Glenwood Lake Park

Glenwood Park Address:
100 Lake Drive
Glenwood,  Iowa (Mills County)
Park Size: Medium, Lake Size Small

Glenwood Lake Park is located “not too far” from Council Bluffs Iowa and Omaha Nebraska in the town of Glenwood Iowa. This medium sized park has a lake small enough to walk around for most people, and there is a nice cement walkway circling the lake.

If you would like to just sit and admire the lake, there are a number of benches near the sidewalk, so you should be able to find one oin the sun or in the shade, depending on your preference.

Glenwood Lake Park offers camping (712-527-3334), picnic shelters, playground equipment, fishing, and most important of all, it is a pleasant spot to spend a few hours.

Do you know the Iowa state record fish for common carp came from this lake? It was caught by Fred Hougland in May of 1969, was 44 inches in length, and weighed 50 pounds. For other Iowa state record fish, you may wish to visit the Iowa DNR Website.

Mills County Historical Museum is located at the Glenwood Lake Park, and of particular interest to myself is this threshing machine

After sending a copy of this picture to my mom, she emailed back to say it was very nearly the same as the one my grandfather used on his farm in Wisconsin (1920s-1940s, I think). During harvest season the farmers would get together, sharing the work of harvesting as they moved from farm to farm.

Railroad buffs of any age may enjoy poking around this Burlington Northern caboose at the Museum. Not pictured here, but the museum also includes a very small brick jail, and a genuine outhouse from the old days.
Note: On the Glenwood Lake Park ground is also located the Davies Amphitheater, offering quality family entertainment during the summer months. This facility is also sometimes used for weddings and church services, and is available for public rental.

Unfortunately, internet searches failed to reveal the size of this park or its lake. If you have that information, please post it in the comments section. Thank you.

Mile Hill Lake

Mile Hill Lake Address
US Highway 34
3 miles Southwest of Glenwood Iowa
Park Size: 39 acres. Lake Size: 12 Acres

Mile Hill Lake is not what you might consider a park, perhaps think of it as a nice place to get outdoors, enjoy the scenery, fish, boat, or go for a short hike. Don’t look for playgrounds, picnic tables, or even a restroom here.

This 12 acre lake is located in 39 acre Mile Hill Lake/Scenic Overlook, a Mills County Park which offers canoeing, hiking, lake fishing, and 2 acres of prairie, according to the Mills County Conservation Board.

We missed the turnoff for Mile Hill Lake, and needed to turn around and retrace a bit before arriving here. The entrance to this lake is near the top of a hill, which was an unexpected place to find a lake entrance.

Near the parking area we soon discovered the reason for placing the entrance on top of a hill. An excellent view is available of Mile Hill Lake from the well constructed overlook, which is high above the lake.

Near the overlook is a somewhat steep trail leading down to the lake. Expecting to have to return up this trail, we had to have a closer look at the lake, so went down this path. To our delight, there is a road leading back up the hill from the lake, which we used for our return to the overlook.

Mile Hill Lake is a ways from Omaha, and, unless you plan on doing some fishing or boating, may not be worth a special trip just to look around. However, Pony Creek Lake is nearby, and a day at Pony Creek Lake may also be a good time to have a look at Mile Hill Lake.

Schwer Recreation Area

Schwer Recreation Area Address
702 W Centennial Road
Papillion Nebraska
Park Size: Unspecified Acres (medium sized park). Lagoon Size: Unspecified

Schwer Recreation Area is a nice park in Papillion, complete with quite a large lagoon, picnic shelters, barbecues, an acceptable bathroom, playground, and well constructed trails.

We observed and talked to several people fishing, and they didn’t have any luck the day we were there, but remember, a bad day fishing is better than a good day at work.

A fairly wide and smooth concrete trail circles the lagoon at Schwer Recreation Area. The trail does have a couple hills on it, not high, but hills nonetheless.

There is a drinking fountain outside the bathroom near the parking lot.

Walnut Grove Park

Walnut Grove Park Address:
15050 Q Street
Omaha Nebraska
Park Size: 55 acres. Lagoon Size: Unspecified

Not a huge park, but a nice park.

Walnut Grove Park has nice concrete trails, lots of shade, picnic areas, and mature trees.

The lagoon was quite muddy the day we were there. I don’t know if the muddiness was the normal state, or just something temporary.

Muddy or not, a child and his father were spending some time fishing here, though we never saw them hook anything, and it appeared they left empty handed.