Holmes Lake Park

4.5 mi

Love going by, through, and in this historical park in Licoln Nebremaska. It's the original park in…read moreLincoln since 1867. Really beautiful and green when there is a lot of precipitation! A huge place to walk around. Not too far from my brother's current residence. If you are ever in the area, stop by this park for a visit!

1/2 Basketball court, rim needs a fixin'

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Pioneers Park Nature Center

(16 reviews)

7.5 mi

Pioneer Park is one of the best attractions in Nebraska…read more This park has it all (puts on SNL Stefon voice): -History (the pillars that were part of the original treasury building) -Culture (the statue and story of Red Cloud) -Nature (the beautiful scenery and ponds) -Wildlife (the buffalo/deer/etc) And it is just a few minutes from Lincoln and a short drive from Omaha! I would definitely recommend this place to anyone who is looking for a relaxing, but still adventurous, activity!

I was looking for another fun park to do some exploring. I found this and decided to check it out -…read morethere is so much here to see. I really wish I had known and found the older exploratory part of the park earlier in the day - I spent too much time on the picnic-y parts of the park, but I enjoyed it. The signs were a little bit misleading - there are parts of the exploritory area that are closed to the public but there was no warning of that when you were heading that way. I actually really enjoyed the bird observatory and the bridge. It was such a hot day but I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

🏞️Pioneers Park Nature Center🏞️

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🏞️Pioneers Park Nature Center🏞️

Oak Lake Park

4.0

5.6 mi

I like this park. It's nothing spectacular but it's great for something close to downtown. Came…read morehere to wind down and watch the sunset and to be lost in my own thoughts while listening to the birds singing and the water gently lapping at my feet. Check it out if you haven't!

Sounds of water gently lapping while watching the sunset. Great way to end your night!

View of the playground, bathrooms, and pavilion from the island

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Bathrooms on the left, playground in the distance on the right

Antelope Park

4.7

(3 reviews)

3.2 mi

After a long day touring Lincoln, we needed a playground break and found this completely huge…read moreamazing playground! This playground is for all kids ages with cushion mats throughout. There are lots of playground options to run through and a bunch of slides to try out. Plenty of parking available with covered pavilions and picnic tables.

Great place for all ages - lots of slides!! I appreciated…read morethe separate playground/slide area for toddlers and a larger playground for 5 and up. Took my granddaughter several times while I was in town and will go back.

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Pawnee Lake State Recreation Area

3.8

(5 reviews)

9.8 mi

Beautiful park. I am not sure how I had never heard about this one. It's nicely spread out with a…read morevarity of places to get into it. I saw a lot of different birds. Beatiful.

Nice little stop off of I80 if you're road tripping. Picnic benches, beach, and a good lake…read more Unfortunately, when I went, it was overrun by flies, probably because the garages nearby were near full. Also, bathrooms had no hands sanitizer. If you go, make sure to buy your $5 daily permit.

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Showers!

Sunken Gardens

(61 reviews)

2.6 mi

Absolutely breathtaking. That's how I felt walking through sunken gardens on a beautiful summer…read moreday. Just wow, the way everything is planted here, so organized, well thought out. It's the perfect place to go get fresh air while enjoying Mother Nature. If you love plants and flowers, come here. You won't regret it. There's a parking lot. It's free. It's impossible to give this place less than 5 stars.

Took my wife and our small dog to the garden this evening. It was a hot hot day so it wasnt that…read morebusy tonight. The park was lovely and in great condition. It was well kept and clean. It had benches and ledges all over to sit, view and rest. We even made use of the water fountain for both us and our dog on the way out.

Dome

Flowers

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Van Dorn Park

4.5

(2 reviews)

4.0 mi

Great place to walk your dog! My corgi loved it. Very fun looking play structures for kids.read more

This lovely park in southwest Lincoln was my last stop as I was leaving Lincoln. At 28 acres, it's…read moreone of the larger parks in the Lincoln parks system. Lots of parking, a hiking/bike trail, picnic tables (some with shelters, some without) and a number of playgrounds. The park is very well shaded and a bit set back from the busy road. You won't be able to escape civilization but you'll at least be able to put some distance between you and it. As always, never hike alone! [Review 11396 overall, 1173 of 2019.]

Van Dorn Park, Lincoln NE

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Van Dorn Park, Lincoln NE

Frank Shoemaker Marsh

(4 reviews)

9.7 mi

Absolutely beautiful, well maintained. It was a very windy day though, no tree coverage so if it's…read morewindy maybe pick another spot.

This place was much harder than it needed to be to find. Google maps took me a really odd way and…read moreeven then I believe I actually drove around it twice before I ignored the directions being given to kind of throw it off (mostly due to the construction that was also going on around it). I then accidentally found it. However, when I did find it, I was pretty happy. I do wish there was more of a resource for finding out about the trails. There was one trail that went kind of through a bunch of trees right to the left of the parking area and I could almost hear a waterfall? river but I could not figure out how to get to it and it was getting late and starting to rain, so I did not feel safe doing a lot of exploring. I absolutely loved walking along some of the trails and over the bridge (although with as strong as the smell was, I feared that I barely missed an encounter with a skunk). I did not do near the amount of walking I could have done due to the time of day and the rain storm coming, but man, I can't wait until I have a day to go back and do some more exploring - this place is fascinating.

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roper park

6.4 mi

This was a really nice park. There are about 2 miles of trails. The trails are paved (a little…read morehilly) and there is lots of green space around them. There's a playground, frisbee golf, bathrooms (I think) and more. It was a really nice place to run in, I would recommend it The only bad thing is I couldn't easily find parking- Google maps took us to the entrance but there was no where to park so we parked in the church parking lot.

The trails and the Lincoln skyline in the background

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Walking trails

Star City Shores

4.0

(8 reviews)

2.4 mi

Star City Shores is your best choice for a water slide in Lincoln, NE! We came here for a lovely…read moresummer afternoon. The prices are very reasonable and we were happy we were allowed to bring in a reusable water bottle. There are a ton of lounge chairs to sit in. The pool features a special area for small kids with a few small slides and a dumb bucket, a larger pool area with deeper water and lanes marked for lap swimming, and a 0 entry slash around area with fountains. All areas are very fun and full of refreshing water! There is also ample clean restrooms and the option to shower. A small food court offers ice creams, chips, and candy. We got cookie ice cream sandwiches. The star of Star City, however, is the two large water slides. They have an orange slide that is open air and a blue tube slide. The orange slide is slower but longer and very fun because it is open. The blue tub slide zips you down so fast and is unbeatable fun. We came a day that wasn't too busy and the lines were never over 10 minutes. I'd recommend for a fun family friendly day in Lincoln!

The entire pool areas are for people who want to get use to the water! What a great place to learn…read moreto swim! When I was a child the pools were opened from 1:00 pm to 9:00 pm. It was fantastic!! They could stay open until at least 8 pm.

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2 reviews that are not currently recommended

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Kari W.

Elite 25

97

172

153

18 days ago

Our entire time was perfect, but they want me to leave a better review than that statement, so here ya go!

James F.

0

2

0

2 months ago

No Business 85 characters are too much. I'm not in school anymore. I just walk my dog!!! read more

Holmes Lake Park - playgrounds - Updated July 2026

People who viewed Holmes Lake Park also viewed

Frank Shoemaker Marsh

(4 reviews)

Absolutely beautiful, well maintained. It was a very windy day though, no tree coverage so if it's…read morewindy maybe pick another spot.

This place was much harder than it needed to be to find. Google maps took me a really odd way and…read moreeven then I believe I actually drove around it twice before I ignored the directions being given to kind of throw it off (mostly due to the construction that was also going on around it). I then accidentally found it. However, when I did find it, I was pretty happy. I do wish there was more of a resource for finding out about the trails. There was one trail that went kind of through a bunch of trees right to the left of the parking area and I could almost hear a waterfall? river but I could not figure out how to get to it and it was getting late and starting to rain, so I did not feel safe doing a lot of exploring. I absolutely loved walking along some of the trails and over the bridge (although with as strong as the smell was, I feared that I barely missed an encounter with a skunk). I did not do near the amount of walking I could have done due to the time of day and the rain storm coming, but man, I can't wait until I have a day to go back and do some more exploring - this place is fascinating.

Pioneers Park Nature Center

(16 reviews)

Pioneer Park is one of the best attractions in Nebraska…read more This park has it all (puts on SNL Stefon voice): -History (the pillars that were part of the original treasury building) -Culture (the statue and story of Red Cloud) -Nature (the beautiful scenery and ponds) -Wildlife (the buffalo/deer/etc) And it is just a few minutes from Lincoln and a short drive from Omaha! I would definitely recommend this place to anyone who is looking for a relaxing, but still adventurous, activity!

I was looking for another fun park to do some exploring. I found this and decided to check it out -…read morethere is so much here to see. I really wish I had known and found the older exploratory part of the park earlier in the day - I spent too much time on the picnic-y parts of the park, but I enjoyed it. The signs were a little bit misleading - there are parts of the exploritory area that are closed to the public but there was no warning of that when you were heading that way. I actually really enjoyed the bird observatory and the bridge. It was such a hot day but I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Bowling Lake

4.3

(4 reviews)

Fun place to take the kids and cast a lure or two. The small lake is stocked with various game…read morefish and is very convenient for someone who lives in Lincoln.

Much nicer since they updated the fishing area. A decent small lake in the middle of air park with…read morefishing areas available. Also small boats with no motors can be on the lake. Some upgrades to the roads in from NW 48th could be done and other care to make it as nice as the new docks. But overall it's not a bad area lake.

Pawnee Lake State Recreation Area

3.8

(5 reviews)

Beautiful park. I am not sure how I had never heard about this one. It's nicely spread out with a…read morevarity of places to get into it. I saw a lot of different birds. Beatiful.

Nice little stop off of I80 if you're road tripping. Picnic benches, beach, and a good lake…read more Unfortunately, when I went, it was overrun by flies, probably because the garages nearby were near full. Also, bathrooms had no hands sanitizer. If you go, make sure to buy your $5 daily permit.

Rickman's Run

(9 reviews)

Dog park with bigger area for larger dogs. And a smaller fenced in area for smaller dogs…read more Hubs and i brought our fur baby to the smaller area - approx 1.45 acres of fenced in area to run in. Met some friendly ppl and our baby kaiju had a great time.

Visited Rickmans dog park with our dog to let him run. Had a nice walk met some nice people…read more Land was well kept and overall clean Our dog had a nice time.

Cooper Park

Love going by, through, and in this historical park in Licoln Nebremaska. It's the original park in…read moreLincoln since 1867. Really beautiful and green when there is a lot of precipitation! A huge place to walk around. Not too far from my brother's current residence. If you are ever in the area, stop by this park for a visit!

Oak Lake Park

4.0