Omaha Hiking Club: Fontanelle Forest Nature Center September 26, 2009

Saturday, September 26, 9:00am

Fontenelle Forest Nature Center

Hike Leader: Cath



We will meet in the parking lot of Fontenelle Forest Nature Center at 9:00am. Then we'll go into the Visitors’ Center to pay the fee. Admission is $7.00. (There is no admission fee if you are already a member - just bring your card.) There are bathrooms and a water fountain in the Visitor’s Center. The Visitor’s Center will be open both before and after the hike. Please bring your own water for the hike.



We'll walk on the Riverview boardwalk where we can see the Dinoquest exhibit as well as the Acorn Acres exhibit. The Riverview boardwalk is 1 mile. Off of the Riverview boardwalk is a trail that leads down to the Missouri River. It is the hickory trail and is ½ a mile both ways.

Once we have seen the Missouri River, we could return to the Riverview boardwalk to finish seeing the Dinoquest exhibit. We can also take alternate trails if the group decides to go further into Fontenelle Forest. This may depend on the time that it takes to get to the river since the trails off of the Riverview boardwalk can be steep. The time of the hike will be 1.5 to 2 hours. It will be over by 11:00 a.m.



The pace of the hike will be slower in order to see the exhibits as well as the river. There is also a possibility of seeing deer, traces of beavers and a variety of birds. A caged hawk and owl are on exhibit right by the Riverview boardwalk. Both of these magnificent creatures were wounded and can no longer exist in the wild.

To Fontenelle Forest Nature Center (Katherine and Fred Buffett Forest Learning Center) 1111 N. Bellevue Blvd., Bellevue

From I-80 take Hwy 75 (Kennedy Freeway) South to Chandler Road. Turn left onto Chandler. Stay on Chandler approx. 1 mile until the road ends at the stop sign at Bellevue Blvd. Turn right onto Bellevue Blvd. Continue approximately 0.6 mile to the nature center on your left.

The leader will walk in the rain as long as there is no danger of thunderstorms or tornadoes. If there is rain, the hike may only be along the Riverview boardwalk. The other trails are dirt trails so please plan on wearing good sturdy hiking footwear. Please plan on wearing loose full length clothing or bug spray since the area can be “buggy”.