Eastern Nebraska, Western Iowa Outdoors

This page lists outdoor activities in the greater Omaha region, mostly locations that are within an hours drive. This list does not include golf courses and RV parks.

Part of the Outdoors Series. See also the Omaha Metro Outdoors list.

Camping

For the Iowa State Recs, Nebraska State Recs, and Nebraska State Parks you must have your NE or IA state parks stickers or pay the extra nightly fee. All other campgrounds, follow the rules on their websites.

• Elkhorn Crossing Recreation Area (252nd and Bennington Rd. Papio-Missouri NRD)
• Iowa
  • Hitchcock Nature Center (north of Cresent, IA)
  • Wilson Island State Recreation Area (close to Ft. Calhoun, but on the IA side)
• Lake Wanahoo (Wahoo, NE. Lower Platte North NRD)
• Nebraska State Recreation Areas
  • Louisville State Recreation Area (Louisville, NE, south of the Platte)
  • Schramm Park State Recreation Area (southwest Sarpy Co.)
  • Two Rivers State Recreation Area (west Douglas Co.)
  • north and west of Lincoln: Branched Oak, Pawnee
  • south and west of Lincoln: Bluestem, Conestoga, Olive Creek, Stagecoach, Wagon Train, Yankee Hill
• Nebraska State Parks
  • Eugene T. Mahoney State Park ()
  • Platte River State Park (west of Louisville, NE, south of the Platte)
  • Two parks outside our area but easy drives and popular: Indian Cave and Ponca

Hiking

All the Nebraska State Parks have some amount of hiking.

• Mostly Hilly
  • Hitchcock Nature Center (north of Cresent, IA)
• Mostly Flat
  • Platte River State Park (west of Louisville, NE, south of the Platte)

Historical Interest

• Fort Atkinson State Historical Park (Ft. Calhoun, NE)
• Moses Merrill Mission Site (1835, south Sarpy Co, exit La Platte Rd)

Plants & Animals & Wildlife Refuge

• Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge
• Desoto National Wildlife Refuge
• Schramm Education Center (southwest Sarpy Co.)
• Wildlife Animal Safari Park (south of Ashland, NE)

River Fun

• River City Star (riverboat cruises on the Missouri)
• Tubing Adventures (Elkhorn River, near Waterloo)

Trails

For in-metro trails see the post on Omaha Metro Outdoors.

• Regional Trails
  • Mo-Pac Trail (names for Missouri Pacific Railroad, the old rail line it follows)
    • Lied Platte River Bridge (connects Sarpy and Cass counties, just south of I80 near South Bend)
    • Mo-Pac east section (crosses the Platte at the Lied Platte River Bridge)
    • Mo-Pac west section (connects Wabash, NE and Lincoln, NE)
    • distance between these sections is 10 miles
  • Riverfront Trail (connects north of Omaha and south of Omaha along the river)
  • Wabash Trace (starts south of Council Bluffs, goes to Missouri and just kinda stops)