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Category: Group Walks

  • Walking Week 2026

    Walking Week 2026

    One Week = 7 Days = 6 Walks + 1 Activity = LOTS OF FUN!

    For all of our GROUP WALKS, please arrive 15 minutes early to sign the waiver form and to pay the walk fee, if listed. Exact change is very much appreciated!

    Monday, May 18, 10:00 a.m.: First Avenue Trail – Trash Pickup & Lunch. Registration has ended but you can still come if you let Sandy know at spldngs@aol.com. Free Event!  (If you want AVA credit for the walk, bring $4 and your books for stamping with you.) Meet at Cochran Park, 100 S.21st St. Council Bluffs, IA. The First Avenue Trails Parks & Paths Volunteer Program will provide supplies plus $5 coupon to Railway Inn at 115 S. 12th St. for after the event. It is recommended that you bring your own water bottle, sunscreen, work gloves, insect repellent, and sturdy close-toed shoes.

    Tuesday, May 19, 5:30 p.m.: Stinson Park Group Walk.   Free Event!  Meet at Stinson Park in Aksarben Village, 67th & Mercy Road, Omaha, NE. We’ll gather in the open area northeast of the playground. Parking available on Mercy Road. Join us after the walk at Inner Rail Food Hall, 1911 S. 67th St. for dinner and conversation.

    Wednesday, May 20, 10:00 a.m.: Dundee Group Walk. Free Event!  Meet at Memorial Park’s Rose Garden, using Robert Storz Drive from 6005 Underwood Ave., Omaha, NE. We’ll walk through the Happy Hollow and Dundee neighborhoods.

    Thursday, May 21, 5:30 p.m.: Little Italy Tour. Registration required by noon on May 14th:  https://forms.gle/2rCqW7KNGdAGHHc47   Free Event! $5 cash donation requested to help organize Little Italy programs and educational student exchanges. Meet at the 11th Street Promenade Arch at 11th and Farnam Streets in Omaha, NE no later than 5:15 pm to sign in. Prepare to walk a couple of miles as you tour sites in the Old Market and Little Italy neighborhoods, sampling delicious Italian cuisine at various stops.  NO DOGS ALLOWED. 

    Friday, May 22, 10 a.m.: The Wall That Heals. Free Event! Meet at Lewis Central High School, 3504 Harry Langdon Blvd, Council Bluffs, IA. The Wall That Heals is a memorial honoring the more than three million Americans who served in the U.S. Armed Forces in the Vietnam War, bearing the names of the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice. Standing at seven-and-a-half-feet tall and 375 feet long, the Wall That Heals is a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. It is accompanied by a mobile education center. Stop for lunch after at Tastee Treet, 13996 Wabash Ave. Our seasonal walking route starts from the Tastee Treet and continues on the Wabash Trace; consider stretching your legs after lunch. (Walk fee of $4 applies.)

    Saturday, May 23, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., off the trail by 1 p.m.:  Standing Bear Lake. This is a traditional Volksmarch. $4 per walker, AVA credit available.  To find us at Standing Bear Lake, use Entrance #4, located on N. 132nd Street, between Fort and Ida Streets in Omaha, NE. (The entrance is closer to Ida to the north than it is to Fort.)  We’ll be at the picnic shelter close to the lake at the playground at the end of the road from the entrance. A group walk will be led at 9:30 a.m. Come anytime between 9 and 11 to register and set out on the trail. A 10k option is also available. 

    Sunday, May 24, 2:00 p.m.: Old Stone Arch Trail Group Walk in Shelby, Iowa. $4 per walker, AVA credit available. Meet at Agri-Symbol Park at 12 East St, Shelby, IA 51570 around 1:45 p.m. to register and pay. If interested in carpooling meet at the JC Penney parking lot off of 24th St. in Council Bluffs at 1 p.m. The walk goes along a picturesque cemetery, and the Old Stone Arch Nature Trail, dotted with spring wildflowers.

    • As always, our walks are held rain or shine, so dress for the weather!
    • Unless otherwise stated, leashed dogs are welcome on our walks.
  • June 2025 Events

    June 2025 Events

    Our planning committee is still putting together some fun events for July and August. In the meantime, be sure to put these on your calendar!

    June 7th at 10 a.m. Mandan Park, 6215 S 13th St, Omaha, NE 68107.  Meet at the picnic shelter near the newly opened nature center to sign the waiver and walk the trails. 

    This hidden park is impossible to see into from 13th Street, which runs along its western edge. Its seclusion made it a great place to escape the city and experience nature. The park has been extensively renovated over the last couple of years. The trail we will walk follows the park’s level contour along the now closed road that used to run through the park.

    *The trail rating for the route is 1B
    *Strollers will be able to handle the route.
    *Leashed dogs are welcome on the trail.
    *$4.00 per walker (exact change appreciated); children under 12 free

    Glenwood Walk

    June 27 – 28, starting at 2 p.m. in Corning, Iowa (plus 3 more walks). Four group walks in central Western Iowa: Corning, Shenandoah, Glenwood and Stanton, in partnership with Iowa’s Walking Club. Our club sponsors the Glenwood seasonal walk, so we’re very excited about this opportunity to show off this gem of a walk! Glenwood offers a 7 km and a 10 km option, while the other group walks are 5 km (10 km option available in Stanton). Please see our printable flyer* for all of the details about each of the walks, as well as the buffet dinner and hotel reservations in Shenandoah on Friday and the pancake feed on Saturday morning in Glenwood: Four County walking weekend

    *The trail rating for the routes are either 1A or 2B
    *Strollers are okay on some routes
    *Leashed dogs are welcome on the trails
    *$4.00 per walker for each walk (exact change appreciated) 

    *If your printer will print duplex (2 sided), then choose “Flip on short edge” for the best results.

  • Save the dates for all of our 2025 walks!

    Save the dates for all of our 2025 walks!

    All of the walks that we have planned so far are listed on our Walk and Event Listing page, also accessible through our Walks and Events menu. Each event has a handy link at the bottom of the page to add it to your Google, iCalendar or Outlook calendars. You can even subscribe to our entire event calendar by using the “Subscribe to Calendar” button in the bottom right side of any Walk and Event Listing page.

    We’ve even created a booklet, suitable for printing, at our 2025 Walk Booklet page. Please note that the booklet will not be updated during the year; you’ll have to grab a pencil and mark up any printed copy as things change. And we already have a couple of changes in the works!

    Our first walk of the year will be our traditional Soup Walk, to be held in the hills of Florence, one of Nebraska’s oldest cities and now part of Omaha. All of the details are available at https://nebraskatrailblazers.com/event/annual-soup-walk-5k-and-10k/ Grab a couple of cans of soup, your walking shoes and we’ll see you there!

  • October 2024 news

    October 2024 news

    Here’s the September – October 2024 newsletter Sept – Oct 2024 newsletter (yes, it’s a bit late, but there’s still lots you want to read!) Nominations for the 2025 club officers are being taken, as well as for the 2024 Walker of the Year.

    Upcoming events:

    • Saturday, October 12th, 10 a.m. – Group walk at the Bellevue Lions Club’s Spaghetti Feed. $4 for the walk, $12 for the spaghetti dinner.  This is taking place at St. James Methodist Church,, 4343 Capehart Road, Bellevue, NE. Meet around 9:45 a.m. to start walking by 10 a.m. Dinner starts at 11 a.m.
    • Saturday, November 2nd, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. – Our traditional November “Pie Walk” is being replaced with a ‘Giving Walk (as in Thanksgiving), where walkers bring the makings for a pie. Walk fee is $2 if an item is brought; $4 if no item, but the $2 will go either to the food pantry behind the Thanksgiving dinner food drive or to our host church. The location is First Covenant Church, 201 N 90th St, Omaha, NE. Specific items requested are: canned fruit (low or no sugar added), pie fillings, 5# sacks of flour, 4# sacks of sugar. Other nonperishable pantry items are also gratefully accepted. This walk is in an area of town where sidewalks are scarce and there are some hills.
    • Saturday, December 14th, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. – Our annual Lights Walk! The RiverFront is generously sponsoring this event, so all walkers walk for free. We’re collecting gloves, mittens, hats and socks (especially warm socks) for the homeless. The RiverFront will be hosting a Holiday Market as part of the seasonal festivities, and one 5k loop will pass right by/through it. The other is quieter and heads up to see the Joslyn Art Museum at night and the lights on the Creighton campus.

    Send questions to us at netrailblazers@gmail.com. See you on the trail!

  • August 2024 Newsletter and Papillion Walk Event | Nebraska Trailblazers

    Our July-August newsletter was delayed due to illness, so we’re presenting our August 2024 newsletter for your reading pleasure here: August 2024 newsletter

    We also need to call your attention to the cancellation of our Labor Day walk in Table Rock, Nebraska. The folks in Table Rock are still worn out from last year’s celebration!

    We hope you’ll come to our Saturday, September 7th walk a little closer to home in Papillion’s Halleck Park. Our starting point within the park has changed, so use these directions to arrive:

    • Take 84th St. to Lincoln St. go east on Lincoln to Halleck Park Road.  
    • Right on Halleck Park Road to parking lot on right.  
    • Look for yellow AVA signs.

    You can come any time between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., but do plan to be off the trail by 1 p.m. If you like walking with a group, be ready to start walking by 9:30 a.m. Come early enough to pay the $4 fee (exact change gratefully accepted) and to register.

  • June 11th Walk location has changed!

    Due to construction, we’ll be starting our walk near the Iowa Western Community College campus, at College View Elementary School. College View’s address is 1225 College Rd, Council Bluffs, IA 51503, adjacent to the IWCC campus. Be sure to arrive early enough to register and pay the $4 walk fee (exact change appreciated) so that the group can set out promptly at 5:30 p.m.

  • March – April 2024 Newsletter

    Here’s the March/April 2024 newsletter for your reading pleasure: March – April 2024 newsletter  If you’ve been thinking about getting a club shirt, check out the options in the newsletter – it’s a time-limited deal!

    Not mentioned in the newsletter is our March 20th free walk at 11 a.m. at The RiverFront for Women’s History Month. (Remember that free walks don’t earn Event Credit if you are a book stamper.)

    We’ll be sending out a Trail Mail toward the end of March, just to get you all geared up for National Walking Week, April 1st – April 7th.

     

    NWFT-Mar-Apr-2024-newsletter

  • New walk just added!

    Wednesday, March 20th: Women’s History Month Walk at The RiverFront

    Join The Trailblazers for this free event. We’ll walk through Gene Leahy and Heartland of America Park and on to Lewis and Clark landing as we learn about significant women in local, national and world history. These women have contributed to our history through arts, activism, science and politics to name a few. We hope to see you there.


    Meet at The Arch 11th & Farnam at 10:45. Start walking at 11:00 a.m. rain or shine. Free event. Leashed dogs and strollers welcome.

  • Happy New Walking Year – 2024!

    We’ve got 16 walks lined up – just in the first half of 2024! Take a look at the calendar, here: 2024 Calendar – first half  They include some free walks during National Walking Week and a variety of locales and difficulties that should have you reaching for your calendar.  The cost of our regular walks is now $4, up $1 from last year due to a large increase in the cost of insurance.  

    We’ve had to retire some of our Seasonal and Year-Round Events, but we’ve added a six-county long Seasonal Event – the Cowboy Trail in Nebraska – stretching between Valentine in the west and Norfolk in the east. This is only available via our Online Start Box on myava.org.

    We’re looking at some fun summer activities – think wineries, balloons and trail runs for charity. You’ll want to check back often here and on social media to stay updated. 

    Of course, our club meetings, held on the first Monday of the month between February and June, September (2nd Monday) and December, are still fun, social places to be. You’re always welcome to take part in club business, listen to a speaker and to enjoy refreshments and conversations after the meeting.

    Reminder: you don’t have to be a club member to take part in any of these activities. But if you would like to join for only $10 ($15 families), here’s the application with the mailing address printed right on it, so you can send it in while you’re thinking about it.

  • September – October 2023 newsletter, plus a month’s worth of events

    Our latest newsletter can be found here: September/October 2023 newsletter

    And here’s a quick look at upcoming events for the next month:

    • Friday, September 15 starting from the Plymouth County Historical Museum in LeMars, Iowa, 10 a.m. to noon start times, 5k and 10k routes available, $3 fee. Dogs and strollers welcome on the trail.
    • Wednesday, September 20 starting from the Leahy Mall, 6 p.m. start of “How Sweet It is!” walking tour. Registrations have closed for this event, but email netrailblazers@gmail.com to be put on the wait list. No fee to attend. Dogs not allowed. Not suitable for strollers.
    • Thursday, September 28 starting from Tom Hanafan Park in Council Bluffs. 5k Group Walk starting at 10 a.m. $3 fee. Dogs and strollers welcome.
    • Saturday, September 30 starting from Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City. 5k Group Walk starting at 10 a.m. $3 fee. Dogs and strollers welcome on the trail.
    • Saturday, October 7 starting from Peak Performance in Omaha, 9 a.m. to noon start times, 5k and 10k routes available, $3 fee. 5k Group Walk starting at 10 a.m. $3 fee. Dogs and strollers welcome on the trail.
    • Saturday, October 14 starting from St. James Methodist Church in Bellevue, NE, 10 a.m. start time for 5k or 10k group walk. . $3 fee. Dogs and strollers welcome on the trail.

    Now, for the fine print: 

    • You must come 15 minutes early for all group walks to fill out paperwork and pay required fees. 
    • Details, such as starting point addresses and walk ratings can be found on our website at: 2023 Walk Calendar