Author: Nebraska Trailblazers

A walking club in the Omaha/Council Bluffs metro area.

January/February 2023 newsletter

The latest club newsletter, full of information about future walking dates and events is available here: January – February 2023 newsletter

Be sure to join us Friday, January 20th at 2 p.m. at the Gene Leahy Mall (13th & Farnam Streets in Omaha) for a group walk of the Mall on National Take a Walk Outdoors Day. The event is free, so save your change for the parking meters and maybe a nice cuppa something hot for after the walk!

 

2022 isn’t over yet!

Lights along the Gene Leahy Mall, 2022

December 3rd, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. – Lights Walk: Starting at KANEKO at 11th and Jones in the Old Market, with plenty of paid parking available in the area. Courtesy of The RiverFront, this walk is FREE! In the holiday spirit, we’re collecting diapers and cash donations for Lydia House, so drop those off before you walk. A 5k and a 10k route will be available. After the walk, stay for cookies, hot drinks and a raffle with oodles of prizes available.

December 5th, 7 p.m. – Club Meeting: Our last club meeting for 2022 will be festive, so be sure to come! Voting for club officers and the Walker of the Year is currently taking place online – did you get your member’s link by email to vote? Those not voting online can cast a voice vote at the meeting.

December 31st: Annual club dues should be in to our club treasurer. $10 per individual membership and just $15 for a family membership – what a deal! You can pay at the Lights Walk, the December 5th club meeting OR mail them in to: NWFT  PO Box 8147  Omaha, NE 68108.

January 2, 2023, 7 p.m. – Relax, there’s no club meeting! We’ll be holding our annual Dinner Meeting later in the month (January 21st at Legend’s Patio Bar and Grill in Aksarben Village). More details to come about that meeting.

November/December Newsletter

All of the information that you need to plan your next couple of months of walking! Click here to read the current newsletter: November – December 2022 Newsletter    

The Holiday Lights Festival returns! Mark your calendars for Saturday, December 3rd for our annual Lights Walk. KANEKO at 11th & Jones in Omaha is graciously hosting the club, with plenty of room to spread out and offer cookies, hot drinks and over 100 items for a holiday raffle! Thank you to The RiverFront for sponsoring the walk. This year, there’s no fee to walk, so grab your friends, family and leashed pets and come between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to starting walking 5k or 10k with us. Be sure to save some time and check out all the family-friendly activities a few blocks away at the Gene Leahy Mall at 13th & Farnam, also sponsored by The RiverFront.

July – August 2022 Newsletter

Our latest newsletter is available here: July – August 2022 Newsletter 

Three important things (besides seeing all the gorgeous pictures!):

  1. The deadline for registering for the 10 a.m. Saturday, July 30th Junto Wine Group Walk in Seward, NE is Monday, July 25th. We need to know how many lunches we need to order! Please register here: Junto Wine Walk registration  Be sure to bring a lawn chair with you. Plug this address into your GPS to find us: 1356 182nd Seward, NE 68434 (between Lincoln and Seward).
  2. Our next club activity is a 5k Group Walk of the “Veterans and Libraries” seasonal walk, which starts at the Memorial Park Rose Garden. The walk starts promptly at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, August 30th, so come a bit early to pay your $3 (exact change, please!) and sign the registration form.  This seasonal walk is normally only available via the Online Start Box, so this 5k Group Walk might be the chance you’ve been waiting for to walk this fabulous route.  The Rose Garden is best approached from Robert H. Storz Drive, approximately at N. 57th and Underwood Avenues.
  3. After our September 10th walk at Flanagan Lake (more details at 2022 Walk Calendar), our first club meeting of the season will be on Monday, September 12th at 7 p.m. at a BRAND NEW LOCATION! Maple Ridge Retirement Community has graciously invited us to meet at their facility at 3525 N 167th Cir, Omaha, NE 68116. Be sure to plug that into your GPS, as it’s a bit tricky to get in there. It’s a bit NE of N. 168th and W. Maple Road.

Welcome, July!

Volunteers ready to welcome Gene Leahy Mall Walking Tourists on July 4th

We had a great time working with The Riverfront on Independence Day to welcome the public back to the great multi-use space that is the Gene Leahy Mall in downtown Omaha. If the stormy clouds kept you home, here’s the official walking tour map for you to download and use the next time you visit downtown Omaha.

On Saturday, July 30th at 10 a.m., we’ll be leading a 5k walk at beautiful Junto Wine, a winery between Seward and Lincoln. The exact address is 1356 182nd, Seward, NE 68434. The cost is $3 (exact cash or use Venmo) for the walk and we do need you to preregister, since we’ll be serving complimentary boxed lunches after the walk. The winery will open their tasting room definitely at noon, and maybe a little before? Register here: Junto Wine Walk registration  Leashed dogs are welcome to accompany us on this somewhat hilly walk through the vineyard’s mowed paths. If you’re staying for lunch, you’ll want to bring a picnic blanket or a lawn chair.  

Early season look at the hiking trails

Spring Road Trips and Local Road Construction

Apologies – this post got stuck while we were transitioning to the new website!

If you subscribe to our Trail Mail occasional e-newsletter, you’ve already seen this information. But, just in case you don’t (and why don’t you?), here’s a quick rundown on our next 4 walks.

Our next 4 walks will require a little planning and maybe some carpooling, since they’re all out of the Omaha metro area.
  • Tuesday, April 26th, 10 a.m. – Apple Blossom Festival Walk. Meet in the Arbor Day Farm Parking lot (2611 Arbor Avenue
    Nebraska City, NE 68410) at least 15 minutes early to take care of paperwork and pay the $3 walking fee. 5k Group Walk, with a 10k option. Join us after the walk for lunch at Porter’s Barbecue. Already in the past!
  • Saturday, May 14th, 8:30 – 11 a.m. registration – Honeybees in the Heartland 5k or 10k walk. The start for the walk is in Auburn Legion Memorial Park, 1101 J Street, Auburn, NE 68305.  Walk on your own or with a group. Register online at https://forms.gle/5a5kon8C5szSJevo6, pay $3 cash when you arrive or $3.16 by Venmo.
  • Saturday, May 14th, 1 – 3 p.m. registration – Heartbeat of the Heartland 5k or 10k walk. The start for the walk is at the Harris Picnic Shelter in Humboldt Lake Park, Humboldt, NE 68376. Walk on your own or with a group. Register online at https://forms.gle/ZHEveJzJJoQ56gNv6, pay $3 cash when you arrive or $3.16 by Venmo.
  • Saturday, May 21st, 9 – 11 a.m. registration – Northwest Nebraska Volksmarch 5k or 10k walk. The start for the walk is at the Chadron State College Student Center, Shelton and 10th St., Chadron, NE 69337. Register online at https://forms.gle/nxG2RwC3rcKfCWKP7 .  The cost to walk is still only $3 cash when you arrive or $3.16 by Venmo.
If you play to attend the May 21st Chadron walk, you’re going to want to line up lodging in the area. The Chadron Chamber of Commerce offers some choices as to where to sleep here: https://www.chadron.com/list/ql/lodging-travel-14  
 
Why not plan to make a weekend of walking? Chadron offers another year-round walking event (printable brochure here) and our club’s seasonal walk at Agate Fossil Beds is another 70 miles away (printable brochure here).
 
As always, our walks are held rain or shine, so dress for the weather!

 

 

 

 


ROAD CONSTRUCTION ALERT!

S. 84th Street is under construction between Dodge Street by Methodist and Farnam Drive, blocking access to Indian Hills Drive from the south. To get to club meetings held at Morning Star Lutheran Church at 331 S. 85th Avenue, you’ll have to go to 90th Street to access Indian Hills Drive from the west or drive along W. Dodge Road to 84th Street and turn south to Indian Hills Drive.