One of Omaha's signature parks. Nice playground for kids. Lots of picnic tables and grills. A pavilion. Quaint if slightly sketchy grotto. A baseball field. Lots of mature trees and a walking path. Even a pool and a golf course! This is a great space for public events, such as an Earth Day celebration I recently attended. It is by UNO campus and that can impact traffic and parking sometimes. Still, a really nice green space here in the city. read more

Elmwood Park - Earth Day - Parks Near Me - Omaha, Nebraska

This is one of our favorite local playgrounds and a great place to run or host a work picnic! There are lots of toys set up for toddlers to play in the summer time. read more

My review of the this park may be a little weird because I'm not reviewing it as a public park really, I'm reviewing it as a wedding venue. But also the beauty of the park itself will be discussed many times - don't worry. We wanted a short (but still beautiful) outdoor wedding in October, and realized that the City of Omaha actually rents out parks for events. And the gorgeous Elmwood Park Grotto was the first thing I thought of! Just a note, you can't reserve a park location more than a year out (so a year to the day out from our wedding date, we called and snapped it up). We reserved the grotto, and went to look at the space to be sure it could fit our large guest list. It was exactly the right size - we decided to rent some nice chairs to put in a little semicircle design in front of the fountain, and we had the wedding take place at the front of the semicircle at the center of the fountain. The fall foliage was in full bloom and made our special day so perfect. The gorgeous greenery of the park also made the most beautiful backdrop for our formal photos once the chairs had been cleared out! The only negative thing I would note if you decide to rent the grotto, is that they don't put up any signs or anything that it's closed/rented for a private event, so I would recommend doing that yourself and placing signs at each entrance. We almost had someone walk their dog through our wedding because we didn't do this. All in all, It was perfect for our needs. A gorgeous (and very affordable!) outdoor location with a fountain to wed in front of, some pretty steps so you can still "walk down the aisle" - and a huge space to fit our 100+ guests! read more

See all

I love how convenient and close this park is for me. I have come here multiple times and will continue to to run, walk, and relax. I have mostly stuck to the same running path, but I also know that there are many more trail options that I can explore in the future! The traffic level is perfect for feeling comfortable running alone. There is usually a good amount of people, but not so many that it feels over-crowded. I always see a variety of people out and about! The park also offers free parking, which is always nice in Omaha, and it is within walking distance to the UNO Dodge Campus. The plentiful trees and shade offer some respite from the heat if you still want to enjoy some time outside! I'm looking forward to checking out some of the other areas within Elmwood park!! read more

Elmwood Park - Elmwood Park - Parks Near Me - Omaha, Nebraska

A very pretty park in midtown/dundee/aksarben area. Sprawling around UNO there are multiple entrances into this park. There are plenty of bike and running paths. I've run 10ks through here, as well as attended the Earth Day festival here. The trees are very mature and offer a lot of shade. We love the play structures for the kids as they offer the classics, as well as updated structures and ride ons. read more

On a recent visit to Omaha to see my kid brother and his family, I woke up really early one morning before the sun, laced up my shoes, and decided to take a long walk to see what I could see. within a couple miles of my brothers front door, I happened upon Elmwood Park, all large expanse of grass with numerous deciduous shed trees, picnic facilities, walking paths, and all sorts of other things. like water feature fountains, in "the grotto." Whatever. I did not have a lot of time here, as I said, I was just taking a long walk after eating too much fast food Chinese the night before. But the park looks like a pretty cool place, lots of people enjoying the weather on an early morning sunrise, walking dogs, and starting their day with a little grass underfoot. When I got back to the house, I looked up the place, and learned there's a baseball diamond here, wedding facilities, and an 18 hole golf course? A spring fed creek? Who knew? Well it is a big place, and I did not have a lot of time. But whether you're a local, or a short term visitor, this definitely has plenty of room for you to visit, curl up under an oak tree with a good buck, I have a quiet moment. My next visit to Omaha will definitely include a visit to Elmwood Park. read more

I've driven by this park many times and finally had the opportunity to walk around due to the Taste of Omaha event being held this weekend. Several free bands are spaced accordingly in this large green space. People are friendly, respectful, and courteous during my time here. They did a nice job with the open pavilion, lots of tables and chairs for those of us who chose not to bring beach chairs. They said on the webpage that dogs were not allowed, however I did see plenty of behaved dogs with their owners but would not have brought Rex if he was still around. The bands are more 'garage style', not to be disrespectful but that was the quality in my opinion. Weather is great and a good variety of food vendors to get your fill for any taste. I highly recommend this event to return back to Elmwood Park next year. read more

See all

A beautiful and historic park right in the heart of Omaha. For those of us who grew up here, you'd always end up at Elmwood every once and while for a little league picnic, high school club potluck or family reunion. Or you'd just ride your bike and stroll through on a beautiful day for a little people watching (this place gets quite crowded on weekends during the summer). I also remember parking near the grotto or swimming pool on many an occasion to trek my way to class at nearby UNO. This park is old, like 100+ years old. That said, it's in pretty decent shape, but there are still a few bits and pieces that could use some renovating. read more

I've been going to, or passing through, Elmwood park for over 10 years and it's a very nice park. It's great to walk through and especially drive through in the fall. I went to a wedding here this past weekend and it was really nice. Overall, this is one of the better known parks in the area and there are definitely reasons why! read more

Big beautiful park with lots of mature trees close to UNO. Seems like there is always an event or something going on there. Lots of picnic tables with areas that can be reserved. Recently I was there with my sister and her kids and had lunch while they played on the playground. I guess my nieces and nephew like it better than Stinson because it has sand. Great place to walk the dog along the shaded trail and we usually leave with a golf ball collection from the nearby course. I really enjoy the swimming pool during summer months. read more

Nice big area with lots of places for photos, picnics, games etc. although I wouldn't go her alone, have seen some shady individuals. read more

Elmwood Park - Parks Near Me - Omaha, Nebraska

See all

This century old Spring Grotto on the Southeast edge of Elmwood Park has been beautifully refurbished. On recent occasions when I attempted to visit it, twice with company in tow, we were unable to enter. Photographers taking family photos filled the place, including the stairways. On another visit the grotto was closed for a wedding. For a serene visit, go during off-hours. The playground on the southern side of the park is one of the better public park playgrounds. It is large and shaded with many benches for supervising parents. Over the lunch hour during summer months it can become crowded with bus loads of picnicking summer camp students, so take younger children in the morning. There is the popular Elmwood Golf Course. There is a shelter to be reserved for large functions, and a pleasant public swimming pool. There is always lots of action at this beautiful old park. read more

See all

My childhood home course, used to take 3.5 hours for 18 holes, now takes minimum of 5 because of horrible tee time scheduling and Covid golfers. And for how short the course is, crazy what the going rate is. Love the course, but the fun of it has rapidly gone downhill read more

GREAT location for Shakespeare on the Green! Well shaded, easy access, AWESOME volunteers and a terrific experience. Even if you don't enjoy or "get" the plays, you MUST make it to one of the performances to say you have been. Fun times and just an awesome experience. The park overall, and the area surrounding, is very peaceful and there are some nice events throughout the year. Definitely worth a follow to see what is going on. read more

We recently rented the Elmwood Park Grotto for our wedding ceremony, and the Pavilion for our wedding reception. Both locations are surprisingly nice - the Grotto is very picturesque, and the Pavilion has recently been renovated, the bathrooms and fixtures updated, and the overall fit-and-finish improved. Although the Pavilion has a cement floor and simple metal/wood picnic tables, it was easy enough for us to "dress up" for our reception, and we were very satisfied with the result. When you combine that with the rental price (a fraction of many other places we considered), we might have had a five-star review. Unfortunately, the park caretaker was rude enough to us at the tail end of our wedding night to ruin the jubilant atmosphere among the small group of friends and family that was helping us clean up. He arrived at 11:20 (there is an 11:30 "close-up" time in the contract), as we were cleaning and removing the last of our belongings, and his first (and essentially only) utterance - to all present, mind you - was, "you have ten minutes to get out, or I'm calling the cops." We would have been out on time, regardless, though I doubt that was going through his head. Our interactions with him - when initially evaluating the location and the morning of our wedding - had been acceptable enough, although he complained about not being paid overtime to us - customers - on multiple occasions. If it seems I am being overly sensitive to an isolated matter, I would offer two considerations: 1) it profoundly dampened the atmosphere among our wedding reception guests during an occasion that will occur exactly once; and 2) it was completely unwarranted - not questionable or borderline justifiable - completely unwarranted. I believe some sports refer to this as an "unforced error." We reported the incident - and our displeasure with it - to the City of Omaha Parks Manager approximately one month ago. His office is "sorry to hear we weren't happy with [him]", end of email. I think the City of Omaha should be held to the same standards of customer service as any private business, and I think this was an inadequate response. read more

This park is like a hidden treasure within the city. It's a great place to have a picnic, go golfing, run the in's and out's of trails, and it's only a hop and a skip away to Aksarben. I love the fact that there are stairs you can go up and down on and see the mini river that flows toward the gold course. It's a great day to spend a day! read more

Great park to take a afternoon stroll or to have family picnic. Traffic in this area gets heavy during school season around 5p due to UNO students. Best time for a walk through the park is a Sunday afternoon ! You can actually walk across Pacific street to the Aksarben farmers market on Sunday mornings to take a extra long walk for those interested. Elwood is a great place for family pictures as well due to the trees and golf course. read more

Best place to walk, drive or get engaged!

Great park for LARPing or walking my pomeranian! Sometimes i enjoy just relaxing at the picnic tables and people watching. Perfect place for a picnic or fun with your friends. read more