Omaha Zoo indoor desert
Who knew that Omaha,. Nebraska had so much to offer?!
TripAdvisor and CNN both agree that Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo is the best in the country hands down. So we wanted to know, just what’s so great about it? Well apparently everything. It has a huge aquarium, beautiful koi pond, and the world’s largest indoor desert. You can walk across a swinging rope bridge suspended over the world’s largest indoor tropical rainforest. There is a huge amount of diversity and this zoo does its best to recreate the animals’ natural habitats as much as possible. Everything about this zoo is amazing.
Lauritzen Gardens is Omaha’s botanical gardens. It has a lot more to offer than just looking at plants and flowers. They have a great children’s’ garden and the highlight for many is the train garden. There is a café within the gardens which makes Lauritzen Gardens a great place to have a leisurely afternoon learning and appreciating nature.
The Durham Museum
The Durham Museum is my must do pick for Ohama! If you have a kid who really likes trains then you’ll want to visit for sure. The museum is built in the old Union Station and is well restored, but mainly focused on trains and the history of Omaha. I love the bronze sculptures of passengers buying tickets, sitting on benches and boarding the yesteryear train. My kids really enjoy learning about different places in the U.S. and the history of each place so they enjoyed it and weren’t bored at all. The architecture of the building alone is fascinating! Toward the end you have to have some ice cream at Union Station’s original Soda Fountain.
If you have younger children you might want to check out Omaha Children’s Museum. I would say it would be ideal for children 8 and younger. One thing they have that most children’s museums don’t is an outdoor splash park for summer play, so if you’re going to visit in the summer bring your child’s bathing suit and a towel.
If you are a omnivore then you simply cannot visit Omaha and not have a true Omaha Steak. There are of course several good places to choose from, but we recommend Firebirds. In addition to steaks you will find various fish choices and salads. By the way the crab cakes are the best thing since sliced bread!
For some good soul food you may want to check out Big Mama’s Kitchen. Their signature drink, cranberry sun tea, is a fabulous thirst quencher and the menu offers something for everyone including fried chicken, mac ‘n’ cheese, chicken and dumplings, roast beast, taters, cornbread and all the other fixin’s you’d find in Big Mama’s Kitchen. They are open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and it’s all finger lickin’ good!
If you visit Omaha send us a tweet and let us know what you’re favorite adventure was!