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Parking for the Omaha Riverfront Trail can be found at Heartland of America Park on Douglas Street. Lewis and Clark Landing and the National Park Service regional headquarters also both have large parking lots on Riverfront Drive. Additional parking can be found in a lot off Freedom Park Road near Abbott Drive.
There is a small parking lot at the trailhead for the northern section of the trail at the intersection of E. Locust Street and Abbott Drive. Three more parking lots can be found along the shore of Carter Lake; access them via Abbott Drive or Carter Lake Drive. To the north, park at Dodge Park or Boyer Chute NWR.
After starting from the Lewis and Clark National Historic Headquarters and Visitor Center, we bicycled across the awesome Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge, rode the Iowa Riverfront Trail, and then crossed back to ride the Omaha Riverfront Trail.
I'm sorry to say it was less than impressive. We traveled from Southern California to experience the bridge and bike trails on both sides of the Old Muddy, and Omaha really let us down. There were some great views of the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge and the mighty Missouri River, but due to construction the downriver portion of the trail past the Lewis and Clark center was closed off!
Heading upriver was just as disappointing. After a mile or so the trail just comes to an end at a restaurant parking lot. We were tempted to ride through the parking lot, get on Abbott Drive to find where the trail eventually resumes, but these two senior citizens didn't particularly want to share the road with two ton vehicles whizzing past us.
OMAHA: We look forward to coming back when all of three sections of your Riverfront Trail are a connected Class IV Bikeway and construction free!
Road the section of this trail that starts north of NP Dodge Park and was disappointed. Too much of the "trail" is simply a paved area directly adjunct to the road, so you're biking with cars and motorcycles during a good portion of the trip. And when you're not on the road you're on an overgrown, somewhat dystopian-looking path adjacent to corn fields and farm driveways marked with "Trespassers will be Shot" signs. Not fun.
Skated the middle section and had the same problem as everyone else with getting lost. Needs way more signs. The northern section was very nice though! Nice views of the Missouri River and Carter Lake that overshadow the not-so-nice views of an oil refinery, wastewater plant, and trailerpark. I skated from the Carter Lake trailhead in the south to the top of the big hill near Ponca Road. Beware of gravel and sticks that cover the pavement in a few areas.
The trail is great—if you can find it. Signage is all but nonexistent and you end up in some pretty isolated (unsafe?) industrial areas if you’re brave enough to go looking for the southernmost section. Markings for the middle section, even for shared lanes around Heartland of America Park, are also either nonexistent or poorly located. Even the northern section, which is fantastic, is extremely easy to miss—and first-time riders are more likely to end up at the airport terminals or on another sketchy industrial detour than on the trail through Carter Lake. City planners need to get it together. It’s too good a resource to push people away because of laziness/negligence. For continuity’s sake, it’s best to stay on the east side of the river.
Like another poster has mentioned, this trail can be VERY confusing especially in northern omaha. The signs have been removed/vandalized making it nearly impossible. Once you figure it out its great, relatively flat and enjoyable.
this trail is difficult to piece together when riding. It lacks good signs to direct bikers on how to stay on the trail.
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