List of parks in Omaha, Nebraska facts for kids

This is a list of parks in Omaha, Nebraska. It includes cemeteries and golf courses. Most parks in Omaha are governed by the City of Omaha Parks and Recreation Department.

History

In 1854 Alfred D. Jones drew four parks on the original map of Omaha City. They were called Jefferson Square, which was paved over by I-480; Washington Park, which is where the Paxton Block currently sits at North 16th and Farnam Streets; Capitol Square, where Omaha Central High School is now located, and; an unnamed tract overlooking the river with Davenport Street on the north, Jackson Street on the south, North 8th on the east and North 9th Street on the west. Jefferson Square lasted until 1969, when it was razed to make way for a new interstate in downtown Omaha. The riverfront from the interstate south to the headquarters of ConAgra Foods is now the Heartland of America Park.

Hanscom Park became Omaha's first park. Miller, Fontenelle, Elmwood and Riverview were Omaha's largest parks in 1920. (Riverview Park Zoo eventually became Henry Doorly Zoo.) Levi Carter Park was its largest, at 220 acres (0.89 km²). Other parks in the system that year were Bemis, Deer, Kountze Park, Curtis Turner, Harold Gifford, Mercer, Jefferson Square, Hixenbaugh, Burt playground, Bluff View, Spring Lake, Highland, McKinley, Clear View and Morton.

Omaha's boulevard system was designed to be part of the parks system in 1889 by renowned landscape architect Horace Cleveland. The Omaha Park and Boulevard System was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.

Administration

The Department of Parks, Recreation, and Public Property is the City of Omaha's agency responsible for administering public parks.

Current parks

The fountain in Heartland of America Park, with the Omaha skyline behind

Gene Leahy Mall, looking west towards Downtown Omaha

Big Boy #4023 at Kenefick Park

The Grand Court of the Trans-Mississippi Exposition of 1898 in what became Kountze Park

The USS Marlin at Freedom Park

The USS Hazard, also at Freedom Park

A trail at Wehrspann Lake in southwest Omaha

Heartland of America Park, looking south

Parks in Omaha (alphabetical)
Name	Location	Notes
22nd and Willis Park
Adams Park	3121 Bedford Avenue	Created in 1960, this park includes a playground, picnic area, an overlook, paths, restrooms, and open space. There are also ball fields, tennis courts and an outdoor tournament-quality basketball complex with glass backboards, scoreboards and fan seating.
Albright Park
Andersen Park	134th and Cottner streets, Millard
Applewood Heights Park
Armbrust Park
Athletic Park
Autumn Heights Park
Barrington Park, Omaha	764 N. 164th Street
Bay Meadows Park
Bedford Place Park
Bemis Park	3434 Cuming Street	Founded in 1891, this park includes 10 acres (40,000 m²) with a playground, tennis courts, walking paths, picnic area and shelter located in the Bemis Park Landmark Heritage District.
Benson Lions Park	2005 North 66th Street	2 acres (8,100 m²) with a playground and ball field
Benson Park	7002 Military Avenue	Created in 1931, this 200 acres (0.81 km²) park offers a playground, football and soccer fields, horseshoe pits, basketball and tennis courts, fishing, walking paths, indoor ice rink, lagoon, and a pavilion.
Bent Creek Park
Bluestem Prairie Preserve
Bluff View Park
Bowling Green Park	7065 Blondo Street	7 acres (28,000 m²) with a playground, ball field, basketball court, football field and walking trails
Boyd Park	4201 North 16th Street	Location of Omaha Central High School's baseball field
Brookside Park	2310 S. 105th Ave.
Brown Park
Bryan Park
Cancer Survivor Park	1111 S. 105th St.
Candlewood II
Carol Gast Memorial Park	3501 Ames Avenue	Located next to Butler-Gast YMCA
Levi Carter Park	3100 Abbott Drive	Carter Lake has opportunities for water skiing, fishing and boating. The park has baseball fields, football fields, and basketball courts, as well as paths, picnic areas, shelters, restrooms, a pavilion and open space. It was founded in 1891.
Christie Heights Park
Churchich Park	50th and C streets
Clarkson Park
Cody Park
Colonial Acres Park
Columbus Park
Conagra Park
Conestoga Park
Conoco Park
Cottonwood Heights Park
Cottonwood Park	728 S. 154th st	Paved walking and biking paths, playground, basketball courts
Country Club Manor Park
Crosskey Villages Park
Cuming Corner Park
Deer Hollow Park
Democracy Park
Dewey Park
Discovery Park
Discovery Soccer Complex
Dorothy Patach Park
Dodge Park	11001 John J. Pershing Drive	This park offers fishing, water skiing and boating on the Missouri River, as well as hiking, Baseball fields, soccer fields, horseshoe pits, tennis courts, a cricket field, a picnic area, pavilions, historical monuments and a campground. It was founded in 1930.
Elmwood Park	802 S. 60th Street, adjacent to the University of Nebraska at Omaha	1889
Englewood Park
Erskine Park
Escalante Hills Park
Essex Park
Esther Pilster Park	4088 North 88th Avenue	The park is named after Esther Pilster, a former Omaha Public Schools principal and philanthropist. It has a playground, a ballfield, a soccer field, trails, shelters, and a picnic area.
Eugene T. Mahoney State Park
Faye Boulevard Park
Filmore Park
Florence Park	3015 State Street	Located in historic Florence, this park is 2.6 acres (11,000 m²) and includes a playground, walking paths, a historical monument and a shelter area.
Fontenelle Park	4575 Ames Avenue	Founded in 1893, currently has 108 acres (0.44 km²) with a lagoon, playground and paths, basketball courts, tennis courts, football fields, and a nine-hole golf course.
Forest Lawn Park
Freedom Park	2497 Freedom Park Road	Home of the Nebraska Cricket Club, USS Hazard and the USS Marlin
Gallagher Park	2936 North 52nd Street	18 acres (73,000 m²), including a playground, ball fields, a swimming pool and a historical monument to the former Krug Park
Grace Young Park	6317 Military Avenue	2.4 acres (9,700 m²), including a playground, ball field and basketball court
Gene Leahy Mall	1302 Farnam on the Mall
Gifford Park
Gifford River Drive Park
Glenn Cunningham Lake	8660 Lake Cunningham Road	1977
Grace Young Park
Graham Park
Greentree Park
H.H. Harper Park
Hanscom Park	1899 South 32nd Avenue	1889
Harrison Heights Park
Harvey Oaks Park
Hawthorne Park	S 177th St
Heartland of America Park
Hefflinger Park
Highland Park	2512 D Street
Hillsborough Park
Hillside Little League Park
Himebaugh Park
Hitchcock Park
Hummel Park	11808 John J. Pershing Drive	Created in 1930, this park is 202 acres (0.82 km²), including a historical monument for Fort Lisa.
James F. Lynch Park
John P. Munnley Park
Karen Park
Kenefick Park	100 Bancroft Street (next to the Lauritzen Gardens)
Kellom Greenbelt Park
Kellom Park	2310 Nicholas Street	6-acre (24,000 m²)
Keystone Park
Kingswood Park
Kiwanis Park
Kountze Park	1920 Pinkney Street	10 acres (40,000 m²), including a playground, ball field, basketball courts, tennis courts, a community center, shelter area and restrooms
Lake Forest Estates Park
Lake Forest Park
Lake James Park
Lamp Park
Lawrence Youngman Lake	192nd and West Dodge Road	Includes a lake, playground, fishing, and boating
Leavenworth Park
Lee Valley Park
Lewis & Clark Landing
Little Elmwood Park
Kenifick Park	100 Bancroft Avenue
Mandan Park
Maple Village Park
McKinley Park
Meadow Lane Park
Memorial Park	6008 Underwood Avenue	This park was created in 1948 as a memorial for Douglas County's citizens who have served in the armed forces.
Mercer Park
Metcalfe Park	1700 Country Club Avenue	3.1 acres, playground, trails, open space, named for former mayor of Omaha, Richard Lee Metcalfe
Miami Playground
Michael Thell NEA Park
Miguel Keith Park
Millard Heights Park
Millard Highlands Park
Miller Park	6201 North 30th Street	Founded in 1891, the park includes a lake, artesian well fountain, golf course, trails, picnic areas, pavilion, playground, baseball fields and soccer fields.
Miller's Landing Park
Mockingbird Heights Park
Montclair/Westbrook Park
Morton Park
Mount Vernon Garden
Myott Park
Neale Woods	14323 Edith Marie Avenue	600-acre nature preserve; prairie and forest hiking trails; Millard Observatory (astronomy); operated by Fontenelle Forest
North Oaks Park
Northwest Park
Norwick Park
Oak Heights Park
Oakbrook Park
Oaks Park, Omaha
Omaha Botanical Gardens (aka Lauritzen Gardens)	2001 South 6th Street	1982
One Pacific Place Park
Orchard Park
Pacific Meadows Park
Palomino Hills Park
Park East Park
Parkside Park
Peterson Park
Pheasant Run Park
Pinewood Park
Pipal Park	7802 Hascall St
Prairie Lane Park
Pulaski Park
Rambleridge Park	11424 Fort Street
Raven Oaks Park	7901 Raven Oaks Drive
Regency Park
Ridgefield Park
Riverview Park
Roanoke Park
Rock Glen Park
Rockbrook Park
Roxbury Park
Ruser's Park	53rd and Center Street	Privately owned German Summer Garden, with shooting range, athletic fields, bowling, picnic area and dance hall.
Saddle Hills Park
Sandoz Park
Schroeder-Vogel Park
Seymour Smith Park	6802 Harrison Street	1962
Signal Hill Park
Somerset Park	Wenninghoff Road and North 86th Street	1994
Spaulding Park
Spring Lake Park
Standing Bear Lake	6404 N. 132nd st	1977
Stillmeadow Park
Storz Rugby Complex	North 16th and Storz Expressway
Sunny Slope Park
Swanson Park
Templeton Mini-Park
Timber Creek Park
Tomahawk Hills Park
Towl Park
Tranquility Park
Trendwood Park
Turner Park
Unity Park
Upland Park
Walnut Grove Park
Walnut Hill Park
Wentworth Park
West Fairacres Park
Westchester Park
Western Trails Park
Westgate Park
Westroads Parkway
Westwood Heights Park
Woodhaven Park
Yale Park	3377 Lake street
Young Park	411½ N. Elmwood Road
Youngman Connector Park	163rd and Farnam Streets
Zorinsky Lake Park	156th and F streets	Created in 1993, this park includes over seven miles of paved trails, biking, fishing, boating, playgrounds, covered seating, public restrooms, and soccer fields.

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List of parks in Omaha, Nebraska Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.