Glenn Cunningham Lake
4.3(104)google
3.1(9)yelp
Lake
Overview
Glenn Cunningham Lake is a 390-acre (1.6 km2) reservoir located in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. The lake is located along 96th Street with entrances at State Highway 36, State Street, 96th Street and Rainwood Road. The lake is a part of Little Papillion Creek, which is part of the Papillion Creek watershed.
Practical Info
Suggested Duration2.5-5 hours
Best TimeThe ideal time to visit is from May to September during mild weather, especially around sunset (7:00 PM to 8:30 PM) on a clear day. The setting sun casts a dramatic orange glow over the glass-like water, offering a serene backdrop for kayaking, sailing, and shoreside bass fishing.
Getting ThereLocated in northwest Omaha. Driving is highly recommended; take I-680 N to Exit 12 (NE-133 N / 90th St), drive north, and turn right onto State St. This corridor leads directly to the newly renovated southern marina docks and designated free lakeside parking courts.
Travel Tips
- Operating under flood-control mandates, gates lock at 23:00; any vehicles without specialized overnight angling validations remaining inside face aggressive towing at owner's expense.
- Persistent cyanobacteria blooms plague the waters; when red biological hazard flags fly, all wading, kayaking, and domestic pet water contact are legally barred due to fatal neurotoxins.
- The entire pool is an absolute No-Wake Zone; internal combustion boat engines must remain strictly at idle throttle, entirely banning high-velocity jet ski maneuvering.
Reviews
Positive
- A massive, visually stunning urban lake system in northwest Omaha! Open calm waters meet newly upgraded lawns; sunset views deliver high visual impact.
- Public amenities recently underwent a massive, top-tier renovation; miles of paved loop trails are wide and flat, dotted with shaded picnic pavilions.
- A premier haven for RV camping, sailing, fishing, and paddle boarding, featuring perfectly built accessible boat ramps and fishing piers.
- Completely free to enter, with great order free of commercial noise to preserve a quiet, raw natural sanctuary rich with birds and plants.
Heads up
- Because the lake surface is so vast and open, spring and autumn gales stir up big waves, making paddle boarding exhausting and risky.
- On sunny summer Saturday afternoons, the core RV campgrounds and sandy beach zones enter heavy crowd mode, requiring luck to find a shady picnic spot.
- The rich wetland waterfowl ecology leaves sections of paved paths and lawns frequently littered with goose droppings, with cleanup lagging at times.
- The lake country is so vast that outside of picnic benches and utility hooks, it lacks retail shops or vending machines, requiring you to resupply before.