heartland of america park

When we travel to Omaha, we nearly always end up with a walk around the park. The ducks, the fountains, families together on the greens all make for a peaceful Sunday.

I was glad I visited this park even in the winter. Walking by the river is a treat, as is the nearby National Heritage Trail and the pedestrian bridge. Definitely worth a visit.

The park offers a nice walk around the lake and an impressive fountain display but the bridge over the railroad tracks doesn't add any value to the walk or park as the view is unimpressive.For workers at ConAgra, it offers a great place to enjoy lunch or to walk around and get out of the office for a little while.We visited in late October so I don't know if any water activities are offered.

I had read a lot about the colorful fountain and the experience didn't let me down. The lighting starts around 7:15pm and is marvelous. Sure there are some challenges with geese feces around the walking trail, but all in all it was an awesome visit.. Strongly recommended by anyone around.

OK, I will admit, I LOVE Heartland of America Park. While it’s hardly the best park in the country, I have a soft spot for it. On a sunny day with a blue sky, it is just a wonderful walk. The fountain is spectacular and you get great views of the Omaha skyline. Other reviewers are correct, there is geese poop everywhere, and while they look cute, they are mean, so don’t approach them. It’s an easy walk, but bring a hat, there is very little shade. There is a viewing platform to see the Missouri River, but it is unimpressive. Railroad tracks and levees still separate the park from the river, hopefully someday they can be better integrated. If you want more skyline views, walk up through the Gene Leahy Mall which takes you into the heart of downtown, without having to walk across busy traffic. My “secret” parking spot is under the I-480 bridge, it is free and pretty safe, but don’t leave anything exposed. I highly recommend a visit to this great park

Went for a walk around the little lake on a late evening. It was a beautiful night, but slightly windy, which caused the fountain to spray us as we walked by. There is supposed to be a light show, but that night it was only gold. I would go back during the day for a ride on the boats.

We stopped here after seeing the huge fountain. After just getting into the park, we noticed the problem this park has.There are numerous water"foul" that live here, as such they foul everything in their path. This is such a cool park in downtown Omaha but everywhere you step there is feces.Clean it up Omaha and check your shoes before you leave.

The path around the lake is nice and was easily maneuvered with a stroller. The kids loved all the geese, ducks, and swans! If we ever go back, we'll know to bring bread for the birds, and money for the boat ride!

We went to this park at night to see the fountain lit up with colorful lights. Parking was easy and there's about a 10 minute walk to the fountain viewing area. Once it was dark, the fountain lights changed colors every couple of minutes. There was no music, so it's not really a show or anything like that - much of the time you're just looking at the same colors with no change. This can be relaxing to some family members and boring to others. I heard that the quality of the show is determined by who's controlling the lights on any particular evening. We left after about 15 minutes as there were a lot of bugs, but overall it was a pleasant thing to see in Omaha.

We spent the night in the area on our way back to Wisconsin and stopped here after spotting the huge fountain from the pedestrian bridge up the river. Figured it would be a good place to wander a bit before a long day in the car. It is, in fact, a beautiful park... well manicured, nice water features (side note: the spray from the large fountain got us wet as we walked around the lake) and walkways, a little garden area to check out, and a spot or two to look out on the river, but watch out for the goose poop EVERYWHERE. The ducks, geese, and swans are entertaining to watch, but yikes. Parking was easy and free. We weren't there an incredibly long time (it started raining), but it's a large park and it sounds like there are additional things to see/do there.

We went for a walk in this park just to stretch after driving most of the day. We enjoyed the different statues and foliage displayed through out the park. The walking trails are easy to enjoy, and the park was clean and well kept. Even though it was getting toward sun down, we felt safe and saw many families with children in the area. The WW II statue is very unique in all that it captures regarding the war: Rosie the Riveter, a young boy collecting scrap metal, a couple clutching a folded flag, and a soldier returning to the embrace of his children. The fountain in the middle was picturesque and there were boat rides available as well on the little lake. It was easy to find free parking right on the edge of the park.

This is a lovely park to visit. The entire area is clean as a whistle and well manicured. They did have 2 portable toilets on site.The big fountain is a delight to watch.There are some interesting war memorials to see here. The bronze statues are real looking.You also get to walk along the river and there is a boardwalk. Further up the river is a pedestrian bridge that you may walk across to the other side of the river.On a nice day this would be a relaxing way to enjoy a couple of hours.

My group of 14 (7 Master Gardeners and spouses) spent over an hour walking around the lake, while examining and photographing the flora and fauna. It was an extremely hot and humid day, yet we enjoyed it immensely. Some of the highlights included the swans (and one egg in what we viewed as a flower bed, but they must have viewed as a nest), the spray from the fountain being blown upon us just when we were at our hottest, the Douglas-Sarpy County Master Gardeners' demonstration garden, and the memorials to our servicemen and women.

What an amazing place. Beautiful and easy parking. We went for a boat ride in the lake with the fountains for $3 a person. It was so pretty. We gladly accept all types of people...however, if you are scared of homeless or random people coming to you and talkin to you, you might not go in the evening. We met the nicest group of homeless people who actually live in the trees by the lake...they have pet squirrels, cats and geese...which might throw some off...but we sat and talked to them and they just fell on hard times...please don't judge them.

This is I guess Omaha's version of Central Park in puts the green and fresh air into the downtown area.