Lincoln Recreation
The recreational opportunities available to residents and visitors of the Lincoln city area are limitless. Between the dozens of parks, lakes and an extensive trails system, the region is a virtual playground for those who love to hike, skate, fish, golf, swim or just sit back and enjoy nature.
Nebraska's flora and fauna are perhaps best represented at the Nature Center at Pioneers Park. Operated by the Lincoln Parks and Recreation Department, the center is a wildlife sanctuary nestled on 360 acres that includes ponds, woodlands, prairies, wetlands, a stream and more than six miles of winding hiking trails. The Chet Ager Building has natural history and live animal exhibits inside, while outside there is an herb garden alongside landscaped parks. The Prairie Building is comprised of an education wing and the Malinovskis Auditorium with prairie and live animal exhibits.
There are dozens of parks conveniently located throughout neighborhoods that offer ball fields, sports courts and playgrounds, along with several public swimming pools and a number of Recreation Centers that feature numerous amenities. Considered one of the best in the region, the extensive Lincoln trail system uses converted rail lines to make an enjoyable way for bikers and pedestrians to tour the city at their leisure.
The Folsom Children's Zoo and Botanical Gardens with its beautifully landscaped gardens features more than 300 animals, a third of which are threatened or endangered species.
Each fall, football enthusiasm takes over the city and it's no more evident than on home game days for the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers. Football Saturdays are big in Lincoln, a city that proudly and loudly, supports its college football team. In fact, Memorial Stadium has sold out 255 consecutive home games for this Big 12 Conference team, generating an energy that rocks not only the Stadium but the entire city as well.
Football fans can continue to watch the sport in the spring when the Lincoln Capitals, a member of the National Indoor Football League, play at the Pershing Center.
Games for the the Saltdogs baseball team can be enjoyedat the Haymarket Park stadium, which seats more than 4,500 people, and has space for 4,000 more in the grassy areas, plus features 16 luxury suites. The pedestrian-friendly walkways make this park-within-a-park complex the perfect place for a family outing.
Popular with Lincoln youth, soccer games are played at Abbott Sports Complex, Spirit Park and YMCA-Wright Park.
The Lincoln Stars, a Tier I Junior League member of the United States Hockey League, plays at the Icebox arena on the State Fair Park grounds from September through March.
Fishing and boating are plentiful at the many beautiful state recreation areas, including nearby Branched Oak Lake, a site that encompasses 1,800 acres in Lancaster County. Anglers of all ages delight in their catches of blue gill, carp, catfish, and more on this no-wake lake that also includes both modern and primitive campsites. There also are more than a dozen challenging golf courses in and near the city.
Families and teens alike can enjoy a day of fun at various bowling centers, miniature golf courses, public and private tennis courts, roller rinks, the ice rink, or indoor skate park. There is also a wide variety of year-round programming and special events offered through the Lincoln Parks and Recreation Department.
 |
 |
|---|---|
 |
|
