Ed Zorinsky Lake & Recreation Area

A really nice park that has walking/running path, picnic areas, and soccer fieldsA wonderful way to start the day or just relax. Fishing available as well as a boat ramp for those with appropriate equipment. Facilities are in good shape although some of the paths could use resurfacing - still a great way to get around and see the area.

This is a beautiful park! We were staying in Omaha for a few days and wanted to explore a few parks. This park is a gem! The lake is beautiful and the walking paths are well maintained and not very busy. We walked on around the lake and paths one side of the street and got in 3 miles. You could easily get many more miles if you followed all of the trails on both sides of the street. The trails weave through wooded areas that offer a lot of shade and sun protection. As for logistics, there are many available parking areas. Dog waste bag stations are all along the paths and trash cans are also available at regular distances. This is truly and amazing space and it is so nice that it is available for people to visit free of charge. I would highly recommend checking it out on your next visit to Omaha!

Zorinsky Lake Park is located at 156th and F streets in West Omaha. Named after Senator Edward Zorinsky of Omaha, the park has a 255-acre lake. The park is surrounded by 770 acres of public land. (Wikipedia)There is a lot of wildlife here if you aren't too noisy including deer and wild turkeys. There's a paved trail for walking and cycling that loops around the lake for a bit over 7 miles. Swimming is not permitted but people go canoeing, kayaking, and fishing. It's great for family picnics with something for everyone including playgrounds, baseball diamonds, and soccer fields. When I was there on a Monday in mid-September, it was perfect except for the one person who decided it was an off-leash dog park. Not so! Luckily she put the leash back on and got control of her dog in time to avoid a canine fracas with my two leashed dogs. It gets very busy here in the summer, but on this day it wasn't. Great day spent enjoying nature.

This park is pretty beautiful depend on on the weather. It has at least 2 larger sized playground (one on each side) of the lake for children. The south side one is better in my opinion. The walking trail is decent too but really needs to be widened in some areas. It can get downright busy depending on the time and a lot of bicycles so be aware of your surroundings. Children probably should be in a stroller unless they're much older since I've had someone almost hit my daughter on more than one occasion and she wasn't even really in the way. The full walking trail is 7.8 miles in total. I like the East side of the lake at 4.4 miles; more to look at. Parking is ample all around the lake so no concerns there. They have a pool but we've never been to it. The shelter areas are typically clean. I will say though that last spring there was a lot of poisonous hemlock very close to the playground. Be aware of what this plant looks like and don't let your kids close to it.

One of my favorite places to run. They have a lovely paved trial around the lake. One side is shorter than the other. It's safe, clean and you get an incredible view especially during sunrise. Their areas of events are also nice and clean for an outdoor event

There are so many aspects to this lake and I just recently learned of the entrance off of 156th? which is this huge central park with lots of space for family, walking, watching sunsets and bird watching. It's a great place to have in our city.

Lake Zorinsky is just down the road from our house and we go over there quite often to walk. I am not sure it's as good as it gets but we are definitely fans. There are six areas where one can park, two off of 156th and four to the east and west off of 168th. If you are looking to get some running/walking/biking in, you have miles of trails to utilize. If you walk around the entire "lake" (giant pond really) between 156th and 168th, it's a little over four miles from car back to car. Additionally, we just explored the trail on the west side of 168th and it's close to the same to go fully around from car back to car. I think we prefer the main trails but if you are looking to avoid the people, go to the west side of 168th. It was much less crowded out on a recent Saturday evening. The only issue, and it's not really a major issue, is that it can sometimes feel a little crowded on the trails on the main part of the lake with walkers/runners and bikers sharing the same trails. Most folks on bikes will let you know when they are coming up behind you but some don't and being the neurotic I am, I get spooked by something zipping past me at least twice each time we go! So, please give us spooky people a warning, people on bikes! Please. We have seen a bunch of deer the past few times we've gone and lots of rabbits. So, if you still get excited seeing those things like I do, it's fun. There are also several pokestops and gyms if you are into that thing (relevant as of August 2016, if you read this in 2018, it was a craze a couple of years back). If you have kids, there are a couple of playgrounds off of both 156th street entrances but the southern most one is a little nicer. People kayak, canoe, boat, and fish so there is a little bit of everything for anyone wanting to spend some time outdoors. I'm an Okie by birth but spent some time on the east coast and miss the ocean. So, having some water nearby is nice. It's definitely one of our favorite places in Omaha to get some exercise.

Catch the deer at dusk on the trails coming out to feed. Be curtesy to both walkers and bikers alike.

It's a beautiful place and so relaxing I enjoyed my time there and the photos there were gorgeous. I recommend you to go during the sunset it was an amazing scene.

The pool is something else. All kinds of crazy rules. Teenagers on lifegaurd duty walk around like they are the pool kings. Not a bad little set up for kids but the management running this place clearly needs some restructuring.