The next best thing to a water park is Recreation Park’s Olympic-sized heated pool complete with giant slides and water features. Small kids can splash in their own zero-depth entry wading pool with tot-sized slides, fountains, geysers and jets. Bigger kids and adults can rip down a 143-foot water slide into a plunge pool. When your fingers and toes get wrinkly, you’ll find plenty more to do at the park, which has tennis and basketball courts, horseshoe pits and a playground.
Leash up your dog and take him for a walk at dog-friendly Forest Prairie Park. The 90-acre park has seven trails to choose from, ranging in length from 0.1 to 1.6 miles long. The trails wind through wooded and natural prairie areas with abundant cover ideal for birdwatching. Bluebird houses throughout the park and picnic areas provide convenient areas to sit and observe nature. The trails are open to cross-country skiing during the winter. Honeycreek Park preserves nearly a third of its 23 acres as natural prairie. Trails throughout the park allow you to view prairie birds and plant life up close. Honeycreek hosts a playground, picnic area, sports fields and a skate park in addition to the natural area.
A Swiss-style band shell at Twining Park sets the stage for concerts each Monday night through the summer where you can sit on the grass and relax to the rhythm. The shell can also be rented for private events. Twining Park is home to the city’s premier disc golf course, with nine holes to challenge your skills, and four sand volleyball courts and two ball diamonds are also on site. You’ll also find facilities for horseshoes, tennis and basketball as well as playground equipment for the kids and picnic areas overlooking a meandering creek.
If you’re looking for playgrounds to let the kids wear off some of their endless energy, the city has several featuring play equipment. Advance, Water Tower and Valley View have playground equipment and few other amenities. Swiss Alps Cheeseland Playground at Recreation Park has chalet styling with wedges of “cheese” topping its towers and turrets. Kids can climb, cross bridges, play in sand and slide down several slides in the imaginative play center. You’ll also find playgrounds at Lincoln, Northeast and other city parks where you can reserve picnic ramadas for your family outing.
