommend us to a friend!

Saves a Favorite (bookmarks the site)

 
Parks

From the early days of Omaha's history, we have set aside special areas as our parks.  We have some beautiful parks for just about any occasion.  Downtown has Heartland of America Park, with a beautiful water jet and light show in its lake.

Memorial Park, honoring soldiers killed in W.W.II, the Korean War, and Vietnam, is right on Dodge (55th) and cannot be easily missed.  The park is favored for kite flying, sunning, and sledding.  You will get a different perspective if you drive into the park (from Cass St.).

To the west of town, we have parks with lakes for sailing, boating, and fishing.  Standing Bear Lake, Glen Cunningham Lake, Zorinsky Lake, and Wehrspann Lake all have hiking, and biking trails, perfect for bird watching or to get your exercise.

Near the airport is Freedom Park and Museum, right on the Missouri River.  See the U.S.S. Hazard Minesweeper and the U.S.S. Marlin submarine there along with additional displays.

Near Florence, we have Miller Park with a beautiful lake, picnic tables, walks, and recreational areas.

Traveling along John J. Pershing Drive to the extreme north part of Omaha, we have N. P. Dodge Memorial Park (This address is in Nebraska.  See a map.), a large park for sports, covered pavilions with grills, and other common park activities, right next to the Missouri, just north of the Mormon Bridge.  Across the road and slightly north is Hummel Park (This address is in Nebraska.  See a map.) with many roads and trails in a more hilly setting.

 

 

Visit Omaha Parks and Recreation website.
Omaha
Recreation

 

Visit the Freedom Park - U.S.S. Hazard website.
U.S.S. Hazard
Minesweeper

 

Continuing north on John J. Pershing Drive, then North River Drive will get you to  Neale Woods Nature Center (This address is in Nebraska.  See a map.), which has great trails and a wonderful visitor's center featuring similar exhibits as their sister association, the Fontenelle Forest Nature Center   (1111 N. Bellevue Blvd.)   This address is in Nebraska.  See a map.  in Bellevue.

Take your camera to the Mt. Vernon Gardens Park (between Bellevue and Omaha) overlooking the Missouri, a site that also sidetracked the Lewis and Clark expedition for the view.  It is a half-size scaled version of Mt. Vernon on the Potomac.

Hanscom Park is near Park Avenue and Martha Streets.  The 38th President of the US, President Gerald R. Ford was born (as Leslie Lynch King) just across the northwest corner of the park.  The birthplace is a visitor's site itself.

Trails

Also falling into the park category is our hiking and biking trails that crisscross most of Douglas county, parts of Sarpy County, to the south, and across the Missouri River to parts of Pottawattamie County.  The trail network extends to almost all of our outlying lakes, and continue around the entire lake.

One of the most popular trails is the North-South trail around 77th St. that extends from Dodge Street to way North and way South, more than you really wanted to jog. 

The paved trails are limited to joggers, skaters, hikers, and un-motorized vehicles but wide enough for the maintenance truck making for easy upkeep.. The trails are safe, clean, and there are several places that have easy access from nearby places to park your car.  Attach your bike rack to the back, throw the rollerblades in the trunk, thick cotton socks and jogging shoes beside them and you should be ready for some scenic exercise at a moments notice.

Several of the county's parks have additional information at the Omaha Parks and Recreation, Douglas County Parks and Recreation web pages, and the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District.

  Visit the Fontenelle Nature Association website.
Fontenelle Forest
Nature Association

Click the browser back arrow or use your backspace key to return to the previous page, or click on the following links.

Back  |  Top  |  Home  |  Main  |  Omaha  |  Sports  |  Information Links
Omaha Neighbors  |  Bellevue  |  Council Bluffs  |  Florence  |  Lincoln  |  Kansas City
European Explorers  |  Native American Period  |  Mormon Period  |  Omaha History  |  Bellevue History
Nebraska Intro  |  Nebraska History  |  Nebraska Waters  |  Nebraska Birds
Nebraska Communities (Miles from Omaha)  |  Nebraska Communities (A-Z)  |  Nebraska Chamber of Commerce Links
Neighbor States  |  Iowa  |  Missouri  |  Kansas  |  Colorado  |  Wyoming  |  South Dakota
Advertise  |  About  |  Contact  |  Help  |  Link To Us  |  Site Map  |  Site Info  |  Copyright  |  Disclaimer  |  Privacy  |  Terms
• External Link Pages: Attractions  |  Entertainment  |  Recreation  |  Restaurants  |  Shopping  |  Education  |  History
• External Link Pages: Omaha Links  |  Old Market Links  |  Douglas County Links  |  Nebraska Links  |  United States Links

Problems viewing the web pages due to small print?