Central Illinois Recreational Trails

Map of the Omaha Riverfront Trail

FULL PAGE MAP

Omaha Riverfront Trail

The Omaha Riverfront Trail is a paved pathway that extends for over 22 miles along the Missouri River. It extends from a point 3 miles east of Fort Calhoun in the north to Mt Vernon Gardens in the south. Its route goes through wide open farmland, through forested stretches, past residential areas, adjacent to lakes, around Eppley Airfield, next to several local parks and through the the riverfront area of Downtown Omaha.

Conditions

The Omaha Riverfront Trail is paved for its entire route. The trail is open for bike riding and walking. At its north end, there are long stretches of trail with few street crossings. Within the urban areas there are more street crossings

There are some gaps in the route of the trail where trail users must use local streets to reach the next section of the trail.

Communities

The Omaha Riverfront Trail starts near the community of Fort Calhoun. The trail passes through the rural areas of Washington County and Douglas County. The remainder of the trail is located within Omaha.

Points of Interest

The Omaha Riverfront Trail goes past the following points of interest:

Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge

NP Dodge Park

Twentiy-Eighth and Craig Street Park

Eppley Airfield

Carter Lake

TD Ameritrade Park

Millers Landing Rivers Edge State Park

Bob Kerry Pedestrian Bridge over the Missouri River

Riverfront Marina

Lewis and Clark Landing

Heartland of America Park

Lauritzen Gardens

Kenefick Park

Gomez-Heritage Elementary School

Mt. Vernon Gardens

Mandan Park

Nearby Trails

The Omaha Riverfront Trail connects to trails within the many parks in Nebraska along the route.

Iowa Riverfront Trail: a connection can be made with the pathway along the Missouri River in the Council Bluffs area by using the Bob Kerry Pedestrian Bridge or the pedestrian lane on the Missouri Avenue Bridge.

End Points & Trail Description

The north end of the Omaha Riverfront Trail is located in County Road 34, a little over 3 miles east of Highway 75 and Fort Calhoun and 1 mile west of Boyer Chute National Wildlife Rescue. From this point the trail heads south alongside P51 through open farmland. North of Interstate 680, the Omaha Riverfront Trail goes by NP Dodge Park.There is parking, restrooms, athletic fields, picnic areas and a small fishing pier at NP Dodge Park.

The first 8.5 miles of the trail is located away from the Missouri River, but after it goes under Interstate 680, it meets up with the west bank of the river. The trail then wraps around the west side of Eppley Airfield alongside Abbott Drive. The trail wanders through the greenbelt next to Carter Lake as far as E. Locust Street. South of Carter Lake, there is a break in the paved trail and you must ride along Abbott Drive to connect to the next finished portion.

The paved trail picks back up at Gallup Drive and Abbott Drive at Kenefick Park. The main trail heads south along Riverfront Drive, but there are numerous paved trails that lead over to the riverfront area which includes Lewis and Clark Landing Park and Heartland of America Park. South of this area, there is another gap in the trail to the south.

The next section of the Omaha River Front Trail runs along the west bank of the Missouri River from a point even with Pacific Street. It goes south past Laritzen Gardens and under Interstate 80. There are not a lot of access paths to the trail in this section, but you can catch it at the end of Missouri Avenue off of Gibson Road. At Gibson Road the trail travels along S. 13th Street as far south as Mt. Vernon Gardens Drive.

There are plans to extend the trail past Mt Vernon Gardens and Mandan Park and as far as the Fontenell Forest Nature Center.

---

Resources

Following are links to official off-site resources to find out more details about the Omaha Riverfront Trail in Omaha, Nebraska.