Spring Creek Prairie is a beautiful place to go hiking and also learn about prairie flora and…read morefauna. The Mission: The National Audubon Society protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center focuses on conservation of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem and the birds that rely on it. The trails are fairly easy to navigate and are open seven days a week from sun up to sun down, even if the visitors center is closed. The visitor center has bathrooms, often a necessity when children are involved. Besides nature displays, the visitor center also has a small gift shop with lots of books, apparel and other gifts. There are some accessible trails, but most are not. It's a beautiful place to appreciate the prairie- a rarity these days.

Visited on a warm Saturday morning, nearly had the place to ourselves!…read more The actual center is a hay bales and stucco building with a nice small gift shop, nice but pretty open hands on area, 'what did you see' board, and so on- all pretty consistent with a small nature center. The person working the desk was very nice and helpful, made sure we had binoculars (even loaned us some to save a trip back to the car), and discussed the lands and trails with enthusiasm. I did not hit the trails, but my wife did and saw the Oregon Trail ruts, deer, lots of birds, and more. She loved the mowed trails, although would have liked a little more help keeping track of where she was or what she was seeing on the trail. Great value and experience for a mere $4 per adult! (Free on Tuesdays.)

This has got to be the best lake in Lincoln. If it isn't, please let me know. I love this lake for…read moremany reasons; its beauty, how much easy exercise you can do by simply walking around the lake, it's maintained well, and there's plenty of parking. There are also bathrooms available, picnic tables, benches, many areas to fish for those who have their fishing license, etc. there's even a playground for littles! What I love most is you can do 2 loops around this lake and easily get your 10k+ steps in.

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

Rested here for a bit this morning with my coffee. Early on a Thursday morning, the place was…read morequiet. There were none of those elements here this early, but I have no doubt that D.W.'s comments about being next to the Sally Army are true. The park is tidy, well manicured and had no litter. There is a covered picnic area, large playground and an open multi-use space. Parking is shared with the Salvation Army or on the side streets. [Review 11362 overall, 1139 of 2019.]

The first thing you should know is that this is directly behind the Salvation Army shelter in…read moreLincoln, NE and that means what you think it does, with all the attendant elements. Lincoln is a fairly small city, as those go, so some of those elements are perhaps more limited and less pronounced, but are not absent. If you spend any significant amount of time there, expect to see a police cruiser or two. Second, you will have to drive for a ways inside the city to get to it. The street it is off of is quite goofy but does lead, after a bit, back to I-80. It does have open and somewhat clean restrooms and a very moderate play area, with parts of it covered, along with covered seating and benches. Overall, a fairly small park and anywhere else, would be a pretty enjoyable place to spend time, but given the proximity to the shelter, one begins to wonder if it is meant as an extension or to service that facility. Either way, probably will not be one I return to.

A small park that is only a small city block but there is still enough room for a playground that…read moreincludes a swing set, a small gazebo with some picnic tables, some paved walking paths and parking for a dozen or so cars. Not the fanciest or the fullest features, but it was in good condition with no overgrown grass and no litter. It's A-OK. [Review 11386 overall, 1163 of 2019.]

This is a smaller zoo but it's very charming and is a nice way to spend a couple hours! I loved…read morebeing able to feed the giraffes, watch an animal ambassador presentation, and watching them feed all the penguins was cute to see.

Love the Lincoln Children's Zoo! I've been visiting regularly since I moved to Nebraska 10 years…read moreago, and it's been so fun to see all the positive changes and improvements over the years. Now having a toddler, this zoo is truly perfect for little ones. Easy to walk, the right size, and packed with activities they can actually enjoy. We stopped by for a couple of hours on Sunday to soak in the beautiful mid-November weather. It wasn't busy, which was great, and we got to see all the animals we were hoping to. The giraffe exhibit is one of my favorites! The staff is always so kind and the grounds are incredibly clean. They already have the Christmas lights up, and wow I was so impressed by how many there were! I'll definitely be coming back at night to see everything lit up during the Zoo Lights experience.

Not to be confused with the dog run of the same name, this park is just the most beautiful little…read moreplayground in all of Lincoln. There's a really lovely waterfall fountain, a charming (and practical for little ones!) wrought iron fence around the perimeter, and really cute landscaping/plants. I've come here many times to do life drawing and not only is there lots of inspiration, but there's also a little gazebo with seating so you can stay out of the sun if you'd like. Also, helpfully, unlike many other Lincoln playgrounds, there actually is a little dedicated parking area right across the street!

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.

Across from the 84th St Walmart and next to the cemetery, this fairly new dog park is currently…read morewell maintained and used by the neighborhood and the community. There are portable toilets for humans and water fountains. For the dogs, there is a big and small dog side. Gravel parking lot and mixed terrain in the park- but all flat. Nice option for the north side of town.

I really enjoy taking my dogs to this dog run. It's a great size with a circular walking path on…read moreboth the large and small dog sides. It has multiple benches, and a drinking fountain for people and puppers.