Prairie Queen Lake

I never realized I passed the corner of 132nd Street and Highway 370, I was passing by a lake with a trail around it. Just around the corner from Werner Park, the home of the triple-A baseball Omaha Storm Chasers, sits Prairie Queen Lake. It’s one of the many man made lakes here in the Omaha area, which provide flood control and prevention.

This man made quality is apparent by the dead trees throughout the center of the lake, which provide perches for the herons that like to hang out here. Despite this quality, this is still a nice trail to walk around. The first thing I noticed about this place is just how big the sky feels along this trail. Most of the trails I’ve walked in this area have a decent amount of shade around them, so you don’t really notice the sky as much. At Prairie Queen, you can’t help but notice it. It’s probably the most Nebraska-feeling of any of the lakes I’ve checked out here.

The trail itself isn’t too difficult, though note it’s 3.9 miles around. I was able to finish this in about 70 minutes. There’s about 87 feet of elevation gain around the lake, with the highest point being along the north end. Along this stretch, I felt like I could see sky forever. It would be a great place to watch thunderstorms go by. Overall, nothing too difficult here.

Because of the openness of this park, there’s not a lot of places to hide from the wind. It was borderline cold today, but I didn’t mind once I was a couple miles in. That said, I can imagine this lake would be a little rough during the winter. Definitely wear a jacket if the temp drops below 50ºF.

Prairie Queen is a place I will return to, especially since I know where it is now. The openness of the place is a nice contrast to the other trails in the area.