La Vista, NE Outdoor Activities

Even in the cold, blue stillness of a winter morning, the bike techs at Greenstreet Cycles can be seen locking up their cycles before opening shop for the day. Leading by example, they advocate eco-friendly commuting throughout the year and work to keep their customers' rides in shape for such endeavors by performing basic adjustments, seasonal tune-ups, and complete overhauls. The Greenstreet Cycles team also recycles old parts by donating to the Community Bike Project—an organization dedicated to equipping community members with bikes and knowledge on how to keep those bikes in tip-top condition and riding in straight lines as opposed to continuous circles.

Lie back and slow down on an inflated cloud of relaxation as you float down the Elkhorn River with tube-loads of friends, food, and summer thirst quenchers. Bring whatever you desire to add some fire into the weekend waterfest: waterproof radios, waterproof watches, and waterproof children are all welcome aboard. The journey usually lasts between four and five hours from start to finish, so you'll have plenty of time to finish off a few 24-packs of strawberries with your floatmates.

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.

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.