Boys Club of Omaha
Park
26 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Carter Lake
6% of Carter Lake’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 4.9 miles of mapped trail cross Carter Lake, 2.7 per square mile of land. 87 acres are parks and preserves, 23 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns · #4 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
64 acres · of 1.8 sq mi of land
Trails
4.9 mi
2.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
87 ac
23 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.1 mi
5.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Carter Lake?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Carter Lake have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Carter Lake is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #4 of 140 in Iowa. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, conserved land lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Carter Lake’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical IA town 3% · U.S. 4%BTrails2.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · IA 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land23 acres of park per 1,000 residents (87 acres) · IA 19 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · IA 91% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 94%
LessMore
Iowa towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 98%
Water is 11% of Carter Lake’s area (0 of 2 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 5%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Boys Club of Omaha, with 0.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Levi Carter Park
Park
19 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Mabrey Park
Park
12 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Boys Club of Omaha26 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Levi Carter Park19 acres
Mabrey Park12 acres
Kiwanis Park10 acres
DirectionsFreedom Park1 acres · HAZARD CORP
DirectionsRosenbaugh Park1 acres
Who protects it
64 conserved acres
6% of Carter Lake’s land. Water is left out: Carter Lake has 1.8 square miles of land and 0.2 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Carter Lake’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city50 ac
State natural resources8 ac
Regional agency6 ac
Local Park · 40 acLocal Recreation Area · 11 acState Conservation Area · 8 acLocal Historic or Cultural Area · 6 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Levi Carter Park Local Park | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Carter Lake Ball Fields Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Kiwanis Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Carter Lake State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 8 | Open |
| Mabrey Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Freedom Park Local Historic or Cultural Area | Regional agency | 6 | Open |
| Wavecrest Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Carter Lake
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Carter Lake
6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Carter Lake
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
5.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
5Basketball
3Baseball
2Beach volleyball
1Volleyball
1Soccer
1Tennis
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Carter Lake
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 38 | 51 | 63 | 74 | 83 | 86 | 84 | 78 | 65 | 50 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 1.4 | 1.3 |
January is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Carter Lake →
Next door
Carter Lake and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carter Lake | 6% | 2.7 | 23 | 99%+ | A |
| Council Bluffs | 11% | 0.3 | 44 | 84% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Carter Lake
Where can I hike in Carter Lake?
The longest trail networks: Boys Club of Omaha, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Carter Lake is conserved land?
6% of its land, against a typical 3% for an Iowa town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Carter Lake’s trails?
Boys Club of Omaha and Levi Carter Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Carter Lake?
5.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Carter Lake?
13,778 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Carter Lake or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 87 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Carter Lake have?
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #4 of 140 in Iowa. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Carter Lake neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →