Columbus, NE Outdoor Activities

Carol Joy Holling Camp, helmed by Nebraska Lutheran Outdoor Ministries and accredited by the American Camp Association, opens up a natural wonderland to campers to carry out its mission of teaching people about Jesus. During programs for kids and families, campers take to the lake to angle for fish or paddleboat across the water. Three high-ropes courses challenge harness-strapped campers to face their fear of heights and low-flying satellites as they scamper across the course and zipline off a 25-foot cliff through the air. A typical day at the camp starts with camper-led worship and devotions before everyone scurries back to their cabins, platform tents, tepees, and bunkhouses.

Six climate-controlled indoor courts and twelve hard-surface outdoor battlegrounds host racket-swingers aged 5 and older at the $3 million Nebraska Tennis Academy facilities, nestled within the sprawling 215-acre confines of the Abbot Sports Complex. The academy's certified instructors foster adults' skills with drills designed to initiate new players, introduce new strokes, and elevate heart rates with tennis-oriented workouts. They also mold minors with a comprehensive Junior Development curriculum that prepares students for high-school play, more intense sessions for those committed to competing at a high level, and Quick Start classes—which tailor court dimensions, equipment, and scoring systems to the skills and sizes of players aged 5 to 11. During downtime, visitors can burn calories in the full-service health and fitness center or make macaroni portraits of Andre Agassi in the players' lounge.

Trent Meyer and Derek Bergman are committed members of the United Methodist Church, and sometimes choose to practice their faith through tree climbing, swimming, and laser tag. They direct the Methodist-run Camp Fontanelle, a year-round outdoor camp sprawled across more than 180 wooded acres of donated land. Both Trent and Derek draw from backgrounds as campers—and Trent from six years as a teacher—to lead summer camps for preschool through high-school students. They lead a team of camp counselors who coordinate harnessed-rope tree climbing, activities on low-ropes courses, archery lessons, and outdoor laser-tag matches.

They also draw visitors at different times of year with water slides, a 35'x65' jumping pillow and bounce houses, a petting barn filled with alpacas and goats, and pony rides. During the autumn-harvest season, they unveil the annual theme of a 10-acre corn maze filled with 5 miles of trails. A 3-acre pumpkin patch contains small and large carving pumpkins, gourds, mums, and Indian corn, which visitors can harvest and stuff into a large, horn-shaped wicker basket.

With six sets of tees per hole, the course at Ashland Golf Club caters equally to new players and polished veterans. Opportunities for scores below par arrive early in the round: holes one and three are relatively short par 5s at 439 yards and 528 yards respectively. Both holes force long hitters to make a choice between accepting a dare to reach the green in two strokes, and telling a truth about an embarrassing date. The difficulty level ramps up from there and tops out at number 16, a 375-yard par 4 and the hardest hole on the course.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole par 71 course
• Total length of 6,242 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 70.3 from the back tees
• Course slope of 122 from the back tees
• Six sets of tees

At K/B Stables, instructor Donna Stading-Smith imparts the equine wisdom she has been accruing since she first saddled up when she was 3 years old. As a former elementary media specialist and a 4-H teacher for 14 years, she’s experienced in making horseback riding a comfortable and fun activity for both beginners and more seasoned riders. Regular lessons and training prep students to take the reins for casual or competitive rides in English, western, or dressage styles. When they're not supporting budding equestrians, some 20 horses gallop across K/B Stables’ 11 acres. The family-run stable hosts 30 stalls for boarding accommodations by the night, week, month, or whatever period of time the horse’s former girlfriend said it needed to “sort things out.”