Chalco Hills Recreation Area is located in northwestern

Sarpy County, Nebraska Sarpy County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 190,604, making it the third-most populous county in Nebraska. Its county seat is Papillion. Sarpy County is part of the Oma ...

, and approximately west of downtown

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

. Chalco Hills consists of of which is covered by Wehrspann Lake, an artificial

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

. The recreation area was opened in 1988 as part of Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District efforts to provide flood control and improve recreation opportunities. The Dam was built by the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

and the recreation area is managed by the Natural Resources District.

Recreation

There are seven picnic areas and several have covered pavilions, the largest of which can accommodate up to 100 people and can be reserved. Seven miles (11 km) of walking trails encircle Wehrspann Lake. Several

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

fields and one

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

field, along with two playgrounds adjacent to picnic areas are easily reached from nearby parking areas. The soccer fields are also used as launch sites for hot-air balloons and radio controlled airplanes. The area is used for

cross-country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

events during the fall, and

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

and

ice fishing Ice fishing is the practice of catching fish with lines and fish hooks or spears through an opening in the ice on a frozen body of water. Ice fishers may fish in the open or in heated enclosures, some with bunks and amenities. Shelters Longer ...

are popular in the winter. Fishing is more popular in the warmer seasons, and there is parking for 30 trailers. Motorized boats must comply with the no-wake regulation by maintaining speeds under 5 miles (8 km) per hour.

Wehrspann Lake

Wehrspann Lake is a man-made reservoir that covers and is up to deep. It is located on tributary streams that flow into Papillion Creek. A "universally accessible" fishing pier and boat launch provide fishing access to Wehrspann Lake. On the southeast side of the lake, a waterfowl viewing platform permits closer observation of the numerous species of birds that frequent the area. The lake is stocked with a variety of fish species including

bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or "copper nose" as is common in Texas, is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and ...

channel Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...

and

blue catfish The blue catfish (''Ictalurus furcatus'') is the largest species of North American catfish, reaching a length of and a weight of . The typical length is about 25–46 in (64–117 cm). The fish can live to 20 years. The native distribution ...

crappie Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers. Etymology The genus name ''Pomoxis'' ...

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, but ...

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

, and

carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

Natural resources

Chalco Hills also has an arboretum of native plants of the region including

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

grasses, trees and flowers. Much of the recreation area has been replanted with native species of trees and grasses. The recreation area is popular for bird watching and is frequented by a number of species throughout the year. A small herd of

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

also reside in the area.

External links

Chalco Hills Recreation Area - Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources DistrictU.S Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

References

{{reflist Protected areas of Sarpy County, Nebraska Protected areas of Nebraska