Papillion, NE Outdoor Activities

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.

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