The Pedestrian Bridge

If you're ever going downtown for a Friday or Saturday night on the town leave home early and walk over to Iowa on the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge. The foot bridge connects Nebraska and Iowa over the Missouri River.

Aside from the pleasant walk over bridge to Iowa there is a little known trail that twists north along the river bank. To get there, follow the bike trail. The trail will be to the left of the bike trail. When walking down the bike trail look for the graffiti that says LomasX3 [I have no idea what this means] or something like that. The trail is to the left from that point.

I think it is probably an ATV trail so it's not safe to walk with headphones on and you should pay attention just in case an ATV does come down the trail. I am sure you'll hear it if it were coming. The trail is marked by vertical wooden posts that have wire running horizontally through them.

After sometime walking down the trail you come to an opening where the ground is bare and dirt. It's a central point on the ATV trail. There is a neat alcove on a hill surrounded by trees there. To get to the trail that goes along the bank go to the right. Then maybe twenty to thirty feet down the trail there will be a smaller foot path beyond the fence on the right.

This is the trail that snakes along the river. It runs parallel to the bike path but is deeper in the strip of woods along the east bank of the river. After following this path for sometime you'll come across an opening in the woods and the bike trail will be to your right and accessible. You can't see it because it's on the top of a hill but it is there. Just walk up the hill.

I really like this trail. It's quiet and there are some good views of marshland and the river along the way. Those views will get better in winter because the forests are full of thick foliage right now. And there are several little foot paths that lead off this trail toward the bank. It's a pleasant walk, not busy with people and not very far out of the way.

This trail is definitely not the only reason to go to the Pedestrian Bridge. The bridge is cool. It's aesthetically friendly and offers great views of downtown Omaha and the Missouri River. The bike path crosses into Iowa there.

At night the bridge is illuminated by lights. It's a great place to take a date before dinner downtown during the evening. It's a great place to spend time outside enjoy the day, river and downtown Omaha. It's a great place to bring friends and relatives from out of town. It is a very nice place to spend an afternoon.

If you're curious about what is going on at the Pedestrian Bridge Check this out:

http://www.pedestrianbridgecam.com/webcam.html

Other Links of Interest

http://parksandrec.councilbluffs-ia.gov/projects.asp

http://redd-shift.blogspot.com/2008/09/bob-kerrey-pedestrian-brige-linking.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0Z-rViX1I0&feature=related (Lighting of the Bridge)

Maps

http://www.visitomaha.com/listings/index.cfm?action=display&listingID=59364&menuID=125&hit=1

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=Pedestrian%20Bridge%20Omaha%20ne%20maps&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl