Papillion, NE Outdoor Activities

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.

The nine-hole executive course at Pine Lake Golf & Tennis Club—designed more than four decades ago for the use of homeowners in the Pine Lake housing area—today welcomes golfers of all skill levels and domicile locations. Beginners tackle the course’s straightforward fairways and greens, whereas skilled golfers can hone their short game on holes ranging in length from the 111-yard seventh to the 185-yard fifth. Although the concise fairways demand precision, they don’t foil golfers with the obstacles of other courses, such as sand traps, water hazards, and riddle-slinging bridge trolls. After swinging through a round under the gaze of the Pine Lake water tower, players can head to the tennis courts or drop by the pro shop to pick up new tees for staking pesky pint-sized vampires.

Course at a Glance:

• Nine-hole, par-27 executive course
• Length of 1,398 yards
• Three tee options
• Scorecard

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.

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.

Stalking through the prairie grass, a guide leads his labrador retriever and a hunter into a stretch of foothills. They hear a rustling ahead, prompting them to pause. Peering through the brush, they see a bird with red plumage around its eye, a green head, and a white ring around its neck—the distinguishing marks of a pheasant. The hunter readies his gun, the labrador poises, and both wait for the guide's signal.

The hunting guides at Pheasant Bonanza lead hunters through experiences like these and ready them for similar outings with sport shooting. The sporting-clay course, for example, supplies beginning through advanced shooters with 20 stations whose targets simulate the movements of animals such as quail and rabbits. To further sharpen hunters' aim, the guides also oversee trap, skeet, five-stand, and snooker ranges. This diversity of shooting scenarios prepares clients for guided hunting trips—which include the retrieval and tracking service of trained labradors or german shorthaired pointers—on Pheasant Bonanza's grounds. Spanning hundreds of acres in the Loess Hills, the grounds sustain game such as pheasant, waterfowl, whitetail deer, wild turkey, and rogue Yahtzee dice.

The lodge accommodates guests on extended trips, surrounding them with rustic touches such as a stone fireplace, knotty-pine paneling, and furniture upholstered in hunters' orange. Further services range from expert advice at the pro shop to Pheasant Bonanza's boarding, training, and breeding programs for hunting dogs.