Chalco Hills Recreation Area
Managed by Omaha Parks
360 acres3.5 mi of trail
Nature Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Chalco Hills - S. Hwy. 370 Access
Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Gretna
10% of Gretna’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. 412 acres are parks and preserves, 45 per 1,000 residents. 5.8 miles of mapped trail cross Gretna, 0.8 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns · #2 of 57 in Nebraska. What drives it
Conserved land
10%
429 acres · of 7.0 sq mi of land
Trails
5.8 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
412 ac
45 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.8 mi
2.8 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Gretna?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Gretna have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Gretna is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #2 of 57 in Nebraska. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, conserved land lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Gretna’s overall grade.
Conserved land10% of the land · typical NE town 4% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · NE 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land45 acres of park per 1,000 residents (412 acres) · NE 15 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · NE 90% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 94%
LessMore
Nebraska towns of 2,500+ (57)Ahead of 98%
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 Chalco Hills Recreation Area, with 3.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Leo Royal Memorial Park
Park
18 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Plum Creek Subdivision Park and Recreation Area
Park
4 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 8 parks & preserves
Chalco Hills Recreation Area360 acres · 3.5 mi of trail · Omaha Parks
DirectionsLeo Royal Memorial Park18 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsPlum Creek Subdivision Park and Recreation Area4 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsPeterson Park3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsNorth Park15 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsChestnut Ridge Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Lincoln Place Play Area Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Founders Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
429 conserved acres
10% of Gretna’s land. Who manages Gretna’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Army Corps of Engineers389 ac
Town or city40 ac
Recreation Management Area · 389 acLocal Park · 40 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wehrspann Recreation Area Recreation Management Area | Army Corps of Engineers | 389 | Open |
| Leo Royal Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Gretna City Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Plum Creek Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Peterson Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Meadows Community Center Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
18 places to go in Gretna
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Gretna
Gretna City PoolIn Peterson Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Gretna
Egg Scramble
DirectionsPlus 15 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Gretna
Waterfowl ObservationIn Chalco Hills Recreation Area
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 3.8 mi
Nature Trail1.9 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
9Baseball
6Tennis
6Tracks
4Soccer
3Football
2Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Gretna: April and September
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 | 73 | 83 | 86 | 84 | 78 | 65 | 50 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 3.2 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 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 Gretna →
Next door
Gretna and its neighbors
Gretna has the most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gretna | 10% | 0.8 | 45 | 99%+ | A |
| Chalco | 3% | 0.4 | 5 | 99%+ | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Gretna
Where can I hike in Gretna?
The longest trail networks: Chalco Hills Recreation Area, 3.5 miles; Leo Royal Memorial Park, 0.7 miles; Plum Creek Subdivision Park and Recreation Area, 0.3 miles; North Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Gretna is conserved land?
10% of its land, against a typical 4% for a Nebraska town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Gretna’s trails?
Chalco Hills Recreation Area and Leo Royal Memorial Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Gretna?
2.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Gretna?
10,181 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Gretna or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 436 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Gretna have?
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #2 of 57 in Nebraska. 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 Gretna 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 →