Parks & Recreation - Omaha Parks & Recreation
Omaha has a wide array of outdoor fun: urban parks, a developing trail system, and golf that includes some of the nation’s top-rated courses.
Recreational activities abound. If it’s a soothing experience you’re after, consider a class at the Old Market’s Omaha School of Yoga or at one of One Tree Yoga’s two Omaha locations. Both schools offer a wide array of styles of yoga practice; One Tree Yoga is the city’s venue for hot yoga.
Golfers will find a wide variety of courses: Omaha’s selection includes greens fees at all levels, from bargains to high-end price tags, and everything in between. Amenities vary, and there’s a course out there for the golfer of every skill level, too.
Spectator sports in Omaha culminate every summer with the NCAA College World Series; other sports include baseball, soccer, football, and hockey, among others.
This chapter covers city (and some state) parks and listing for recreational activities like hiking, biking, and running. The lodging section includes information on campgrounds, though this chapter includes lodging at state parks, including Mahoney State Park, a popular option for camping and cabin rental that’s conveniently located between Omaha and Lincoln.
The Kidstuff chapter has more details on children’s activities like fun centers and water parks, as well as information on children’s sports leagues.
1. Heartland Of America Park
City: Omaha, NE
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (402) 444-5955
Address: 800 Douglas St.
Description: Nestled between the Old Market and the Missouri River front, Heartland of America Park connects to both downtown Omaha and the riverfront development via a number of walking and biking paths. The central attraction in the park is its Heartland of America fountain, which shoots water more than 300 feet into the air. Gondola and boat rides take visitors around the lake and past the fountain for a closer (and sometimes wetter) look at the light show and jets. Visitors can walk across the pedestrian bridge connecting the park to Lewis and Clark Landing, along the river, and eventually walk across the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge, which spans the Missouri from the border of Nebraska, over the river, and into Iowa.
2. Hefflinger Dog Park
City: Omaha, NE
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (402) 444-5900
Description: Dogs of all sizes can run without a leash at Omaha’s first dog park. The park used to be softball fields and recently was converted to a new use. The park is divided into two sides, one for small dogs and one for large dogs. Dogs that fall into the medium size zone should err on the side of the park that seems to best fit their personality. The park has water fountains for both pets and people, and on a warm weekend day upwards of 50 dogs might be in the space. Bag stations are positioned all over the park, so owners can clean up after their pets, and trash cans are also on the grounds. Pets should be leashed before entering and after leaving the park, and kids under the age of 14 must be accompanied by an adult at the park.
City: Omaha, NE
Category: Parks & Recreation
Address: 6005 Underwood Ave.
4. Roberts Skate Park
City: Omaha, NE
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (402) 444-5900
Address: 730 N. 78th St.
Description: Omaha’s first skate park opened in 1999 and has been going strong since. Local skateboarders worked with the city on the park’s design concept, and many of their ideas made it into the final park. The park is 14,000 square feet and has ramps, stairs, quarter pipes, a grinding block, and a fun box. A snake run empties into a four-foot and seven-foot bowl. The busy park is especially full on summer evenings and weekend mornings, and is a destination for skaters of all levels. The park is open when weather is appropriate for skating during daylight hours only. Skaters use the facility at their own risk.
5. Benson Park Golf Club
City: Omaha, NE
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (402) 444-4626
Address: 5333 N. 72nd St.
Description: Benson Park is a city-owned 18-hole course in the south-central area of Omaha. Built in 1962, the par-72 course measures 6,771 yards. It features generous fairways and sizeable greens that are suitable for a bogey golfer looking to be challenged but not overwhelmed. Benson Park’s other asset is its price. Since it’s city-owned, the course’s green fees are some of the cheapest in Omaha. Beware: Benson gets a lot of play, and like many other public courses it tends to get beat up by late summer.
6. Cox Classic
City: Omaha, NE
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (402) 498-8900
Address: 13800 Eagle Run Dr.
Description: The Cox Classic, played every August at Omaha’s Champions Run Golf Club course, is an excellent, affordable way to watch some of tomorrow’s top golfers. The Cox Classic is an annual event on the Nationwide Tour, the tour for professional golfers who have fallen just short of qualifying for the PGA Tour. In past years, future PGA stars like Bo Van Pelt and Jason Gore have won the event, wins that helped springboard them toward the big time. The galleries at the Cox Classic are large and boisterous for a nationwide event. The 19th hole, a makeshift night club set up near the clubhouse, becomes a hot spot every night after the tournament’s four rounds.
7. Eagle Run Golf Complex
City: Omaha, NE
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (402) 498-9900
Address: 3435 N. 132nd St.
Description: Eagle Run is Omaha’s go-to spot if you are a golfing novice or want to play a round with younger children. The Links is Eagle Run’s par-32 “executive course,” a nicely manicured 2,211-yard layout that can be completed in around 90 minutes. The Meadows, Eagle Run’s other nine, is a par-3 course perfect for kids. Eagle Run separates itself from the area’s other par-3 courses because the course is generally green and well-kept and because the layout, while easy, isn’t boring.
8. Miracle Hill Golf & Tennis Center
City: Omaha, NE
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (402) 498-0220
Address: 1401 N. 120th St.
Description: Miracle Hill is a comfortable place to enjoy a leisurely round with three of your buddies who are equally interested in golfing and socializing. The 6,412-yard layout is short and fairly easy, minimizing the chance that someone in your foursome will ruin a nice summer day with a string of profanity. And, unlike most public golf courses, Miracle Hill also features tennis courts where a spouse or child can get a lesson while you are on the course. Miracle Hill may be best known for its practice area. Its gigantic driving range and two practice greens are a perfect place to hone your game after a long workday.
9. Omaha Country Club
City: Omaha, NE
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (402) 571-7777
Address: 6900 Country Club Rd.
Description: It’s private, but that shouldn’t stop the obsessed golfer from trying to beg, borrow, or steal a tee time at OCC, one of the state’s oldest and finest courses. The club, founded in 1899, really took off when the original course was redesigned by famed golf course architect Perry Maxwell in 1951. An 18-hole round takes you over rolling hills, past forested areas, and through the area’s most perfectly manicured fairways and greens. OCC got another redesign in 2005, this one meant to toughen the course as well as restore some of the layout’s original elements. The world’s best over-50 golfers will soon get a look at the revamped OCC. The club is hosting the 2013 Senior Open.
10. Omaha School Of Yoga
City: Omaha, NE
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (402) 346-7813
Address: 1066 Howard St.
Insider Pick:
Description: Located in the Old Market Passageway, the Omaha School of Yoga offers both singular classes and a singular environment in which to practice. The classes here focus on the ancient spirit of yoga, and the teachers focus on the meditative qualities of yoga. Classical, flow, and Vinyasa style classes are all on the school’s docket, as well as their trademarked Hyp-Yoga program, created by the mother-daughter team Becky Grabner and Carly Cummings, along with fellow owner Kim Isherwood, which combines yoga with hypnosis to promote health and encourage weight loss. The school also offers massage and hypnosis treatments outside of its regularly scheduled yoga classes; call the school for further details or to schedule an appointment.
City: Omaha, NE
Category: Parks & Recreation
Address: 5020 Dodge St.
12. Silo Extreme
City: Omaha, NE
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (402) 614-1006
Address: 3417 Vinton St.
Description: Nebraska isn’t exactly known for its mountain climbing, but it is known for ingenuity, and that’s where Silo Extreme comes in. Omahans Rick Brock and Ron Safarik transformed silos they co-own into 180-foot climbing walls. The silos sit near busy I-80, so the duo use the silos farthest away from the highway for climbing. (The duo recently worked with the city to turn the rest of its silos into a public art project.) Other indoor climbing facilities are available around Omaha, including on the University of Nebraska at Omaha campus and at several fitness clubs, but no other spots offer an outdoor experience. Eventually, Silo Extreme plans to offer climbing on six to eight of the silos, a boulder climbing area, and an indoor climbing space.
13. Conagra Foods Ice Rink
City: Omaha, NE
Category: Parks & Recreation
Description: One of the city’s best chances to take to the ice happens every December as part of the annual Holiday Lights Festival. ConAgra Foods erects a temporary ice skating rink on the outskirts of the Old Market, and it’s become really popular. It’s open until midnight on Friday and Saturday, and people of all ages take to the rink for a nominal fee, which is then donated back to the “Shine the Light on Hunger” campaign that gives back to people in need and supports the Food Bank of the Heartland. Skaters are also encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to place in on-site food collection bins, which are then distributed to Omahans in need.
City: Omaha, NE
Category: Parks & Recreation
Address: 455 N. 10th St.
City: Omaha, NE
Category: Parks & Recreation