This quaint community is next door to the city limits of Omaha and the Omaha airport. Several parks…read moreopen to the public is available. If you want to have a good view of the lake, barbeque, have kids play basketball, use the skateboard park, or BMX bike course, visit Mabrey Park located on the corner 9f Willow Drive and 18th Street. They close by 10 pm and allow watercraft to be lowered by the ramps into the lake. Outdoor picnic seating is also available around the park area. No swimming is allowed at this park. You will have to visit Wavecrest Park for that.

Carter Lake is a former channel of the Missouri River and was formed by flooding of the Missouri…read moreRiver in the summer of 1877. The city of Carter Lake, Iowa takes its name from the lake and there is an interesting background story to this lake located near the Omaha Airport. In 1930, Carter Lake was incorporated as a city in the state of Iowa, a status it has retained ever since but there has been lots of fighting over it. Carter Lakes Colorful History states that "Carter Lake was once called Cut-Off Island - a fitting name for a place torn between two cities and two states, yet connected to neither." Iowa and Nebraska constantly battled for the city named Carter Lake and it's water feature born of a change of course of the Missouri River. The ensuing legal battle over whether Iowa or Nebraska had jurisdiction over Cut-Off Island went to the Supreme Court. In a 1892 ruling, the court sided with Iowa on the basis that state lines remain the same when a river avulsed, or dramatically altered, its path in 1877. Therefore, the land had never left Iowa, despite its position on the Nebraska side of the river. It is weird driving through the area, as you are in Nebraska one minute and Iowa the very next. Carter Lake has not escaped water pollution problems and in 2005, the lake had reached a crisis level. Due to a number of factors, the lake water level was both dangerously low and polluted with toxic algae. Placed on Nebraska's Section 303(d) List of Impaired Waters for elevated concentrations of nutrients, the lake was no longer a place for recreation and beauty, but a haven for floating contaminants. Interested citizens formed the "Carter Lake Environmental Assessment and Rehabilitation Council," and a community based watershed plan was organized to help improve the water quality. Now Carter Lake is a recreational hub for the area. The park is a great place to launch a boat for water sports and fishing, and also has baseball and football fields, basketball courts, and areas for picnics and larger gatherings. It is a beautiful gem of a lake and worth 5 YELP STARS.

Iv always enjoyed fishing there and hiking. I've always had a nice time there . Always take tick…read morespray with you, these ticks are really thick this year last time I went I picked up three of them. But otherwise a very enjoyable experience.

The Omahawaks air field is at this park, and it's so neat! There is a full air strip for the…read moreOmahawks planes to fly. I see planes flying around when I walk, but we just went to the airshow over Labor Day Weekend. It's a neat area off the Fort st. entrance. There is seating and a picnic area as well. Make A Wish was there selling food and drink as apart of their fundraiser. I hope to learn more and come back for more shows as the kids were enamored with the sights.

Beautiful recreation area to take a walk ride your bike do some fishing or just chill out and enjoy…read morethe beauty of nature.

This place is great! Two large fenced areas are divided between large and small breeds. Both have a…read moredog and a human water fountain. There's enough room to walk around the park for exercise, if people desire. There are benches and several trees. If your dog likes water, there is a gate to the lake next to the park which is fenced in with the fence running down to the lake. This allows your dog to go for a swim. It's a really nice park in the middle of Papillon. There is a small amount of parking (4-5 cars) and during my time there, 4 other dogs were in the park.

Perfect way to spend my Sunday morning! Thank you for doing all of the work. I just had to show up…read moreand enjoy the day.

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I enjoyed the disc golf course at this place! It is not directly location on the lake site, but…read morejust one road over. It's an open area with a fun course with lots of obstacles and the occasional turkey crossing! I wish the parking lot was a little bigger as when it gets busy it's hard to maneuver. Overall good course for Omaha!

Prairie Queen Rec Area is wonderful, a nice little 4 mile loop around the perimeter with no forks…read morein the path that will confuse you (talking to you, Walnut Creek and Chalco Hills, hah). This a perfect place for a run, walk, or bike ride with nice wide paved paths. The lake is good for small boats, kayak, paddle boarding, and fishing. There are some exit points around the perimeter that clearly go into the adjacent suburbs. Not many trees (aka little to no shade), but a nice peaceful walk regardless.

If you've seen someone with outdoor family photos, you can bet that they were taken at Chalco! This…read moreis a gorgeous lake with great trails. You can count on seeing very brave deer if you come at dusk. Our favorite part is the off-leash dog park. There is a TON of room for dogs to run and a variety of landscaping. It's a beautiful walk for people and pups!

Beautiful loop around a lake (I believe roughly 6-5-7.0 miles if you don't take any cut throughs)…read more I ran around 8 am on a weekday. Surprisingly it was somewhat busy with walkers and bikers and runners. The trail is beautiful and a mix of forest and lake as well as some surprisingly tough inclines! I noticed there were several different parking lots and at least one area to put boats in. There were plenty of restrooms along the trail which I thought was helpful too. The trails were clean as well besides a few spots of feces. My only complaint is the complete arrogance of a few cyclists, particularly of the older generation. They had zero regard for others and expected the pathway to be completely available for them despite being wide enough to accommodate opposite direction traffic.

Very nice park. The river walk and observation deck were very nice as well. A festival was going…read moreon when I was there, complete with a military band from Moffitt Air Force Base. Worth a stop

I was so happy to be able to attend the Christmas Midwest fest! I was so happy to see all of the…read morevendors, ice sculptures, music, and carolers. It was such a joy to be able to feel the Christmas spirit in this space. I love the skating ribbon too! There is so much to see and do in this park. I like coming here in the warmer months too just to sit and read a few pages of a book in the summer sun. I appreciate how clean this space is! It makes me want to come back again and again! I highly recommend you take a visit!