Council Bluffs, IA 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.

Throughout Husker Paintball Adventures’ rural backcountry speckled with trees and tangled thickets, paintballers explore six battlefields spread across 20 acres and find refuge behind plastic barriers and stacks of timber. After traipsing through creeks and crouching along the low ridges of shallow gullies, players seal their truces with lunch by bringing their grills for a picnic among the spindly trees and garden of organically grown target symbols. In the interest of sportsmanship and making the hobby accessible to everyone, the staff never pits pros against rookies and enforces a 20-foot shooting rule. Safety is also paramount, so they turn down firing velocity on all paintball markers for groups of younger players.

The fairways on Table Creek Golf Course's 18 holes bound across the rolling hills of southeast Nebraska for a challenging 6,253-yard pin-hunting exhibition. A relatively short course even when played from the tips, the truncated layout has slick, bent--grass greens, deceptive elevation changes, and flagsticks that covertly shift as players approach the greens. Rippling waters pool and flow throughout the picturesque par 71 course, adding a sense of tranquility and threatening to absorb ill-struck shots. To augment their birdie-garnering form, clubbers can fine-tune their swing at the driving range, recruit the latest course fashions at the pro shop, or learn to cut tender steaks using a divot tool at the cozy clubhouse.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 71 course

• Bent-grass greens

• Length of 6,253 yards from the farthest tees

• Course rating of 71.3 from the farthest tees

• Slope rating of 122 from the farthest tees

• Three tee options

Retrofitted from former city buses, Nebraska Party Bus's six-vehicle fleet conveys revelers about town in limo-like luxury. The air-conditioned transports include a luxuriously upholstered 35-footer with a private party area in the rear, encouraging between-bar tête-à-têtes, whereas a pair of 42-seaters are perfect for ferrying wedding guests to receptions or back to central casting's rent-a-wedding-guest unit. The buses serve Omaha, Lincoln, and Council Bluffs, offering patrons comfortable conveyance throughout the metro area.

Wildwood Golf Course’s nine-hole layout spans 2,945 yards of relatively open, parkland terrain cleaved through the shadows of scenic trees. Clubbers can send balls somersaulting into the stratos with their driver or T-shirt cannon, as wide fairways provide generous margins for slightly inaccurate tee shots. The bulk of the course’s difficulty awaits at the end of each hole, where large, undulating greens turn even routine two-putts into testy trials of steady-handed strokes. Golfers in need of new clubs, collared shirts, or other accessories can visit the pro shop, which is patrolled by resident aces who are available to schedule lessons or discuss the science behind recent, closed-door attempts at growing natural spikes out of their feet.

Course at a Glance:

• 9-hole, par-36 course

• Length of 2,945 yards from the farthest tees

• Course rating of 34.7 from the farthest tees

• Slope rating of 122 from the farthest tees

• Three tee options

Picturesque prairie vistas welcome visitors to Elkhorn Valley Golf Club, which challenges golfers with a par-70 course designed by Duane Mines. Carts voyage past verdant fairways as golfers send balls soaring over grasping grass traps and pools of water with precise drives and well-practiced telekinesis. Players master their short-game skills upon the practice field's chipping and putting greens, and guests may equip themselves for the field with accessories, clubs, and apparel from the pro shop. After a long day of sending dimpled spheroids sailing toward the horizon, visitors share laughs over delicious meals at the clubhouse.